Wealth Insights

The Ethos of Ballentine Partners

Seeking and valuing diverse perspectives has always been a value of our firm – see Roy Ballentine's ethos paper on other core values we hold dear and that we trust will continue to shape our firm into the future.

March 11, 2021

All That Glitters is not in The Golden State

Executive Summary Two tax bills in the California State Assembly propose to increase income taxes and add wealth tax on affluent California residents. If passed, this legislation would have major implications for our California-based clients. Two bills, referred to as AB-1253 and AB-2088, have recently been introduced in the California State Assembly and, if passed, […]

December 9, 2020

Coping With Radical Uncertainty

“You have got to expect the unexpected.”[1] “Stuff happens.”[2] How should a private investor respond to radical uncertainty? History, including very recent history, presents many examples of radical uncertainty that roiled investment markets. The collapse of the global financial system (2007 – 2009) and the world-wide pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (2019 – ?), […]

December 8, 2020

Do We Need To Protect Ourselves From Ourselves?

As we age, does it make sense to structure our financial affairs before our mental capacity declines to reduce the risk of expensive financial mistakes later in life? SummaryThis article describes why it is advisable to get the right arrangements in place to protect ourselves from ourselves well before the actual need for that arises. […]

November 19, 2020

All That Glitters is Not Gold

When does it make sense to own gold? Investors flee to this yellow metal in unpredictable, extreme market conditions as an insurance policy. There are several ways to get exposure to gold, but does it deserve a place in your investment portfolio?

September 16, 2020

Family Stories: Family Celebrations in Zoom-land

We’re sharing with you a truly heartwarming and uplifting story of how one of our client couples was surprised by their children in an innovative way on their 60th wedding anniversary. This feel-good story is worth a listen from beginning to end (especially if the pandemic is starting to wear on you) and may have […]

September 14, 2020

Tax Day Reflections: What would be the impact of a changing of the political guard?

By Bruce D. Simon, CFA, CPWA® and Adam Ochlis, CPA, MST With polls currently trending toward a Democratic presidential victory and possible retaking of both houses of Congress, the implications for taxes and financial markets could be significant. On the tax front, the Presidential election looms large due to the considerable policy differences between the […]

July 15, 2020

Family Stories: Listen With Us

An issue that is top of mind for many of our clients during this time is how they can best harness the opportunity of their wealth – to live out their values, bring about the world they want to see, and work together on these issues as a family. To this end, we are coming […]

July 10, 2020

Elite Colleges, Bribery, and the Gift of Doing Less

By now you’ve seen today’s headlines: wealthy parents and coaches have been indicted on federal charges in a college admissions bribery scheme. Over 50 people, parents and higher ed professionals, were charged with crimes such as “racketeering conspiracy”: cheating to get kids into elite universities. [...]

March 13, 2019

Taxachusetts No More: “Millionaire’s Tax” denied

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that a ballot initiative that would have had Bay Staters vote this fall to raise the state income on its wealthiest residents is unconstitutional. The Fair Share Amendment, dubbed by some the “Millionaires Tax,” would have had voters decide whether to increase the income tax rate from 5.1% to 9.1% on incomes exceeding $1 million. The proposal will no longer appear on the November ballot. [...]

June 20, 2018

I Married a Robot: How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Our Lives

Without our really noticing it, artificial intelligence (AI) is creeping ever more closely into our daily lives. From the Amazon Echo to self-driving vehicles to currencies that you can’t touch, AI is gradually transforming developed societies in ways we have yet to fully grasp. As artificial intelligence gets more sophisticated and weaves further into the fabric of human existence, what are the implications for work and society as we know it? [...]

May 17, 2018

What Tax Reform Means for Investors

At more than one thousand pages, the new tax reform package has plenty of both carrots and sticks for US taxpayers. Both the short- and long-term effects of the new legislation on economic growth in the US are uncertain at this point, but changes in the tax code will undoubtedly confer both benefits and penalties on certain segments of the US economy. Until the tax accountants ferret out every new wrinkle, let’s examine the most likely impacts that the new law will have on the investment landscape in the coming years. [...]

December 26, 2017