I begin this final letter of the year with some news — this month I will be retiring from GenSpring Family Offices. As many of you know, I sold my company to GenSpring six years ago and since then have enjoyed a great relationship with the firm and its leadership teams. Through my most recent position as Managing Director, Western Region, I have seen GenSpring grow and thrive and it has been fun being a part of this success. I know for sure all of our families, many of whom have been with us for many years, will remain in excellent hands, supported by equally excellent resources and services.
GenSpring organized a wonderful retirement party for me earlier this month, graciously hosted at the home of Greg Burden and Sherri Bovino in Orange County. I was deeply touched by the many clients, good friends and colleagues who joined in the celebration. My thanks to so many of you who were able to make it.
So what next . . .? First, is taking time off to spend with my family. I will also be thinking about this next phase of my life. While my plan includes continuing to work in some aspect of the family office space, it is unlikely to be on a fulltime basis. There are still roses I have yet to smell!! I will, of course, keep you posted.
All in all it has been an exciting month. What a surprise and honor at FOX’s Fall Forum to be one of three recipients of the Family Office Exchange (FOX) Founders Award. My co-honorees were Christine Galloway, Dirk Junge and Loraine Tsavaris. This is only the second time in its 25-year history that FOX has presented its Founders Award, making it even more special for me.
November also saw our second annual two-day Women’s Wealth Retreat, organized by the UC/Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, Center for Investment and Wealth Management. I Co-Chaired the Women of Wealth Retreat with Victoria Collins. It was a great success with three times the attendees of its first year. Our keynoters included Author Arianna Huffington, Anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher and Aging Expert Dr. Kerr Burnett interspersed with lively panels and interactive discussions focusing on diverse aspects impacting women and wealth.
For the next issue of Trust and Estates I have written an article titled, “Investing with Purpose.” As the title suggests, it speaks to how today’s families want to invest and some of the issues attendant to their choices. If you don’t subscribe to the magazine and would like a copy, just email a request to Heather Perry at heather.perry@genspring.com and she’ll get one to you.
Now for my year-end update on the death tax. With the increase in the Republican’s House majority to approximately 250, after all run-offs, and 8 or 9 additional seats in the Senate, passage of death tax repeal/reform should be easier. (A bi-Partisan effort is still required.) Senator Paul Ryan(R)(WI), always a Repeal supporter, is now hairman of the Ways and Means Committee and we plan to work closely with him. Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas is looking for a Democrat to co-sponsor a repeal bill to be introduced on tax day, April 15, 2015. The Policy and Taxation Group is helping in the effort. The challenge then will be to get on the agenda for both a House and Senate vote. The Policy and Taxation Group also helped draft and orchestrate a letter from the Senate Republican leadership to the IRS – its purpose being to discourage the IRS from changing regulations to eliminate limited partnership discounts. Our efforts throughout will continue. In closing, I send each of you and all of your families my very best wishes for a very happy holiday season. I look forward to staying in touch and you can be sure I will.
Sincerely,
Patricia M. Soldano
Managing Director of Client Services
Western Region