Olympic athletes are at the peak of their careers, but even they need rest days to stay healthy. Sometimes financial markets need to reset from record-setting performance, too. Here’s what you need to know about bear, or down, markets. To read the full article in Hartford Funds, click: 10 Things You Should Know About Bear Markets. ...

Company retirement plans have changed significantly over the past few decades, with a few trends coming on strong. In light of the fact that 401(k) participants are famously hands-off, plans have increasingly added “nudge” features to get more people saving: Roughly two thirds of plans now offer automatic enrollment, for example, up from just about half in 2012. Roth accounts have also shot up in popularity ...

Public company auditors remain the group investors trust most to protect their interests, but investors’ confidence in U.S. capital markets and U.S. public companies has dropped in the past year, according to a Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) survey report released Tuesday. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: Investors Trust Auditors, But Confidence in U.S. Markets Drops. ...

Business economists have grown a little less optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy as a result of U.S. trade policies.  The National Association of Business Economists reports that its survey of 45 professional economic forecasters now projects a median 2.8% growth in real GDP from Q4 2017 to Q4 2018, down from 2.9% three months ago. To read the full article in Think Advisor, click: A Mixed Outl ...

Ways 1 through 15 (Part I of II) This is the first of a two-part article, where Edward Mendlowitz shares fifteen of the thirty ways to structure a transfer of a business to a successor. Mendlowitz stresses that a succession plan is important and too often overlooked by business owner(s) involved in day-to-day operations. Capturing the value and having a strategy in place provides ongoing cash flow, a degree ...

  Barely six months into 2014, General Motors (GM) has recalled more vehicles than it sold in the five years since it filed for bankruptcy. In February alone, 2.6 million vehicles were recalled for an ignition problem that’s been attributed to at least 13 deaths. Even so, the GM stock price has remained completely neutral since April. How is the stock valuation immune to such a corporate and public rel ...

A summary of recent federal and state court cases involving final partner administrative adjustments, mergers, and matrimonial law This month we highlight four cases.  The first is Rovakat, a federal appellate court decision where a claimed redemption was deemed a sale of stock. The In re MFW Shareholder Litigation case involves a motion for summary judgment where a majority of the minority shareholders app ...

California Sanctions Husband for Hidden Account. Wisconsin Finds ESOP Was Properly Governed In White v. Marshall & Isley Corporation, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin dismisses a case asserting that employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries violated their duty of prudence. In re: Simmons, tried in the Court of Appeals of California, found the husband subject to additi ...

Plus: Bishop v. Commissioner Rules on When and Whether a Bad Debt Loss Can Be a Claimed Deduction In Schwab v. Commissioner, a case turns on when a variable universal life insurance policy is a taxable event.  In Boone Operations Co., LLC v. Commissioner, find out when contributing fill dirt to the city of Tucson is or isn’t a charitable or taxable event. ...

Recent Cases Consider: Fair Market Value in Arkansas, Equalization Payments and Healthcare Credits in Iowa, and Valuations Based on Future Cash Flow in Louisiana Judge Wiggins in Iowa rules In re Marriage of McDermott on equalization payments and tax credits for health insurance payments.  In Louisiana, Judge Williams finds a valuation in Fancher v. Prudhomme invalid since it was based on assumed cash flow— ...

A Valuation Misstatement Results in Tax Underpayment; An Appraisal is “Not Qualified.” In Alpha I, L.P., v. United States, Judge O’Malley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit considers the legitimacy of certain partnership transfers to charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs).  In Rothman v. Commissioner, Judge Laro at the U.S. Tax Court rules on the importance of a “qualified appraisal.”  ...

Top State Courts Consider the Value of Goodwill, the Legitimacy of the Income Method of Valuation In State of Texas v. Clear Channel Outdoor, the Texas Court of Appeals considers testimony from an expert regarding the income method of valuation for the billboards; in Walsh v. Walsh, the Court of Appeals of Arizona reassesses the realizable benefits of stock redemption value in a law firm, and determines the ...

Cases in Ohio, Delaware Assess Acquisition Share Value, Family Business In Iacampo v. Oliver Iacampo, the Ohio Court of Appeals rules on the appropriate use of experts in valuing a family business, the nature of passive income, and financial help from the wife’s parents. In Delaware,  Gaerreald v. Just Care, Inc. turns on proper methods for determining share value, the value of an expert opinion, and defere ...

In Palmerino v. Palmerino, the Massachusetts Court of Appealsconsidered whether a trial court erred in valuing the husband’s grocery store. The trial court’s approach had not included discounts—and went further to state that the income approach is preferable for valuation.  Find out what the court decides!  In Giaimo v. Vitale, the Supreme Court of New York considers the dissolution of a company called EGA ...

Case Law—State: American Ethanol, Inc. v. Cordillera Fund, LP In American Ethanol, Inc. v. Cordillera Fund, LP, the Supreme Court of Nevada is required to weigh in on fair market value. A lower court had judged that stockholders were fairly paid some $1.75M (about $3 per share) for American Ethanol at the time of the merger. American Ethanol appealed, claiming it was worth more. Part of its argument was tha ...