The taxation system of the US is full of complexity and the laws governing the taxes are somewhat perplexing. In fact, without the aid of a professional, it is quite difficult for individuals to understand the tax obligations that are applicable to different types of incomes. In general, a lot of people get confused between […]

UK families often have family members who reside in the US or are US citizens.  The US and UK tax systems are close cousins of each other, and each have their respective complexities. One significant difference is trust planning. In the US, US families will nearly always use ‘revocable’ or ‘living’ trusts. These trusts offer […]

Launching a marketplace always seems like a bright idea when no one else has done it before, but there can often be a whole host of reasons why that’s the case. Let’s assume for a moment that your bright idea is as good as you think it is, what do you do next? It’s a […]

Technology has never been developed at a more rapid pace than it has over the past few decades. In the last few years alone, we have seen exponential growth both in terms of capability and accessibility. People are becoming more connected and more likely to regularly use technology as part of their everyday lives. Around […]

GoCardless has become the latest in a long line of British fintech companies to raise new funds for ambitious growth. In its Series E funding round led by Salesforce Ventures, GoCardless has had another $75 million in capital injected into the business. This follows on from the $22.5 million raised in a previous finding round […]

The Future of Life Institute announced in December 2018 that it had signed the Safe Face Pledge to help ensure that technologies for facial analysis will not be used in situations that might lead to bias or abuse, or be used as weapons. More information about the work of FLI can be viewed in the […]

Private placement life insurance (PPLI) is a special type of life insurance that initially originates from the United States. The PDF attachment explains what basic life insurance is and what types of people might require it. Life Insurance: What Is It and Who Needs It? from Matthew Ledvina PPLI differs from traditional life insurance in […]

Big tech has been leading the investment market throughout the past decade, during what has been a record bull run. However, with many of the largest players in the big tech market facing a downturn, some are predicting that the tech investment bubble may be about to burst. While each company is of course different, […]

Proposed legislation being tabled at Westminster regarding financial transparency is being resisted fiercely by leaders of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Senior officials from the Crown dependencies have stated that the legislation is wholly unnecessary and that Westminster has no right to impose new rules without their full consent. The cross-party parliamentary […]

The total amount of money given to charitable causes by Americans in 2017 was in excess of $410 billion. However, only a very small percentage of this generosity found its way to international charities, at just $22.97 billion or 6% of the total. International giving in America dropped by 4.4% in 2018, a percentage that […]

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is a book authored by Shoshana Zuboff and released in early 2019, exploring the challenges that humanity faces as we enter an increasingly digital future. The concept of the novel was first introduced by Zuboff in a 2014 essay, titled ‘A Digital Declaration’, and expanded on in a follow-up article […]

Fintech is an emerging industry focused on enhancing global financial activity through the introduction and development of new technologies. The fintech industry looks set to see phenomenal growth over the coming years, as financial companies seek ways to improve services through replacing historically slow methods and systems with disruptive technologies to streamline and embrace new […]

Social media platform Facebook has long dominated the global social media industry, yet the market share for the online giant has recently entered a period of rapid decline. As of December 2018, Facebook held 66.3% of the social media market share. This figure may seem impressive, but it is less so when compared to the […]

The Future of the Professions is a book authored by Daniel Susskind and Richard Susskind, released in 2015 by the Oxford University Press. The PDF attachment contains more information about the professional background of Richard Susskind. The book examines the ways in which the internet and other modern technologies have revolutionised human society and the […]

Investing in art as an asset is highly illiquid, can be high-risk, is at the mercy of trends and changes in public opinion, is largely unregulated, and can attract high transaction costs. One positive factor for art investment that is becoming more popular in recent years, however, is the use of an art collection as […]

Investment in fintech projects in 2018 reached the record-breaking figure of $30.8 billion in disclosed transaction value in 2018. This investment in fintech start-ups is almost double the amount invested in the sector in the previous year. Those working within the fintech industry such as Matthew Ledvina, managing director of a fintech asset-backed lending company […]

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow is a book by Professor Yuval Noah Harari. You can learn more about the author in the embedded short video. Following on from his earlier tome Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus explores human history, evolution and ability from the first homo sapiens throughout time, looking […]

The contemporary British artist Lincoln Townley has made history by selling an entire artwork collection via social media platform WeChat, taking payment in cryptocurrency. The contemporary artist regularly embraces the use of social media platforms to promote and sell his work, shaking up the global art world through his ‘cut out the middleman’ approach for […]

The fintech sector has been revolutionising the finance industry over the past decade. Advancements in technologies have led to a shift away from traditional banking and financial services towards convenient, customer-friendly, value-driven services, many of which are automated. You can learn more about what fintech means in the PDF attachment to this post. Fintech has […]

Max Tegmark, a Swedish-American cosmologist, released a book in 2017 called Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The book explores the impact of AI on the future of human life on Earth, looking at the possible implications for society (both positive and negative), measures we can take to maximise the likelihood […]

Inheritance tax in the UK is reaching record levels, with an expected £900 million increase expected to be collected by the government over the next five years. If you are unsure what inheritance tax is, you can learn more about this and who must pay it via the PDF attachment. What Is Inheritance Tax? from […]

Technology is introducing major changes into almost every industry in the world, with many previously human-operated systems becoming automated. The lending industry is no exception, with fintech providing platforms for a new form of lending aimed at small business owners and consumers. You can learn more about what fintech is by reading the PDF attachment […]

Art as an asset class is enjoying a boom in popularity at present, with many investors choosing to diversify their portfolios by investing in a tangible piece of art (or two). It’s no wonder investors are keen to jump on the art bandwagon – over the past ten years, the growth rate of the art market has reached more than […]

The Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari first sparked the interest of the public with his globally best-selling book Sapiens, a history of humanity originally written in Hebrew and translated into English in 2014. The book explores human endeavour throughout history, starting with the discovery of fire and following technological advancements all the way up to […]

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, also known simply as ‘FATCA’, is a United States law requiring all US citizens both internally and overseas to file reports annually regarding any foreign financial assets and account holdings. The Act was endorsed as part of the wider HIRE (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment) Act in 2010.   FATCA essentially compels non-US banks and […]

Art has long been seen as a good investment and a way to diversify a stock portfolio. In recent years there has been much information in the media about how art investment is booming. However, those considering entering into art as an investment should be aware that most paintings that are bought are not then […]

Artificial intelligence refers to the process by which certain machines are able to demonstrate the capacity to learn from their environments and make decisions based on a variety of factors to achieve goals, in much the same way humans do. In the short video attachment you can learn about the Turing test, which is used […]

In an increasingly global world, many individuals and families have financial interests in more than one country. What many do not realise is that this can become quite complex in terms of cross-border tax planning. Different countries have different regulations and understanding all of them requires experience. Engaging professional legal advice is essential to navigate […]