Insights matter.

While the official advance release of Q2 GDP from the Bureau of Economic Analysis will not be until later this month, the Atlanta Fed produces their GDPNow forecast, which is designed to be a “live” tracker of economic growth that adjusts to various data releases throughout the quarter.  Based on the latest release this week, it estimates Q2 GDP as having declined by 1.2%.  If this estimate holds true—which is admittedly a big “if”—this would imply, by the most basic

Earlier this year, we wrote about the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the markets were reacting negatively to the news of the conflict, in reality inflation and Fed policy had already been weighing on investors’ minds.  With the news of the FOMC’s decision to raise interest rates by 50bps last week and the corresponding volatility that has returned in both equity and bond markets, it seems investors have awoken to the reality that the economic conditions moving forward

When you’ve been investing long enough, you develop a certain resilience and respect for the volatility of the markets as they swing between periods of fear and euphoria.  The day to day swings make for anxious moments, but should rarely (if ever) represent the justification for making any long-term investment decisions.  Today, we are faced with the fact that the predicted military conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has become a reality. Before we go into the investment analysis, I

“What can I expect my portfolio to do for me going forward?”  This is one of the most common things we hear from Matter families. While the question seems simple enough, the answer is often layered with nuance, disclaimers, and numerous variables. Unlike the weather, in finance, the closer the time horizon, the less reliable the forecast is. It’s simply impossible for anyone to know what’s brewing in the near term. Howard Marks of Oaktree wrote a great memo on forecasts a few months back and it is

At Matter, we believe successful families truly thrive when they develop their human capital along with their financial capital. We are committed to helping them do both by continuing to expand and evolve our innovative, industry-leading family culture and learning services.  On October 1st, Matter added a chief learning officer (CLO) to our leadership team and began a search for a family learning consultant. These new team members will lead our culture and learning work and develop new services, programs,

We spent a lot of time last year discussing estate and income tax planning in anticipation of possible tax law changes hinging on the outcome of the United States Presidential and Senate elections. While we now have clarity on the election outcomes, we are still in a position of needing to make significant estate and income tax decisions without complete clarity around potential changes in tax law. It feels like the new normal …     What we do know is the proposed tax bills provide an indication that higher estate and income tax rates are

The evolution of blockchain technology and its more fashionable relatives, cryptocurrencies, has been nothing if not fascinating. We’ve watched as the headlines have spanned from an asset with nefarious potential, to a democratizing technology, to a meme-worthy currency alternative. If you ask blockchain disciples, it is “the” technology of the future, whereas skeptics compare it to Dutch tulips or snake oil.  Before we go any further, we should start with a confession: we are not cryptocurrency experts. We are, however, intellectually curious investors,

At Matter, we believe great investments aspire to great purposes. We work to find investments that positively impact all stakeholders—customers, communities, and shareholders.  Sustainable investing represents the intersection of evolving social and investment perspectives that creates an opportunity to more fully align investments with the vision, values, and wealth purpose of each of our client families.  A sustainable or impact lens is an integral part of the investment strategy we use to build and manage portfolios for Matter families. We

Prenuptial agreements can cause tension and anxiety for successful families with children who are moving toward marriage. Prenups are complicated for a variety of reasons, from emotional to technical, and it can feel awkward (at best) to talk about divorce while planning a wedding.  At Matter, we have helped many families navigate the prenup landscape. Although every family is different, and people approach the process with a wide variety of expectations and goals in mind, one thing is very consistent:

We’ve all seen the headlines over the last several weeks—I will paraphrase—Robinhood and its band of Merry Reddit Traders have come together to take down the greedy Hedge Fund Barons of Wall Street. While it makes for a compelling storyline and elicits many questions regarding how such things could happen, the reality of the plot is slightly less sensational, though there are some important implications to keep in mind. The story is really one of momentum, dislocation, and risk management,

At Matter, we strive to bring our best selves to the work we do, with families and each other. As we continue to navigate the opportunities and challenges of this year, in particular, we’re deeply grateful for our exceptional team and for the professionalism, optimism, humor, and resilience Matter employees bring to work every day.  We’re thrilled to promote nine team members this fall and to celebrate Matter’s continued growth as we toast our 30th year of helping families thrive. 

If the only two things in life that are certain are death and taxes, a close third would be presidential election cycles. Now, not all election cycles are equal. Some are highly contested, whereas others have a clear front-runner. Some elections involve an incumbent and a challenger, while others involve two candidates who would be new to the presidency. Each election takes on a life of its own, but sure as the sun rises in the east, every 4 years, Americans head to the