Westwood Insights

First Look 2020: Melt Up May Continue

If you asked most investors at the end of 2018 where the country would be...

How to Capture and Honor Intent and Values for Private Foundation...

One of the goals that many successful individuals have in common is a desire...

2019 Holiday Shopping Trends and Black Friday Top 10

Lauren Hill, CFA provides holiday shopping trends for 2019 and Westwood’s Black Friday top 10...

Navigating Airport Security

Since 2001, airport security has evolved dramatically. Procedures change as new threats are identified. TSA...

Year-End Tax-Wise Charitable Giving Tips

During the last quarter of each year, most of us experience an increase in...

Ambiguous Loss and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Discussion with Sheli...

Ambiguous loss is a form of grief that occurs when there is a disparity...

Determining the Right Time to Give

The desire to provide support to family members through financial gifts is a very...

Capital Markets Outlook | Third Quarter 2019 Review

Looking back, equity markets ended the quarter modestly higher despite all the same macroeconomic...

How the New Tariffs on Chinese Goods Will Impact Your Wallet

No matter where you land along the political spectrum, it’s hard to avoid...

The Quiet Millionaire Next Door: How a Humble Janitor Amassed an ...

From modest beginnings in rural Vermont, Ronald James Read was the first of his...

Managing Organizational Risk

Many years ago, when I was comparing notes with a fellow CEO on the...

On My Bookshelf: The Algebra of Happiness

In his refreshingly honest book, “The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of...

Cybersecurity: How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Be cyber secure. Protect yourself against identity theft.

Financial Planning: Properly Insuring Assets

As advisors who look at the full scope of a client’s financial aff...

Capital Markets Outlook | Second Quarter 2019 Review

Looking back, the first half of 2019 saw a dramatic reversal as the equity markets...

Tech Trends: Bitcoin, ESG and Efficiency

Bitcoin and ESG continue to be areas of interest for investors. How do these...

2019 Mid-Year Update: Cautious Optimism Dominates

As we enter the second half of 2019, it’s important to understand the factors...

Top Tech Trends of 2019: Artificial Intelligence, 5G and Augmente...

We interviewed William Sheehan, CFA®, Vice President, Research Analyst, to share our perspectives on...

What We’re Watching: Trade Wars, Global Sentiment, Inflation an...

The developing image of continued economic growth in 2019 is slowly starting to form, but...

Private Foundations or Donor-Advised Funds

One of the questions we get most often when talking with our clients about...

Education Planning: Choosing a Funding Vehicle

There are several funding vehicles that can be utilized for education expenses. At Westwood,...

The Rising Cost of Education

The rising cost of education in the United States is nearing crisis levels, putting...

Capital Markets Outlook | First Quarter 2019 Review

The stock market made an impressive comeback in the first quarter of 2019, ending the...

Pessimism Does Not Pay: A Look at Optimists on the Forbes 400

The Commodore and Estate Planning

“I AM NOT DYING!” was the thunderous retort from the Commodore in the upstairs...

The Price of Admission

It has often been said that the financial markets tend to move in the...

Charitable Giving in Retirement

When we think about retirement, our thoughts often focus on dream vacations, the pursuit...

On My Bookshelf: “Raising Financially Fit Kids” by Jo...

“How do I teach my children how to manage money?” is a question that...

Understanding Social Security Retirement Benefits Factors

Social Security retirement benefits are an important income stream for many Americans. However, several...

2018: The Year Without a Santa Claus

Every past decline looks like an opportunity, while every future decline looks like a...

Pocket Passers and Savvy Scramblers

A friend confided to me recently that while he has been adding money to...

Common Tax Strategies for Charitable Giving

Every year, millions of Americans make donations to various charitable organizations. In addition to...

5 Ways to Start Giving to Charity

Charitable giving can feel overwhelming when you are not sure how to approach it....

Financial Planning Steps for the Ages

Financial planning is an ongoing process that needs to be reviewed and adjusted over...

Nonprofit Governance: Defining the Role of the Board vs. the CEO

One of the most important aspects of nonprofit management governance relates to the different,...

On My Bookshelf: Start With Why by Simon Sinek

One of the most important lessons I have learned from my 20 years of working...

Donor-Advised Funds, or “Philanthropic Fracking”

Bloomberg reports that donor-advised funds (DAF) are all the rage among the super-wealthy these...

Value Stocks are Screaming for a Reversion to the Mean. Is Anyone...

The performance disparity between growth and value has not been this stark since 1999, at...

A Lesson in Planning for Retirement: 3 Powerful Partners for Grow...

When thinking about retirement planning, it can be a daunting task for a young...

All Tech All the Way? Think Again

Since 1990, there have only been three instances where a sector weight in the S&...

Planting Seeds in the Permian Basin

Current expectations for production growth (to a planned 5.3 million bpd by the end of 2020)...

Planning Considerations for 2018 and Beyond

Public Law No. 115-97, informally referred to as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (...

What to Do as a Beneficiary of an IRA

So, you are a beneficiary of an IRA. Now what? The baby boomers are...

On My Bookshelf: The Cycle of the Gift

Twenty million dollars was an extreme amount of wealth in 1980. How did your family...

Tax-Wise Charitable Giving

With year-end appeals from charitable organizations just around the corner, I want to offer...

The Curious Case of Grace Groner

I don’t know much about Geology, but I do know that the growth...

Recessions, Lions, Tigers and Bears

Even if you could predict a recession, would it help you in the long-run...

Retirement – Meeting Your Spending Needs

Day one of retirement may bring about some new and unsettling feelings. What becomes...

On My Bookshelf: The Speed of Trust

“The Speed of Trust,” an interesting book by Stephen M.R. Covey, reminds us...

3 Reasons Why You Should Never Bet Against the U.S. Economy

If one picture can display the long-term growth of the U.S. economy and...

Restarting Your Family’s Charitable Engine

It’s been said that philanthropy begins at home — and often at a very...

Highlights of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” a...

From One Generation to Another

Our valuable clients may work and plan for their whole lives, creating and building...

Creating a Lasting Legacy with Family Values

Once you and your advisor have determined that you have sufficient resources for a...

Family Wealth: Keeping It in the Family

The fortunes accumulated throughout history by relatively few families around the world are staggering....

Retirement – A Journey, Not a Destination

When helping clients plan for retirement, we encourage them to think of it as...

The Benefits of Tax Loss Harvesting

Investors face challenges on many fronts in today’s environment. Investment returns are usually...

Estate Planning in a Digital Age

Living in a digital age, it is hard to find an area of our...

Are You Charitable or Philanthropic?

According to Giving USA: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2016 (2017), Americans gave...

Requesting Major Gifts or “Major Gift Solicitation”

Many of our clients make generous charitable gifts and contribute their time and expertise...

The Paradox of Passive

What is good for investors individually is not necessarily good for investors as a...

The Volatility of Stock Market Returns Is Not the Problem

Investors loaded up on tech stocks in 1999 when they were all the rage; then...

Trends | Online Retail Growth

How are online retailers disrupting the market?

Endowments

Endow is a powerful word. According to Merriam-Webster, it means “to furnish with an...

Growing Wealth

A man visited a corn farm one day. Seeing the very tall corn stalks...

Dollars and Daffodils

What does it take to grow wealthy over time? Here is an interesting story...