While 2020 brought the shutdown and speculations of an upcoming baby boom, in reality it caused many couples to rethink their respective futures. As a result, we’ve seen one of the most alarming upticks of filings for divorce in modern day history. Take it from someone who has found herself completely distraught from the incomprehensible demoralization of being a “divorcée”, none of us go to the alter thinking that this might end up in complete disaster.

Governments all over the world have engaged in massive stimulus to combat the destruction of the global pandemic. What are the consequences of this surge in spending? Should we be worried?

Five years ago, we founded Venturi with a vision for establishing an independent private wealth advisory firm with client alignment that did not exist in the private bank and brokerage world. Over three decades, we had observed an industry evolving to be dominated by bank-owned brokerages with a long traditions of selling products to customers.

A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) is a fantastic structure. In my opinion it’s a win-win structure because of the lower 7520 rates. You can set one of these grantor retained annuity trusts for a term of years, let's say five or 10 years, and it has a reasonable chance to get a good amount of money out of your estate.

It’s prudent to reflect on the close relationship between presidential politics, policy changes, and your estate planning. The biggest opportunity for high-net-worth individuals is the ability to gift up to $11.4mm to another person free of transfer tax.

I [Mike Sanders] liked the idea of coming to Venturi to help build a firm that I wanted to be a client of. I continue to view the firm through those eyes, collaborating with the team to serve our clients in the way that we ourselves would want to be served.

I came to realize that if I wanted to serve clients with the care they deserved, I needed to pivot to the fiduciary model. Venturi Private Wealth was a good fit, allowing me to focus exclusively on the needs of my clients. I had always prided myself on being the type of Advisor who served my clients’ interests first. Venturi provided me with the formal structure to embody that commitment.

With rates near zero or negative, Central Bankers’ tools are less effective. The public, wanting new solutions in the face of faltering monetary policies, will eventually elect leaders to enact “new” fiscal policies. One of the new policies being discussed, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), is proposed as a panacea for jump starting segments of the economy. MMT involves the wholesale printing of money to satisfy government priorities and obligations.

I’ve long believed that people should identify their unique abilities and focus on those strengths. Our clients do that well, which is often the reason behind their success. For me, wealth management is a good avenue for what I do well: helping people protect and preserve their asset base.

Many successful people with significant wealth don’t know how to talk to their children about money. Emotions and a willingness to involve your children are often intertwined with estate planning, taxes, philanthropy, and legal issues.

The data reveals that deficits and debt do matter when it comes to economic growth. Current government debt is running at 175% relative to GDP levels. The chart indicates that when debt relative to GDP is this high, there is a negative impact on growth. Historically, at these levels, nominal GDP has risen at less than half the rate than when debt-to-GDP is low. The overall impact of high debt is stunted growth and subdued inflation.

We live in an era where there is constantly a cause worth contributing to. The possibilities can be overwhelming. Many of us find ourselves conflicted on the why, where, and how to get more involved in philanthropy.

In the first four years, we have grown our organization from 5 to 21 employees, opened a second office, tripled our client base, launched a private equity business, raised and donated over $250,000 for non-profits in our communities and become a leader in private wealth management in our region.