A growing number of affluent individuals and families want to make a major difference in the world by supporting causes and charities that are deeply meaningful to them. But they often don’t know how to maximize the impact of their philanthropy—or effectively balance their charitable desires with their financial needs and responsibilities. As a result, they do nothing—or make charitable donations that don’t go as far as they good.  In this month’s Flash Report, Do Well, Do Good: The Power of Charitable Remainder Trusts, we’ll show you a tool that can potentially create a sizable philanthropic legacy with real oomph—while also enabling you to save on taxes and generate an income stream for yourself.

In this month’s Flash Report, Elite Wealth Planning: What It Is and Why It Matters, we’ll show you just what makes elite wealth planning so unique and distinct from the traditional, plain-vanilla financial planning everybody is familiar with. We’ll also reveal how you can make this powerful type of planning an important part of a toolset that can help you grow, protect and enjoy your wealth—for decades to come. ​

What if you received a large sum of money out of the blue through an inheritance, settlement, stock options or other type of big payout? While it might seem like all your problems would be solved, the fact is that sudden wealth can come with unexpected issues and challenges.  In this month’s Flash Report, Sudden Wealth: What Should You Do If You Strike It Rich?, we’ll show you why “getting rich quick” can create serious financial and relationship problems—along with a process to avoid the pitfalls of sudden wealth and get set up for success. 

Impact investing—using wealth to create positive change in the world while also benefiting financially—has become increasingly popular, as the idea of “doing well by doing good” has gained traction among investors.  Now there’s a new type of impact investment—called Qualified Opportunity Funds—that is worth checking out if you’re looking to build wealth, reduce a capital gains tax, and improve communities across the country. For investors with these goals, the funds can potentially be a powerful part of an overall wealth plan.

​The decisions families make about their wealth—how to manage, transfer and spend it—can lead to serious conflicts among family members. With affluence comes the risk of family in-fighting that can damage a family’s financial position and even ruin intra-family relationships forever. The good news: It doesn’t have to be that way.  
 
This month’s Flash Report, The Value of Multigenerational Family Meetings, reveals a formal process used by ultra-wealthy families to educate heirs and potential heirs about sound financial decision-making, to identify shared family financial values and to maintain (and grow) family wealth in a unified and harmonious manner. 

This month’s Flash Report, The Importance of Personal Umbrella Policies, sets out in plain language how an umbrella policy works, what it covers and how much coverage you might need. I hope you find it useful as you consider whether to give your family’s assets this extra layer of protection.  As always,  this report was brought to us by the BSW Inner Circle, a global financial concierge group that keeps up to date on the latest research and strategies for addressing the key concerns of successful people like you.

We all find ourselves in conversations where it’s important to connect with and understand the other person while still communicating our own aims and point of view. The secret is to ask very insightful questions—and then to be an engaged listener. 
This month’s Flash Report, Insightful Questions That Can Ramp Up Your Success, sets out the most important questions you can ask, along with why, how and when to ask them, to build rapport and increase the chance of generating positive outcomes.

Trusts can be a good tool for minimizing taxes, transferring wealth and protecting assets. However, a particular challenge can arise when families give up more control over their trusts than they need to, which can potentially put their goals for their trusts at risk. This month’s Flash Report sets out three options for helping ensure that you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to maximizing your trust’s effectiveness.