Academic Studies of Asset Management Trends
The Wharton Global Family Alliance whitepaper was released in 2008 to study the investment strategies of single family offices in the United States and in Europe. The research was segregated into sub-groups representing those with less than $1 billion in assets and those with assets above $1 billion. The study found that U.S. families reported a more aggressive attitude toward investment objectives than their counterparts in Europe. One recommendation of the WGFA study advised the advisors and family offices serving this niche to avoid complexity in the structure of portfolios.
The authors cite that the more complex the portfolio and number of holdings, the more difficult the job of performing adequate governance, reporting, and education. The Institute for Private Investors, a peer networking organization for wealthy families and their advisors, suggested a similar theme to its membership in 2008 with a conference themed, "The Return to Simplicity". Kotak Wealth Management and CRISIL Research, published a report on the Ultra High Net Worth Individuals in India titled "Top of the Pyramid Report". Author and portfolio manager Niall Gannon suggested in Investing Strategies for the High Net Worth Investor: Maximize Returns on Taxable Portfolios that asset management for the ultra high net worth individual must be approached from a perspective which acknowledges the role of taxes in reducing portfolio returns. His research studied the S&P 500 index on an after-tax basis and found the return to be 6.63% after paying taxes at the top prevailing federal tax rate and a constant average of 6% for state taxes.
The study covered the period from January 1, 1957- December 31, 2010. Additional results from Gannon's research found that a portfolio of municipal bonds out-performed the re-invested S&P 500 index in 17% of the rolling 20 year periods since the inception of the index. Gannon rejects the use of historical returns for future asset allocation modeling for high net worth investors. He argues that an observation of stock portfolio earnings yields (the inverse of the p/e ratio) are more indicative of the future return potential of the portfolio when modeled with the impact of taxation on performance.
Read more about this topic: High-net-worth Individual
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