Wealth and finance industry story-based white papers, case studies, reported stories, blog posts, thought leadership. Also: personal finance, small business development, and family business. Research expert.
Seeds of a legacy
For 150 years, Black-owned Gilliard Farms has remained both ahead of its time and rooted in history. Here's its story.
Six Ways to Protect, Preserve and Restore Your Wealth in Any Economic Environment
Investors face ongoing economic volatility, particularly related to government fiscal policies. So, it’s essential you adopt strategies that go beyond conventional advice to protect, preserve and restore your wealth. Here are six practical approaches that can help you navigate uncertainty, protect your assets and position your portfolio for long-term growth.
How to Spot and Avoid Investment Scams
Affluent investors are not immune to fraud. In fact, their wealth and appetite for high-return opportunities often make them prime targets for investment scams. Here's how to protect yourself.
Renovate Without the Hassle: Synovus Makes Luxury Home Upgrades Effortless
You've finally decided to turn your charming but outdated beach house into the luxury retreat you envisioned. Or maybe you're ready to move forward with that long-awaited gourmet upgrade of the kitchen in your primary residence. But you want it to be effortless. Here's how a Synovus renovation loan can help. (This is a marketing piece.)
A Landmark Dealmaker
Lisa Lim ’86 says Wellesley instilled in her a drive to solve complex problems and create opportunities for communities. In our interview, she discussed her almost 30-year legal career and describes how her education helped her become a prominent New York City real estate dealmaker.
Sleeper Accounts: How To Protect Your Finances From This Hidden Threat
Sleeper accounts are fraudulent bank accounts opened using stolen personal information.1 These accounts can remain inactive for extended periods before being exploited for illicit activities. However, they may get used right away, and without your knowledge. To protect your financial well-being, it's crucial to understand how sleeper accounts operate — and how to prevent someone from opening one in your name.
Protect Your Wealth With the Right Liability Insurance
For affluent individuals and families, the possibility of liability claims can threaten their hard-earned wealth. While 92% of households express concern about potential lawsuits, only 28% carry enough liability insurance. This means many individuals face a significant coverage gap that could lead to significant losses. That's why the right liability insurance is essential. Here's what to consider.
The High Cost of Belonging: Safeguarding Your Wealth Against Affinity Fraud
Affinity fraud can pose a significant threat to you, especially during social and community gatherings where trust within the group is high. The close nature of these groups often leads members to invest based on trust rather than due diligence. That makes them prime targets for such schemes. Fraudsters take advantage of these relationships to convince victims that an investment opportunity is exclusive, safe and endorsed by their peers. Here's how to prevent affinity fraud.
Navigating the Emotional Landscape of Wealth
Wealth brings multiple wonderful opportunities, but it can also present unique emotional challenges in your life. With significant financial success often comes a complex psychological landscape filled with unexpected burdens and threats. Learning how to navigate them can preserve your mental health--and your wealth.
How to Avoid Five Common Pitfalls During Wealth Transfer
Transferring wealth to the next generation is a complex process fraught with potential pitfalls. Not understanding the most common mistakes in the process can lead to multiple issues, including fractured family relationships. Here are some common pitfalls, along with strategies for overcoming them to ensure a smooth and effective transfer of wealth to your heirs.
Essential Cybersecurity Tips for Protecting Your Assets
This blog post provides mass affluent and emerging HNW readers with essential tips to fortify their digital defenses and safeguard financial assets from ever-evolving cyber threats. Adopting the proactive stance of sophisticated fraudsters, the post outlines a multi-layered cybersecurity strategy—from promptly installing software updates and leveraging secure password managers, to hardening home networks with encryption and firewalls. It advocates engaging financial monitoring services, utilizing AI-driven cybersecurity programs, and promoting continuous family education on emerging risks.
Diversifying Your Portfolio with Real Estate: Pros and Cons
Explore the potential benefits and risks of adding real estate to your portfolio mix. This blog post can provide you with an informed perspective about pursuing this alternative path to growing your net worth strategically. The piece examines how investing in residential properties can generate rental income, leverage appreciation, provide tax advantages, and hedge against inflation. But, it also covers crucial drawbacks, like liquidity constraints, maintenance costs, vacancy risks, and concentration risk.
White Paper: Reaching Executive Women: An Overlooked — and Growing — Investor Segment
High net worth and ultra-high net worth executive women often get overlooked by wealth management advisors as viable clients. But, this multi-trillion dollar market is a growing—and lucrative—investor segment. From this white paper, advisors learn why this important investor segment has value to them and how to reach this market.
(Inclusion of this writing sample in my portfolio does not represent an endorsement of me or my work by FlexShares or Northern Trust.)
White Paper: Customize your clients' ESG experience
Increasingly, investors are interested in aligning their investment portfolios around their
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values. Savvy financial professionals are taking the necessary steps to identify their clients' interests and values to help them meet their investing goals. This research-backed white paper shows financial professionals how to provide customized client experiences that meet their ESG investing requirements.
What it Means to be Executor of a Will
It's an honor when a friend or loved one trusts you to become their estate executor. But being a will executor is a significant responsibility. It makes you their fiduciary and it can be time-consuming and expensive. It may come with emotional challenges, particularly related to dealing with the departed's remaining family. Here's how to overcome those emotional and logistical challenges.