Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...

Download PDF   The S&P 500 has dropped over six consecutive trading sessions and is now 7% below the all-time high reached on September 20, 2018. This follows a strong third quarter (+7.2%)—the best in more than four years. Here is where U.S. equity returns stand on a year-to-date basis as of the market close on October 11, 2018: Factors Behind the Selloff While a spike in...

Emerging markets have become volatile in recent months due to the conflict over global trade, especially as it becomes a showdown between the U.S. and China. Both rhetoric and action on this front have been and may continue to be highly unpredictable. The trade war could also have a ripple effect on global growth. At the same time, waiting for all of these macro issues to resolve themselves...

Download PDF Most headlines related to emerging markets (EM) have been decidedly negative this year. The growing U.S. trade conflict with China (by far the biggest emerging economy) helped spark a bear-market-sized decline in the Shanghai Composite Stock Market Index over the last seven months.1 More recently, the economic and financial travails of Turkey have rippled through global...

Download PDF   This past year saw record levels of capital being raised by Private Equity (PE) funds. This was the result of more firms coming to market to raise funds and a seemingly universal increase in the size of each fund raised. The graphic below shows how substantial the increase has been in both fund size and the number of funds being raised. This influx of capital has been the...

Download PDF   Co-investing, also referred to as direct investing, is becoming a larger and more dynamic element of private market investing in recent years, and we believe the trend will accelerate over time. Here we provide a brief overview of what co-investing is, how it’s different from investing in a traditional private equity fund, its key advantages and special considerations that...

Download PDF   In 1974, President Gerald Ford encouraged all Americans to wear "WIN" buttons (Whip Inflation Now) as a way to rally the country against the inflationary spiral that was causing major economic dislocations and rapidly rising interest rates. Fast forward to 2017, and today’s WIN button could stand for “Where’s Inflation Now?” Despite a long economic expansion, a robust job...

Download PDF   Last month’s investment article highlighted the debate surrounding active vs. passive investment, framed by the notion that most professionally managed funds have struggled to keep up with indices in recent years. This month, we continue our discussion, but with a different dimension of active management, looking at whether individual investors are successful in moving in...

Download PDF   Summer is here, and your adult children may now be home from college, your child may be getting ready for his or her first post-college job or you may be helping a child prepare to leave for college for the first time. As a parent, you can use these opportunities to discuss some important estate and financial planning issues that develop as your child becomes an adult. ...

Download PDF   At its May meeting, the CIBC Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) determined that a higher relative allocation to developed international equity markets is appropriate under current market conditions. Developed international markets consist primarily of equities in Europe and Japan, which comprise over 85% of the MSCI Europe, Australia, Far East Index (EAFE).1...

Download PDF   There have been many existential debates about the “optimal” way to invest: growth stocks vs. value stocks, international vs. U.S.-only portfolios, and the list goes on. This type of discussion tends to crop up after one type of investment outperforms another type for a period of time, which leads some to declare that today’s winner will remain superior for years to come....

We believe artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities on the horizon.  The foundation of computing was built upon the idea of people instructing a computer regarding the processes it should perform. Computers behaved like calculators, crunching data without having the ability to make decisions. In recent years, however, technology has made a...

For some investors, private equity (PE) may be a bit of a mystery. Their only exposure might be a story in The Wall Street Journal, likely titled, “Is this the end of private equity?” While it seems that this article comes out every year, the asset class has been generating attractive long-term performance over multiple investment cycles, and we believe performance will be attractive for years...

Both the Election and Market Reaction Confound the Consensus At its November meeting, the Atlantic Trust Asset Allocation Committee (AAC) focused on the economic and investment implications of the election results. We believe the unique nature of the incoming administration, along with the Republican Congress and “one-party rule” in Washington, will bring significant change to the policy...

  Every year we advise our clients to engage in routine, year-end tax planning. This planning is needed now, especially as we take President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax policies into consideration. With the new year quickly approaching, our Wealth Strategies Group has created the following checklist that may serve as a starting point for your year-end tax planning:     ...

In this very political season, investors are increasingly focused on how the November election will impact the investment environment for 2017. In the upcoming issue of The Advisor, our quarterly newsletter, we cover potential consequences for the tax code as well as the economic implications for trade policy. Aside from these major macro issues, there could be industry-specific policy shifts...