Charles Monat Associates

Sign of the times: MetLife, Axa limiting customer contributions to certain variable annuity purchases

2012-01-13T09:23:00.000+08:00

Axa Equitable Life Insurance Co. and MetLife Inc. have enacted limits to the amount that some customers can add to their variable annuities. In both cases, the limitations apply to customers who have already purchased the variable annuities and would like to add more money to their accounts, which clients may be inclined to do if their investments perform well or if they'd like to protect more of their assets under a benefit rider. Read more...

Fortunes Of Indonesia's Richest Up 19%

2011-11-29T11:02:00.000+08:00

Despite volatility around much of the globe, the economy of the world’s fourth most populous country has held up lately. Indonesia’s GDP, 70% of which is based on its domestic economy, is on track to expand 6% this year, and the stock market rose 3%, helping boost the combined wealth of its 40 richest by 19% to $85.1 billion.

The country’s three richest – the Hartono Brothers, Susilo Wonowidjojo and Eka Tjipta Widjaja – easily held on to their top spots again this year, adding a combined $7.5 billion to their wealth or more than half the top 40’s total gain. The trio is now worth a staggering $32.5 billion, representing 38% of the list’s total wealth. Read more...

Easy Come, Easy Go: Groupon's Chief No Longer A Billionaire

2011-11-29T10:58:00.000+08:00

So it goes for entrepreneurs whose fortunes are mostly, if not entirely, tied up in the shares of the companies they founded and run. Mason, a music major from Northwestern, helped found the daily deals site three years ago and built it into what Forbes called, in 2010, the fastest growing company in Web history. Read more...

Former Billionaire Declares Personal Bankruptcy

2011-11-29T10:54:00.000+08:00

Once Ireland’s richest man with a personal fortune of $6 billion, Sean Quinn applied for voluntary bankruptcy in Belfast this morning. Quinn owed an alleged $3.85 billion to Anglo Irish Bank’s successor institution, the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which he simply couldn’t repay.

The entrepreneur, once one of Ireland’s most admired businessmen, started out in the early 1970s selling sand and gravel from a quarry on his father’s farm. He eventually built his Quinn Group into a multi-billion dollar mining, manufacturing, real estate and insurance empire. Read more...

FSA warns on ‘toxic’ life settlement funds

2011-11-29T09:11:00.000+08:00

UK watchdog is planning to ban the marketing of traded life policy investments after it found problems in the design, marketing and sale of the products. Read more(FT Web Edition, registration required)...

Nagging ‘NextGen’ Problem: Protecting the Inheritance

2011-11-24T10:35:00.000+08:00

That nagging “NextGen” problem just won’t go away.
In addition to wealth managers’ concerns about retaining the children of their clients as customers, evidence continues to pile up that parents remain highly concerned that their children won’t even be able to hold on to their inheritance in the first place. Read more...

How Much Cash Are Your Clients Really Holding? The Sum May Surprise You

2011-11-24T10:34:00.000+08:00

Over the last year or so, advisors have been struggling to get their clients out of cash, but how much cash are your clients really holding? Investors say they’re holding 27 percent of their investable assets in cash, according to an MFS Investment Management survey of 929 investors. Generation Y investors lead the pack, allocating 33 percent to cash, up from 30 percent in February. Guess what financial advisors who were surveyed thought their younger clients held in cash? On average, advisors surveyed believe Generation X/Y investors held 10 percent in cash. Babyboomers? FAs thought boomers held 14 percent in cash. Read more...

Heirs take money and run - from financial advisers

2011-11-14T15:59:00.000+08:00

The ratio of 4-to-1 applies to most advisory businesses, yet few advisers are likely aware of it.

It's the number of new accounts that an adviser must add to compensate for the revenue lost when an account leaves a firm through a generational transfer, according to consultant Rodney Zeeb.

“This is one of the biggest problems mature advisers face, and if they don't do something, they'll lose a substantial portion of their revenue — and firm value — over the next few years,” said Mr. Zeeb, co-founder of The Heritage Institute LLC, which trains advisers to work with multigenerational families. Read more...

Don't die in New Jersey

2011-11-14T15:56:00.000+08:00

The old adage “location, location, location” apparently applies even in death. Nearly half of U.S. states impose an estate or inheritance tax regardless of whether the resident's estate also owes federal estate taxes. Two states, New Jersey and Maryland, levy both estate and inheritance taxes. Read more...

The 147 Companies That Control Everything

2011-11-14T10:28:00.000+08:00

Three systems theorists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have taken a database listing 37 million companies and investors worldwide and analyzed all 43,060 transnational corporations and share ownerships linking them. They built a model of who owns what and what their revenues are and mapped the whole edifice of economic power. Read more...

Top 9 reasons HNW clients use advisers

2011-11-03T10:37:00.001+08:00

Some surprising revelations. Read more...

Monthly fees won't fly, so banks piling into crowded family office space

2011-11-03T10:34:00.000+08:00

The combination of assets from Wells Fargo Family Wealth and its Lowry Hill Investment Advisors Inc. will start the new Abbot Downing advisory unit off with about $27.5 billion in client assets and about 575 clients.

Abbot Downing, which is the name of the firm that built the signature Wells Fargo stagecoaches, will focus on gaining customers with $50 million or more in investible assets. The family office also aims to provide a full array of financial services, including mergers-and-acquisitions help, insurance and commercial banking. Read more...

Adviser's YouTube video attracts $1M client

2011-11-03T10:33:00.000+08:00

While it'll never compete with Justin Bieber, one financial planner's You Tube post on financial standards of client care has become an unlikely hit. Read more...

Keynote Speech By Mr Ng Nam Sin, Assistant Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore

2011-11-02T11:06:00.001+08:00

Keynote Speech By Mr Ng Nam Sin, Assistant Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore,
at the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Asia Conference Go to MAS website...

Rinehart loses fight to keep family feud over multibillion-dollar trust out of courts

2011-10-31T09:55:00.000+08:00

GINA RINEHART'S three eldest children have won the first step in their battle to oust her as trustee of the multibillion-dollar family trust.Mrs Rinehart, 57, heads Hancock Prospecting, the iron ore business she inherited from her father, Lang Hancock, and is Australia's richest person, with an estimated worth of $10 billion.Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/rinehart-loses-fight-to-keep-family-feud-over-multibilliondollar-trust-out-of-courts-20111007-1ldn1.html#ixzz1cJtwU2UE Read more...

TTR: Life insurance premiums too high

2011-09-26T09:55:00.000+08:00

Life insurance premiums in Thailand are too high and the industry regulator should negotiate with insurers to reduce them, say officials of the Thailand Trade Representative (TTR).High premiums may be one reason that the number of life insurance policyholders in Thailand is still small relative to some countries, acknowledged Chantra Purnariksha, the secretary-general of the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC). Read more...

World Wealth Report 2011

2011-06-23T09:28:00.000+08:00

At the end of last year, there were 10.9 million high-net-worth individuals worldwide — those with more than $1 million in investible assets — an increase of 8.3% from 2009. Their combined wealth totaled $42.7 trillion — 9.7% higher than the previous year. Both the number of “millionaires” and their total wealth now have surpassed pre-financial crisis levels in 2007.

The so-called ultrahigh-net-worth population — those with more than $30 million in investible assets — grew by 10.2% to 103,000 and their wealth grew 11.5%. They represent less than 1% of the global HNW population but account for 36.1% of the total wealth, or about $15.4 trillion. Download Full Report (Registration required)...

Private School Tuition Bill Tops $40,000

2011-06-21T16:49:00.000+08:00

The Riverdale Country School will charge $40,450 for high-school students in the coming year, the first time a New York private school has topped $40,000 in annual tuition.

Tuition costs at the city's private schools, which breached $30,000 just five years ago, have climbed 79% in the past decade. The best schools have no trouble getting enough students. Still, school administrators and academic experts said they are increasingly worried about the effects of rising tuition. Read more...

Commentary: Norway's savvy investing pays off

2011-04-14T09:59:00.000+08:00

Is anywhere safe?

Wall Street will tell you that government bonds issued by advanced Western countries are the safest investments money can buy.

But recent events have made a mockery of that idea. If it weren't for international rescue packages, Greece, Ireland and Portugal surely would have defaulted on their bonds.

Don't think the trouble's going to end there. Spain's finances are in trouble. Italy's net debts are 100% of its gross domestic product. Read the full story here...

Singapore: Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Bill and Insurance (Amendment) Bill

2011-04-12T10:25:00.002+08:00

The Bill had it's second reading in Parliament yesterday (April 11). Included is an increase in the Deposit Insurance Scheme from $20,000 to $50,000 and proposal to include all non-bank depositors such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, companies and unincorporated entities.

The scope of coverage under the Policyholder Protection Fund (PPF) is expanded to cover 100% of a life insurer's liabilities, subject to a cap of $500,000 for sum assured and $100,000 for surrender values. Link to the speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Lifespan Reduced By Six Years Of Diabetes That Starts During Middle Age

2011-03-04T12:08:00.001+08:00

Individuals who develop diabetes during middle age have an average lifespan six years shorter than other people, researchers from the University of Cambridge, England, revealed in the New England Journal of Medicine after carrying out a major, multinational study, involving over 250 scientists from 25 nations.
Read more...

IFC Review - The rise of the Asian millionaire

2011-02-28T10:56:00.000+08:00

According to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report 2010, high net worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific tend to keep their wealth close to home. Those who keep their money offshore park it in Singapore and Hong Kong, eschewing the traditional Swiss havens. The emergence of Singapore and Hong Kong as key hubs for the private banking sector is partly a result of the increased wealth in the region, as well as the tightening of regulations in Europe and the US. It is no wonder that global private banking players are tripping over themselves to set up shop here in Asia. Read more...

Rock by Night, Life Insurance by Day

2010-12-10T15:47:00.000+08:00

You might buy car insurance from a gecko or a cave man, but would you consider buying life insurance from a blood-spitting hellion in leather pants?

Gene Simmons, the 60-year-old co-founder of the rock band Kiss, hopes so. If you are wealthy enough, that is.

Mr. Simmons's new group, Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy, was launched last month to tap into a lucrative demographic: entertainers, sports stars and other people with a net worth of $20 million or more who need a life-insurance policy of $10 million or greater. The firm's founders, who include David R. Carpenter, formerly of insurance powerhouse Transamerica, believe there is big opportunity to sell jumbo insurance policies to rich people. Go to WSJ story...

NY Times Article - Q. and A.: The Differences Between Philanthropy in the West and the East

2010-11-24T23:16:00.001+08:00

Wealthy Asian families are showing increased interest in giving back to society through philanthropic activities. Three years ago, after a career in private banking and wealth management that spanned four decades, Noor Quek founded NQ International in Singapore to provide advisory services to family offices in Asia and the Middle East. Read more...

Pension Funds Flee Stocks in Search of Less-Risky Bets

2010-10-19T14:13:00.000+08:00

After making the same kinds of investment blunders as many individuals, corporate pension funds now are seeking the same remedies: fleeing stocks for the perceived safety of bonds.

A growing number of pension managers are concluding their pursuit of maximum returns was a mistake, interviews with managers and consultants show. Instead, many funds are trying to achieve stable returns that more or less keep pace with the plan's obligations. To WSJ article

AIG’s Asian Insurance Unit Could Close Stock Sale Early

2010-10-19T14:11:00.001+08:00

A sale of shares in American International Group Inc.’s Asian life insurer AIA Group Ltd. that could potentially raise up to $20.6 billion will close two days earlier than expected after meeting with strong demand from investors, people familiar with the matter said. Go to WSJ story

IFC Review - Asia faces challenge of channeling floods

2010-10-18T10:17:00.000+08:00

As money surges with ever greater force from the west into emerging markets, nowhere does fear of asset bubbles and currency volatility run deeper than in the fast-growing economies of Asia, the Financial Times reports.

Foreign capital has rushed into the region’s bond and equity markets this year, driving the region’s currencies sharply higher against the dollar and raising the prospect of a sharp response from Asian policymakers. Read more...

We remain confident in Fixed Income assets for Long-Term Asset Preservation

2010-10-13T11:45:00.003+08:00

I remain confident that fixed income assets are a key component of a portfolio designed for long-term asset preservation. Life insurance also plays an important part in asset allocating for safety when preserving assets over the generations.

My call for a correction in Gold turned out to be a false hope - the trend is up but at these levels I don't see a place for the average investor. Commodities may well have a role to play in asset preservation, but at the moment it looks far more like a professional traders' market.

Long term asset preservation depends on avoiding large shocks to a portfolio and in the past 2 years+ our view has been largely correct - low volatility assets outperform on a longer horizon.

'Surge’ in demand for life products among HNWIs in emerging markets

2010-10-13T11:40:00.000+08:00

Demand for offshore insurance-linked investment products among high-net-worth individuals in the world’s emerging markets is “both large and under-served by private banking businesses”, according to Scorpio Partnership. Read more...

Shift to Wealthier Clientele Puts Life Insurers in a Bind

2010-10-04T17:53:00.000+08:00

The life-insurance industry has enjoyed beneficial tax treatment for its products for nearly a century. Whenever Congress tried to change that, insurers always had a mantra at the ready: We protect widows and orphans.

Life insurance needs to be free from income taxes, the industry said, because of its special social function. It keeps survivors from a life of penury when a chief breadwinner dies. Read more...

United States: Impact of the New Federal Financial Regulatory Reform Law on Life Insurance

2010-07-30T09:49:00.000+08:00

On July 21, 2010, after several weeks of deliberations in the Senate and the House of Representatives, President Obama signed HR 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Of most importance to life insurers, HR 4173 does not alter the current state-based insurance regulatory scheme. However, it: (1) creates the Federal Insurance Office within the Treasury Department; (2) streamlines regulation of reinsurance; and (3) directs the preparation of studies on three topics: (a) the current state regulatory system; (b) the viability and utility of federal regulatory intervention as an alternative or adjunct to the current state-based system; and (c) the state of the surplus lines marketplace. Other insurance-related provisions or exclusions relate to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Financial Stability Oversight Council, Orderly Liquidation Authority, Rule 151A elimination, and Corporate Governance and Executive Compensation requirements for publicly traded insurance companies. Read more...

HNWIs emigrating to Hong Kong under entrant scheme now may use insurance products

2010-07-27T16:37:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong has expanded a scheme aimed at encouraging wealthy people to move there to allow the inclusion of so-called investment-linked assurance scheme products (ILAS) – a category which includes offshore bonds – in the investments they are obliged to make to qualify. Read more...

World’s rich are hording $10trillion in cash

2010-07-19T10:34:00.000+08:00

How afraid are the wealthy right now? According to a report from Scorpio Partnership, the world’s high-net-worth investors (with US$1 million or more) have an extra US$10 trillion lying around that they refuse to turn over to their wealth managers, the Wealth Report.

Granted, these investors have US$16.5 trillion invested with private banks and wealth-management firms–up from US$14.5 trillion at the end of 2008, largely reflecting market gains. Read more...

Wealth Preservation

2010-07-15T14:49:00.003+08:00

I recently wrote an article commenting on the merits of considering financial investments a diversification away from business risks for the HNW clients our firm serves. Today I had the opportunity to expand on this in an interview on CNBC's Protect Your Wealth segment.

To read the article, you can go to IFC Review's website or email us for a copy.

Article link at IFC Review's website (registration required)

Lawyer's Heirs Fight Insurers In $56 Million Policy Intrigue

2010-06-14T13:38:00.000+08:00

Days after New York attorney Arthur Kramer died unexpectedly at age 81, members of his family seated in a lawyer's office were told that in his final years, he had taken out $56.2 million in life insurance.

There was a catch: They weren't the beneficiaries.

Mr. Kramer had bought seven large life-insurance policies and quickly arranged a sale of the right to claim the benefits. Investors, not relatives, would collect upon the death of the prominent attorney, the co-founder of law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and brother of playwright Larry Kramer. Read more...

Hedge Funds, Correlation and the Broader Market

2010-06-10T17:41:00.003+08:00

Back in January I made a brief point in a CNBC interview that, when looking for zero correlation assets, one would do well in considering the degree to which hedge funds in general tend to behave with a high degree of correlation to the broader equity markets. My point was that one of the few true asset classes with zero correlation to any market is, in fact, life policies.

A favorite source of interesting analysis and commentary has posted a very interesting analysis on hedge fund vs S&P correlation and I suggest you head over and take a look. Read more...

United States: House Votes To Limit GRATs

2010-04-08T11:39:00.000+08:00

A GRAT is often a useful and tax-efficient technique for transferring to children property that the transferor expects to appreciate in value. In taking advantage of this technique, the transferor (the "grantor" of the trust) creates an irrevocable trust, places property into the trust as a gift, and retains the right to a fixed payment each year until the GRAT term ends. Often the payments are described as percentages of the initial fair market value of the property transferred to the GRAT, and often those payments increase each year in order to reduce the amount of the taxable gift and to keep the largest amount of the appreciating assets in the GRAT as long as possible. Read more...

United States: Issues (and opportunities) caused by the repeal of the Estate Tax

2010-04-08T11:37:00.000+08:00

When the Economic Growth and Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2001 ("EGTRRA"), was signed into law back in the summer of 2001, almost no one seriously thought that the law would ever be given its full effect – that is, the ultimate repeal of the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes on January 1, 2010. However, through Congressional inaction for almost eight and a half years, the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes are, indeed, no more . . . at least until January 1, 2011, when due to the "sunset" of EGTRRA they are scheduled to be reinstated with a mere $1 million exemption and a top rate of 55%. Notwithstanding repeal of the federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, however, the federal gift tax remains in effect in 2010, with a $1 million exemption and a top rate of 35% (down from 45% in 2009). Furthermore, state level estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes remain unchanged. Read more...

Protect Your Wealth: Look to Exotic Markets

2010-03-30T14:00:00.003+08:00

As a follow-up to my last comment about diversifying risk, lowering volatility and taking some money off the table, a discussion ensued last week in a Protect Your Wealth segment on CNBC with Anna Edwards & Chloe Cho regarding the relative merits of emerging markets and their place in the portfolio of an investor trying to protect wealth.

I make the point that, as much needed reform takes place in e.g. Indonesia, markets will reward the progress with increased confidence and hence investment. As an investor seeking a balanced, low volatility portfolio, it's wise to avoid large-scale bets on expectations of successful reforms in some Asian countries, though they can not be ignored. They are not, however, a source of 'cheap' excess returns.

Fixed income portfolios continue to do well at the upper end of the ratings spectrum and despite a risk of some life insurers reducing crediting rates in their general accounts, still represent an excellent opportunity to both diversify ones portfolio as well as secure assets for generational wealth transfer.

A Heartfelt Thank You!

2010-03-15T16:22:00.005+08:00

As Charles Monat Associates, Singapore celebrates its 5th anniversary on March 19, we would like to thank all our Clients and Partners for giving us the opportunity to be of service.

Your confidence in us and our ability to implement complex solutions and service in force business for the long term, has seen our team grow from 5 to 18 dedicated professionals in a few short years. The financial markets have had their ups and downs in this period but we never wavered in our dedication to offering the highest level of service and support to you - our Partners.

As I was taking a walk down memory lane, I came across the picture above from our first office in Singapore - in Centennial Tower - in May 2005. In it can be seen Pat, Sheralyn and Eileen going about the day's business or, as we often did then, trying to figure out the complexities of a phone switch!

I would also like to thank our colleagues in Charles Monat Associates, Hong Kong for their cheerful support - you're a pleasure to work with!

Last, but certainly not least, allow me to thank the families; the spouses and significant others who put up with the crazy travel and long hours put in by everyone here at the firm. Thank you for supporting us and making it all possible.

We will close the office at 4pm on Friday March 19th in order for everyone to be able to attend the firm's anniversary party. We hope this won't cause any inconvenience and look forward to be back in the office on Monday 22nd.

Repositioning Your Portfolio

2010-02-18T17:16:00.002+08:00

In this segment of Capital Connection - Protect Your Wealth with CNBC's Anna Edwards and Maura Fogarty, I reiterate the value of fixed income securities, particularly longer dated assets, as a way to mitigate short term volatility risk in the current markets.

Fixed income is largely the assets underlying the guaranteed life policies we often use in effecting multi-generational wealth protection plans and, with their bond-like returns, they have certainly come into their own during the past 24 months, particularly as a hedge against market turmoil.

Are Hedge Funds Really Non-Correlated?

2010-01-27T14:18:00.003+08:00

In this segment of Preserve Your Wealth I comment on the downgrade of Japan's debt by S&P as a warning sign that real economic reform is expected by global investors, but caution that 90% of Japan's debt is held in domestic, private hands and a dramatic impact of this downgrade is unlikely.

I also make the point that when investors are looking for true, zero-correlated assets, they should look to life policies before hedge funds. True zero-correlation can only be found in assets with no positive or negative correlation to asset classes, whereas a hedge is typically structured to have negative correlation, i.e. to have an exact, inverse payoff-profile to the asset or risk we wish to hedge.

Zero correlation smooths returns and adds an element of certainty in an otherwise highly uncertain world.

Peace and Happiness

2009-12-17T15:12:00.003+08:00

As we enter the Season of Peace & Joy, we would like to take the opportunity to make, in our last blog post of 2009, a wish that Peace and Happiness will find a permanent place among us this Season and in the year to come.

As in the classic Norman Rockwell illustration, may we all find our way safely home to the love and acceptance that define who we are.

All of us in the CMA family wish you and your family Peace and Happiness during the Festive Season and we look forward to welcoming the challenges and opportunities of 2010 together.

Picking a Trustee, Family or Banker?

2009-12-08T12:03:00.000+08:00

Traditionally, most people have appointed family members, rather than bankers, to watch over the assets in their estates. But the turmoil in the the economy over the past 14 months has highlighted just how onerous the job of trustee can be. Not only are trustees charged with making sure assets are invested wisely; they also must be able to evaluate requests for distributions of cash to beneficiaries. In hard times like these, those requests can be both frequent and extremely touchy. Read more...

US Planning: Eight Steps To Protect Your Family

2009-11-30T13:20:00.000+08:00

With Congress likely to delay until next year a decision on the future of the estate tax, it's tempting to put off your own planning chores. Tempting, but risky. Assuming the current federal estate tax exemption of $3.5 million per person is eventually extended, few families need to worry about the federal tax. Yet a great many could end up in turmoil if other basic planning isn't done. Read more...

Estate Mistakes: Where Heath Ledger And Princess Di Went Wrong

2009-11-30T13:19:00.000+08:00

What do Princess Di, Marlon Brando, Heath Ledger, Jimi Hendrix and former Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger have in common? They all flubbed their estate planning, costing intended heirs money and/or grief, according to a readable (really) estate planning how-to book, Trial & Heirs. The new book uses these celebrity cliffhanger cases to dish out real-life advice. Read more...

Why Life Policies Will Help Preserve Wealth

2009-11-24T16:14:00.001+08:00

Premium life insurance policies have bond-like, returns, says Odd Haavik, MD & CEO of Charles Monat Associates, Singapore. He tells CNBC's Oriel Morrison that insurance is a good buffer against market volatility.

Odd Haavik interview on CNBC Nov 6

2009-11-06T18:28:00.001+08:00

With Martin Soong discussing the Taikang Life deal and the outlook for the insurance market in China and Asia in general.

Leading economies blamed for fiscal secrecy

2009-11-03T09:28:00.000+08:00

Leading economic centres including the US, UK and Singapore are among the countries most to blame for promoting international financial secrecy, according to a new index comparing the harm allegedly done by tax havens and rich nations.

The league table to be published on Monday by the Tax Justice Network, a respected campaign group, is led by the US state of Delaware and includes Luxembourg, Switzerland and Hong Kong in its top 10. Read more...

Tax spat freezes Italian-Swiss talks

2009-11-03T09:27:00.000+08:00

Switzerland on Sunday said it was freezing talks with Rome on a double taxation treaty in retaliation against a heavy-handed Italian crackdown on tax evasion.

“The agreement was ready to be signed on our side,” said Hans-Rudolf Merz, finance minister and head of state this year under Switzerland’s rotating presidency. Read more...

Odd Haavik interview on CNBC Oct 21

2009-10-22T09:18:00.002+08:00

We argue that now is the time to take money off the table in anticipation of a market consolidation towards the end of the year. A very conservative strategy at this point would be to channel some of the current liquidity into fixed-income strategies within general account life policies, getting a reasonable yield whilst, at the same time, ensuring sufficient liquidity.

Life policies are a near perfect zero-correlation asset class and can go a long way towards mitigating portfolio volatility.

Singapore signs up to more information exchange

2009-07-21T09:09:00.000+08:00

Singapore has announced its second tax information agreement in a week.

The protocol with Belgium, signed yesterday, follows the announcement on Tuesday that the government will sign an agreement to share information with France before the end of the year.

Under the new agreement, Singapore and Belgium will exchange information for tax matters on request, including information that may be held by a bank or trust company.

Singapore remains on the OECD's grey list of jurisdictions that have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented it. The government will need to sign 12 information exchange agreements before it makes the Organisation's white list. The agreement with Belgium is Singapore's first TIEA. Read more...

2009 World Wealth Report

2009-07-01T14:50:00.000+08:00

While World Wealth and High Net Worth Population shrink below 2005 levels, overall HNWI wealth expected to grow at annual rate of 8.1% by 2013. Download report (registration needed)...

Transparency is the New Gold Standard: U.S. Wealth Managers Must Redefine Role to Regain Trust in Current Environment, Says PricewaterhouseCoopers

2009-07-01T14:46:00.000+08:00

PricewaterhouseCoopers' report, entitled "A New Era: Redefining the Way to Deliver Trusted Advice," identifies significant changes affecting wealth managers, how they are responding with changes in their business and what senior private bankers and wealth managers see happening in the industry in the future. The report also looks at the qualitative impacts of the financial crisis over the first quarter of 2009. Based on survey responses from nearly 240 private banks and wealth managers, this year's report is the latest installment in a global survey first conducted in 1993. Read more...

Insurance Industry's Reputation Intact

2009-06-25T12:23:00.001+08:00

Mr. Monat with Martin Soong on CNBC's Protect Your Wealth.

GETTING PERSONAL: Think Twice Before Buying Children A Home

2009-06-24T10:03:00.000+08:00

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Low interest rates and depressed real estate prices have affluent parents asking their financial advisers if buying their children a house could accomplish a one-two punch of moving assets out of their estate while snagging a good deal on property.

The answer is, not exactly. Read more...

Canadian Life Insurers Assurance Facility launched

2009-06-24T09:52:00.001+08:00

On May 22, 2009, the Minister of Finance announced the launch of the Canadian Life Insurers Assurance Facility (CLIAF), which is intended to assist life insurance companies in accessing debt markets on competitive terms by insuring their wholesale term borrowing. The CLIAF is a component of Canada's implementation of the G7 Plan of Action to stabilize financial markets and support global economic growth.

Life insurance companies regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions are eligible to participate in the CLIAF, as are, with the Minister's approval, fraternal benefit societies and provincially regulated life insurers. Instruments eligible to be guaranteed under the CLIAF include newly-issued commercial paper, bearer notes and senior unsecured bonds and notes in which the underlying debt has been issued by a related entity. Other new senior unsecured marketable wholesale instruments may be eligible subject to the Minister's approval. Eligibility for the CLIAF requires a minimum issuance size of $1 million for Canadian-denominated issuances and $10 million for foreign-denominated issuances. Further, instruments must have a minimum term of three months from the date of issuance and the guarantee will apply for a maximum of three years. Read more...

Mr. Monat on SCMP TV

2009-06-15T11:40:00.000+08:00

Australia: ATO Targets Trusts In Tax Crackdown

2009-06-02T08:52:00.000+08:00

This was the headline for the main story in the Australian Financial Review on Monday 18 May 2009.

The article was triggered as a result of the issue by the ATO of a draft Practice Statement (DPS) in relation to the determination and taxation of trust income.

The approach suggested in the draft Practice Statement is not as draconian as suggested in the Financial Review article, but it does reflect a significant change in approach by the ATO. Go to Mondaq.com for full story.

UK - Tax planning: Information is the key to estate planning

2009-06-02T08:51:00.000+08:00

Estate planning to reduce inheritance tax bills requires a wealth of information on the clients and their assets to take full advantage of all the reliefs available, writes Jeremy Pearson of Canada Life. Read more...

Tax threat to traded life funds

2009-05-27T10:33:00.000+08:00

The US Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a 30 per cent withholding tax should be applied to profits derived from matured “stranger owned” life insurance policies, ie the second-hand policies that form the assets of the fast-growing life settlement fund industry. Read more...

Odd Haavik on Preserving Your Wealth on CNBC

2009-05-13T15:44:00.003+08:00

An appearance this morning on CNBC's 'Protect Your Wealth' with Martin Soong. The discussion ranged from what distinguishes Wealth Transfer Planning Consultants from Private Bankers and Family Offices to what proactive steps clients can take, today, to ensure a successful inter generational estate transfer.

Charles Monat restructures in line with fair dealing guidelines

2009-05-11T14:31:00.000+08:00

Charles Monat Associates, a provider of wealth transfer and liquidity planning solutions to high-net-worth clients, has changed its organisational structure to support the guidelines on fair dealing for financial institutions recently released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Read more...

The Sales Profession: Attention Must Still Be Paid

2009-05-08T14:42:00.000+08:00

ASIDE from some gardening and baby-sitting in my neighborhood when I was a child, my first summer job was in the summer of 1962, just before my first year of college. It was at Shoe Giant, a large discount shoe store in Langley Park, in Prince George’s County of Maryland, and I got the job thanks to a high school pal who also worked there. Read more...

Sun Life Financial reports Q1 results

2009-05-08T10:53:00.002+08:00

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX/NYSE: SLF) reported a net operating loss of C$186MM for the first quarter of 2009. MCCSR ratio is at a healthy 223% and the risk based capital ratio for Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (US) is at 357%. www.sunlife.com
SLFQ1.pdf

Three Generations of Family Entrepreneurship, Conflict, Transitions and Connection From Swords to Ploughshares

2009-04-03T09:42:00.000+08:00

Harry McNeely Sr started a storage and transport company with his brother-in-law in 1916. Whereas his sons, Don & Harry Jr, were taken into the company, Harry Sr made provision for his two daughters to be financially independent but gave them no stake in the family business. After his death, the daughters contested the will and were made minority shareholders, but not before the family had endured the largest court ordered business liquidation in Minnesota's history. Interesting case study from INSEAD

NASDAQ Insurance Index

2009-03-20T15:07:00.002+08:00

The NASDAQ Insurance index continues its recovery and is now close to flat on a 5-year horizon. Review chart

Mr. Monat with Bernie Lo on Bloomberg

2009-03-19T15:48:00.003+08:00

Mr. Monat appears on Bernie Lo's show together with Dr. Marc Faber.

Singapore vows to relax tough bank secrecy laws

2009-03-10T11:48:00.000+08:00

Singapore's finance ministry said it would amend its bank secrecy laws in mid-2009 to take account of the OECD's standards on exchange of information. "Once the legislative amendments are passed in parliament, Singapore is prepared to negotiate and conclude double taxation agreements that will enable us to provide further assistance for exchange of information." Read more...

U.S. Is Said to Offer $30 Billion More to Help A.I.G.

2009-03-02T10:58:00.001+08:00

The federal government agreed Sunday night to provide an additional $30 billion in taxpayer money to the American International Group and loosen the terms of its huge loan to the insurer, which is preparing to report a $62 billion loss on Monday, the biggest quarterly loss in history, people involved in the discussions said. Read more...

Mr. Monat interviewed on CNBC regarding the state of the insurance market

2008-10-17T13:15:00.000+08:00

Singapore Abolishes Estate Duty Part II

2008-02-15T17:23:00.002+08:00

The full text of Minister for Finance and Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam's budget speech can be found on www.singaporebudget.gov.sg.

We quote from the paragraph announcing the removal of Estate Duty:

4.76 I have therefore decided to remove Estate Duty from our tax regime, with effect from today. It is not just a practical or expedient measure, but one that on balance will be in our collective interest. If we make Singapore an attractive place for wealth to be invested and built up, whether by Singaporeans or foreigners who bring their assets here, it will benefit our whole economy and society, not just the individuals who build up their wealth. It is not a zero sum game.

Read the Estate Duty part of Minister Shanmugaratnam's speech

Singapore Abolishes Estate Duty

2008-02-15T17:19:00.001+08:00

SINGAPORE, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Friday it will keep income tax unchanged, a surprise move that leaves the top personal rate at 20 percent, and said the small city-state could not insulate itself from global inflation.
"We will not be making any further move on personal income tax this year," Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam told parliament in the presentation of his budget for the fiscal year beginning in April 2008. Read more...

UK Non-residents and non-domiciliaries – the draft new rules

2008-02-01T16:05:00.000+08:00

The new rules for taxing UK resident non-domiciled individuals and for calculating periods of UK residence have finally been released (in draft) more than three months after their announcement in the Pre-Budget Report. The proposed provisions are even broader and more draconian than was anticipated and, to the extent that planning to mitigate their effects is possible, there is little more than two months available to do so. In context, however, there continue to be significant benefits for UK resident non-domiciliaries for inheritance tax purposes, and in respect of untaxed remittances to the UK.

The linked PDF outlines some of the more salient points and is used with the premission of Lawrence Graham LLP.

LG%20Tax%20%26%20Private%20Capital%20notes%20-%20January%202008.pdf

The business of families

2007-11-26T11:01:00.000+08:00

Families have certain dynamics -- complex, fluid and emotional -- while businesses have very different ones. So what happens when the two combine? Read more...

Use a will or a trust in estate planning?

2007-11-26T10:55:00.000+08:00

Many people are confused about whether to use a will or a trust in estate planning. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

A will is a legal and binding contract that allows you to name a personal representative to administer your affairs upon your death. You can name a guardian for any minor children, provide for special needs for children or a spouse and leave instructions for the distribution of your assets. In the will, you can leave property to someone who would not otherwise inherit under the state’s intestacy law — if you passed without a will. You can disinherit someone via your will, except for your spouse unless the spouse agrees to not receiving the inheritance. Read more...

Therapists Tackle Emotional Burden of Being Rich

2007-11-16T09:46:00.000+08:00

For ultra-rich clients, financial-advisory firms provide all kinds of specialists. There are wealth planning specialists, risk management specialists, insurance specialists, trust specialists, and so on. Firms are starting to recognize, however, that this array of specialists isn't qualified for the more emotional — and sometimes darker — side of big bucks. Read more...

A Defective But Useful Trust

2007-11-16T09:44:00.000+08:00

The sunset provision that was built into the gradual repeal of the estate tax is beginning to loom on the horizon, and wealthy taxpayers are doing everything possible to reduce their taxable estates before the provision takes effect in 2011. Read more...

Buffett Backs Estate Tax

2007-11-16T09:39:00.000+08:00

Berkshire-Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett showed his support for the estate tax Wednesday, testifying before the Senate Committee on Finance that the so-called “death tax” is actually a “death present,” and to repeal it would be another step in the road to an American aristocracy.

Referencing the ever-widening income gap and the enormous increase in wealth of the richest Americans, the billionaire Buffett stated that ``A meaningful estate tax is needed to prevent our democracy from becoming a dynastic plutocracy.'' Read more...

The Role of Advisors in Charitable Planning and Decision Making

2007-11-16T09:31:00.000+08:00

A very interesting survey from Registered Rep magazine, sponsored by Schwab Charitable shows increased opportunities for Charitable Planning conversations with clients.

Schwab_whitepaper.pdf

Lloyd Blankfein and Ken Moelis on Wall Street Risks, Rewards and Opportunities

2007-11-16T09:27:00.000+08:00

When Merrill Lynch reported solid second-quarter earnings last July, chairman and CEO Stan O'Neal sent employees a memo boasting about the firm's risk management prowess. Only three months later, Merrill Lynch took its historic $8.4 billion write-down for losses in mortgage-related securities, with Citigroup and others soon reporting unprecedented credit losses as well. O'Neal and Citigroup chairman and CEO Charles Prince were both ousted from their jobs. Read more...

Hong Kong’s millionaires stay ahead of those in Singapore

2007-11-12T09:05:00.000+08:00

Hong Kong will continue to stay ahead of Singapore in terms of its number of millionaires and the assets they hold, according to a recent report by London-based market research firm Datamonitor.

The number of Hong Kong millionaires will increase by 8.8% annually to 83,000 in 2011 from 51,000 in 2006. In Singapore, that number will increase by 7.3% annually to 29,000 millionaires in 2011 from 19,000 in 2006. Read more...

Norway's oil fund to grow to $600 bln

2007-11-07T13:10:00.000+08:00

Norway's oil fund, which invests the country's oil wealth, is expected to grow to $600 billion in four to five years from $350 billion currently, central bank governor Svein Gjedrem said on Tuesday. Read more...

Now flush, Norway turns tables on Sweden

2007-11-07T13:08:00.000+08:00

Long a poor cousin in Scandinavia, Norway has surpassed Sweden to become one of the richest countries in the world and a magnet for young Swedes ready to work hard to make a quick - and rather big - buck. Read more...

Succession Planning: Readers and Experts Talk

2007-11-07T12:58:00.000+08:00

The Oct. 22 Small Business Link looked at ways small companies had planned for a change in management at the top.

We asked Tim Berry, founder and president of Palo Alto Software Inc. in Eugene, Ore., and Andrea Fetterman, director of corporate-image consulting at City Apparel, an offshoot of uniform and dry-cleaning business Kramer Enterprises Inc., in Findlay, Ohio, to be guest moderators on a reader forum on WSJ.com about succession planning. Read more...

Tax changes likely for estates

2007-11-07T12:52:00.000+08:00

If you have assets of more than $1 million, the cost of not planning will come in the form of potentially higher taxes if you die after 2010. That's when the current estate tax exemption (the amount that's not subject to tax) of $2 million in assets expires and reverts to the 2001 exemption of $1 million. The higher exemption was the result of President Bush's tax cut plan, which expires in 2010. Read more...

How to Handle Beneficiary Designations

2007-11-07T12:50:00.000+08:00

The decision about how to designate beneficiaries for your company retirement plan, life insurance policies, and other assets might seem like a no-brainer. Chances are you would like those near and dear to you to inherit any money you've accumulated during your lifetime, so making sure that happens should be as simple as writing their names on the appropriate forms, right? Read more...

Retirement planning: Key points you must know

2007-11-07T12:49:00.000+08:00

The younger generation has fancy ideas about retirement. Many dream of retiring early, and then pursuing their hobbies or passions, or seeing the world extensively. Whether you subscribe to this view or whether you have the more traditional view of retirement, i.e. retire at 60, plan the occasional pilgrimage and devote time to reading or spirituality, it helps plan well and in advance. Read more...

S'pore financial institutions can tap into DIFC's family office framework

2007-10-24T14:34:00.000+08:00

Family wealth management or family office is emerging as a new area of focus in the financial sector.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is setting the pace with a new incentive to define a family office in a legal capacity.

It said Singapore-based financial institutions can tap into the framework and leverage on the rising number of high net worth families in this region. Read more...

Private banks target family offices

2007-10-24T14:32:00.000+08:00

Private bankers see little threat from "family office" practices -- units set up to typically manage money for one wealthy family or a small group of them -- and instead regard them as opportunities to win more business.

"Family offices are very close to our heart," Reinhard Krafft, head of private banking at German bank Sal Oppenheim, told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit. Read more...

Tax changes likely for estates

2007-10-24T14:29:00.000+08:00

Few people want to think about planning for death, but when 2011 gets here, more may wish they had.

If you have assets of more than $1 million, the cost of not planning will come in the form of potentially higher taxes if you die after 2010. That's when the current estate tax exemption (the amount that's not subject to tax) of $2 million in assets expires and reverts to the 2001 exemption of $1 million. The higher exemption was the result of President Bush's tax cut plan, which expires in 2010. Read more...

Hong Kong tax cut to boost growth

2007-10-11T08:42:00.001+08:00

Donald Tsang said taxes would be cut by 1 percentage point, to 16.5% for firms and 15% for individuals, in the first policy speech of his new term. Read more...

Singapore dollar at 10-year highs

2007-10-10T15:50:00.000+08:00

Not entirely unrelated to Estate Planning and Wealth Transfer, our old friend Charlie Lay is quoted in this story on AFP. Read more...

UK 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review

2007-10-10T15:41:00.000+08:00

Go straight to HM Treasury and get the latest on the pre-budget, including some changes to the IHT. If you're in our industry, you'll find the double IHT allowance in Chap 5 of interest. Take me there, forthwith!

Chancellor plans £2bn tax raid on businesses

2007-10-10T15:34:00.000+08:00

The Chancellor said he would collect the extra tax from entrepreneurs selling businesses over the next three years by scrapping a relief that reduces the rate they currently pay on business assets held for two years to 10pc. Read more...

Charles Monat profiled in Hong Kong Business October Issue

2007-10-10T09:51:00.000+08:00

Charles Monat, Chairman of Charles Monat Associates is profiled in Hong Kong Business magazine for October.

HongKongBusiness%20Oct%202007.pdf

What's Ahead for Financial Markets? Perspectives from Jeremy Siegel and Jacob Wallenberg

2007-10-04T14:42:00.000+08:00

After a terrible August, when the U.S. stock market appeared to be headed for the pits, October 1 saw a massive rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring above 14,000. Markets seemed to be celebrating the effects of the Fed's interest rate cut, and media reports said money was pouring back into equities. The following day, however, stocks began to fall again -- because the National Association of Realtors reported a sharp drop in home sales. In short, Wall Street still seems to be sending out mixed signals. Read more...

Family council the right forum to navigate to next generation

2007-10-02T10:38:00.000+08:00

Establishing a family council is one of core elements in succession planning to close the gaps between patriarchs and descendants and sustain the success of family businesses.Succession planning, or preparing to pass the torch from one generation to the next, has become increasingly important for family businesses, especially for those that have grown over one or two generations into substantial corporate entities. However, many risk serious problems or even failure during the transitional period from the ageing founders to the next generation. Read more...

To Sell or Not to Sell?

2007-10-02T10:32:00.000+08:00

The toughest moment for the owners of a family business may be deciding whether to kiss it goodbye. Read more...

Going out on top

2007-10-02T10:30:00.000+08:00

Thinking about passing the torch? Here are six ways to ensure that your fortunes are set, your family is satisfied and your company succeeds Read more...