Lane Report Archives
Displaying 41 through 80 of 276
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
We are grateful that clients all over the world favor us with their confidence. While it’s well known that we help for-profit companies, non-profits, social enterprises, and high net-worth individuals with their tax planning and compliance, wealth planning, corporate and governance issues, intellectual property protection, and business decisions, we...
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Despite a disturbing rise in unequal voting structures and virtual shareholder meetings at public companies, this year’s corporate proxy season reflects the best of corporate boards’ growing commitment to transparency, accountability and engagement. It’s no surprise that the savviest of corporate directors are eager to set themselves...
Thursday, July 6, 2017
During Jeff Sessions’ four terms as a U. S. Senator from Alabama, his anti-abortion and anti-immigration positions were well known. He was skeptical of climate change and hostile to same-sex marriages. On criminal justice issues, he was a champion of “law and order,” stern marijuana prohibition and the unregulated use of civil forfeiture...
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Delaware has long been the top-of-mind domicile for businesses and trusts. But Delaware's vaunted status as the "go-to" state may be at risk.
Settlers of trusts have favored Delaware for decades, for good reason. They don’t need to be residents of the state. Their Delaware trusts can hold personal property forever and real property for 110 years....
Monday, May 1, 2017
In accepting his party’s nomination for president on July 21 last year, Donald Trump singled out “the evangelical and religious community” for their help in getting him nominated and acknowledged that, “They have much to contribute to our politics, yet our laws prevent you from speaking your minds from your own pulpits.” He...
Monday, April 3, 2017
This month’s Lane Report features Hedy Ratner’s unsolicited testimonial in Wealth Management about her long-term experience with Marc J. Lane Investment Management, Inc.
Our proprietary Advocacy Investing® strategy identifies investable companies that not only meet our exacting financial and governance standards, but also satisfy criteria...
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Illinois is becoming a hub for companies that want to change the world and make a profit at the same time, said Marc J. Lane, an attorney and economic development expert at an event hosted Feb. 8 by the Great Cities Institute at University of Illinois-Chicago.
Imagine a “Shark Tank” television show where non-profit charities bring their needs...
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Millions of President Donald J. Trump’s supporters continue to applaud his unwavering commitment to “Make America Great Again,” even as shockwaves are sent throughout the nation and the world. Yet those disheartened by Mr. Trump’s election need not have looked beyond his first day in office to justify their fears. The...
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Few doubt that Donald J. Trump’s presidency will be both controversial and consequential.
Our new president takes office when the public is disillusioned, having lost faith in the political class and in government itself. While the fate of elites has been buoyed by globalization, technology and free trade, the middle class has been hollowed out, and...
Thursday, December 1, 2016
We are grateful that clients all over the world favor us with their confidence. While it's well-known that we help for-profit companies, non-profit organizations, social enterprises, and high net-worth individuals with their tax planning and compliance, wealth planning, corporate and governance issues, intellectual property protection, and business...
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
The Cook County Commission on Social Innovation was pioneered in an effort to reduce the burgeoning effects of poverty in Chicago and the surrounding neighborhoods. With a goal of total transformation, it hopes to provide a model for other cities working towards sustainable poverty reduction. This multifaceted approach focuses on catalyzing social...
Monday, October 3, 2016
Too many people are living on the outskirts of hope. Some 50 million Americans are living below the poverty line. And the challenges that poverty brings with it are tougher than ever.
Yet the social sector is under enormous stress. Nonprofits can no longer count on government contracts and grants, and charitable resources are inadequate to fund the...
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Nowadays, we hear a lot about “sustainability,” but what does it truly mean for investors? What can we learn about sustainability that can both benefit environmental and societal causes but also result in successful financial outcomes?
Sustainability means to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet...
Monday, August 1, 2016
Cook County is taking a page out of the social enterprise playbook. The county’s new Commission on Social innovation is chartered to incubate actionable policy recommendation that would create and sustain innovative solutions to increasingly daunting social problems. And if a social enterprise is defined the way Social Enterprise Alliance sees it...
Friday, July 1, 2016
For social entrepreneurs in Chicagoland, there’s a new resource, one that could be a model for other cities.
It’s an initiative called the Commission on Social Innovation. Recently formed by the Cook County Board, the Commission aims to help meet the needs of the area’s struggling underprivileged population, in part, by encouraging the...
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
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Cook County Commissioner Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia: We want socially responsible businesses. Here's how to grow them.
Too many residents of Cook County are living on the outskirts of hope. And the challenges that poverty brings with it are tougher than ever.
Yet the social sector that helps our...
Monday, May 2, 2016
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has recently finalized regulations holding all financial advisors to the standards of conduct to which Registered Investment Advisors have historically been held, at least with regard to providing investment advice on retirement accounts. These new regulations, at...
Friday, April 1, 2016
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Almost every business has its own Facebook page, Twitter profile, or Instagram account these days. If used well, these social media accounts can be valuable marketing and public relations tools. You can disseminate information about new products efficiently, address the complaints of disgruntled...
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
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During this Presidential campaign season, Donald Trump has received criticism for his defunct Trump University, a school now facing two class action lawsuits from former students. Trump University was really a series of seminars in real estate investing, but some former students claim that it failed...
Monday, February 1, 2016
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When most individuals look to see how their portfolio has fared over the past one or more years, they compare their performance to the most widely used index of large cap American stocks, the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500. This works fine for a purely American equity portfolio. However, many...
Monday, January 4, 2016
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Illinois’ Democratic lawmakers find Republican Governor Bruce Rauner‘s “turnaround agenda” to jumpstart the state’s economic competitiveness and spur job creation politically toxic. Neither side is in any rush to compromise on legislative term limits, workers’...
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
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When a family winds up in a dispute over a dead relative’s estate, one of the accusations that may be made is that one or more persons used “undue influence” over the deceased. Typically, this involves a claim that someone improperly caused the deceased to create or amend a will or...
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Impact investing just took another big step towards becoming mainstream, with the help of the Department of Labor (DOL). And all the hard work investors have been doing to build reliable ways to measure results seems to be a contributing factor.
Specifically, the DOL recently posted guidance about what it calls economically targeted investments (ETIs) made...
Thursday, October 1, 2015
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Amid the minute-to-minute drumbeat of war and scandal and stock market upheaval no farther away than your phone or desktop, Chicago lawyer, financial advisor and author Marc J. Lane stands apart for his optimism. The Lincolnwood native’s latest book — his 35th — is titled, “The...
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
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During this summer of Trump, the nation's undocumented immigrants are under attack. All 11 million of them are unrealistically threatened with mass deportation. And the U.S. House has passed a measure that would strip federal law enforcement grants from “sanctuary cities” that shield...
Monday, August 3, 2015
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Putting aside their existential struggle over policy and power, Illinois' legislators have found common ground in supporting the state's entrepreneurial community. Come January, Illinois will boast an intrastate crowdfunding law that is more friendly to small business than any in the nation.
Equity...
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
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“Buy our product and a portion of the proceeds will go to charity!”
Such cause-related marketing, linking the sale of a company’s product or service with the promise to make a donation to a charitable cause, is popular with consumers who want to see their money put to good use, valued...
Monday, June 1, 2015
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Many cities in Illinois, overwhelmed by pension debt and faced with unprecedented cuts in state aid, soon might be lobbying the General Assembly to amend the Illinois Municipal Code to allow local governments to go bankrupt, a remedy Gov. Bruce Rauner supports.
If a pending bill sponsored by Rep. Ron...
Friday, May 1, 2015
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Volatility has once again returned to the financial markets and with it a renewed sense of fear and foreboding. It’s during these difficult market environments that investors come to recognize the benefit of having a relationship with a living, breathing investment advisor who can calm their fears...
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
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Nearly 80 percent of Chicago's voters supported a citywide advisory referendum on the Feb. 24 ballot that would reduce the influence of special-interest money in city—and state—elections by financing campaigns using small contributions from individuals and a limited amount of public money.
...
Monday, March 2, 2015
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The world is awash in issues today with troubles in the Ukraine and the Middle East taking center stage. The international currency market, however, has had its own drama unfolding, albeit rather quietly. The revaluation of the Swiss franc may have provided some theatrics; nonetheless, the larger story...
Monday, February 2, 2015
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Climate change, mostly the result of carbon pollution, threatens the health of the nation's—and Chicago's—residents. Ground-level ozone, particle pollution, pollen concentrations, infectious diseases, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, heavy rainfall and flooding, and extreme-heat events...
Friday, January 2, 2015
Most nonprofit organizations which seek to be classified as tax-exempt charities (under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) are required to apply for recognition of their tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. (Some nonprofit organizations can claim tax-exempt status without having to apply: these include churches and other...
Monday, December 1, 2014
The decision by Republican leaders in the U.S. House to reauthorize the federal Export-Import Bank's charter only until June, leaving the institution in limbo until another vote is taken, spells big trouble for Illinois exporters, large and small.
Since 1934 the bank has created and sustained U.S. jobs and reduced trade deficits by financing and insuring...
Monday, November 3, 2014
Have you ever searched for an item on the Internet and found advertisements for that same type of product on websites that you visit later? Have you purchased a product from the grocery store and then received coupons from other companies with competitive products?
Practically every major retailer is engaging in Big Data. Big Data is most often defined as...
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Illinois' 1848 Constitution gave voters in each county the right to organize townships for the “management of the fiscal concerns of the county.” The framers' decision for our then-30-year-old, largely agrarian state was a no-brainer: As the most local of local governments, townships would be directly accountable to residents of unincorporated...
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Navy Pier, Chicago's No. 1 tourist attraction, has a storied history. Over its 100-year life, it's been a commercial shipping destination, a Navy training center, a University of Illinois campus, a convention site and, most recently, a lakefront entertainment complex. But today not all of Navy Pier's stories are being told.
Three years ago, the...
Friday, August 1, 2014
Mission-aligned or values-based investment strategies that yield attractive social as well as financial returns have been gradually gaining ground in the foundation and non-profit communities in recent years. These organizations seek to invest their assets affirmatively, supporting their missions by aligning their investment holdings with their mission...
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
When Illinois' county-based prosecutors, charged with the twin responsibilities of protecting the public and defending the rights of victims, join forces to push back against government transparency, someone needs to cry foul and a higher authority needs to set them straight.
That's exactly what happened last month in the case of Nelson v. Kendall County,...
Monday, June 2, 2014
Gov. Pat Quinn has proudly proclaimed that Illinois is the first in the nation in renewable energy use and, while the state has unquestionably earned its bragging rights, policymakers need to do more to ensure that our clean energy sector remains strong.
First, the good news: According to a report by the Environmental Law and Policy Center and other...
Displaying 41 through 80 of 276
