As we move into the final quarter of 2018, the landscape is dotted with both opportunities and challenges, created by a combination of Federal Reserve policy, the Trump Administration, and frankly, time.

As we entered the second half of 2018, markets appeared to be hitting an inflection point. On one hand, economic data remained robust, with the consumer fully engaged, wages growing at a modest pace, industrial production steady, and the corporate tax cut creating the opportunity for meaningful investment.

If you own real estate—perhaps a vacation home or income property that has increased substantially in value over the years—and you want to keep it in the family, there are a number of planning strategies you can use to help minimize the estate and gift tax consequences of the transfer.

One of the most challenging aspects of evaluating opportunities at this point in the market cycle is the tendency of the market to be rather binary in its assessments.

As the first quarter closed, equity and bond markets were searching for direction following the losses posted in the back half of the quarter after an exemplary January.

A strong U.S. economy, continued global growth improvement, a concerted effort by global central banks to remain accommodative as long as possible, and a general sense of complacency about valuations in the equity markets provided the backdrop for 2017’s wins.

As January began, it was clear that 2017 was going to be a tough act to follow for investors. It was a year marked by historically low volatility, essentially unchanged Treasury yields, and a straight up trajectory for equity markets, and as such, it seemed unlikely for this Goldilocks scenario to repeat itself again in 2018.

Whatever the reason you’re seeking to buy a second or permanent home in Florida, how do you choose the one that’s best for your situation? “Consider the practical and emotional value of the property—as well as its cost and location—before you take the plunge,” says Charles Nilsen, at Boston Private.

While the 24-hour news cycle careened from one potential political crisis to the next, from North Korea, to the Affordable Care Act repeal, to Supreme Court changes, and finally to tax reform, volatility in the equity markets remained subdued, and the pace of the upward climb continued throughout 2017...

As 2017 closed, it has become clear that the "animal spirits" that guide the markets can shake off natural disasters, populist uprisings, a nuclear threat, and an ongoing stream of fodder for what once would have been Presidential scandals, but now pass for business as usual in the Trump Administration...