Publications
Don’t Blame Venture Capitalists For SVB's Collapse
Better decision-making processes, not railing against venture capitalists, are some of the lessons that should come out of the Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. From an estate planning perspective, the issue is not so much what the venture capitalists did, as much as how they came to the decision they did to advise their portfolio companies to withdraw funds from the bank. This is most likely because most venture capitalists who are controlling the funds are, at their core, entrepreneurs and use an action-based decision-making process.
Tax Planning for Stock Options
Stock options, that is the contractual right to buy the stock of an employer by an employee at a discount price, remains a popular way for companies to compensate employees without incurring an immediate financial cost, and for employees to receive some participation in the equity of the company without incurring immediate income taxes. If you have stock options, whether Qualified or Non-Quantified, is important to consider not only when you might exercise the options during your lifetime, but also how you might hold the options after your death.
Climate Change is Code Red for Humanity: Is ESG Investment Code Red for Fiduciaries?
Confusion lies in which ESG factors in investing a fiduciary should consider. Factors that directly benefit a beneficiary of the trust are allowed, but not factors that benefit a third party based on a moral or ethical basis, and only indirectly benefit the trust beneficiaries. The assumption that an ESG investment will always outperform a non-ESG investment alone can’t justify prioritizing ESG factors. More is required when drafting trusts and other documents.
Alternatives to Investing in the Stock Market
During the course of almost 35 years of settling estates for a diverse group of clients, and seeing the results of their investments, I’ve seen first-hand the range of investment opportunities beyond publicly traded stocks. Investing in real estate, debt, tangible assets, starting your own business are a few alternative investment ideas.