Balentine Sponsors the 2012 Balser Symposium for Professional Advisors
Online, January 16, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Balentine, an independent, employee-owned investment management firm, is a sponsor of this year's Balser Symposium for Professional Advisors. The Balser Symposium, an endowed program of The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, provides continuing education focusing on charitable and estate planning issues.
The Balser Symposium was created to honor Jack Balser's 13 years of gift planning service to the community. In line with this legacy, Samuel A. Donaldson, a national authority on federal taxation, estate planning and planned giving will be this year's keynote speaker. Donaldson is the Associate Dean and a Professor at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. His talk will examine how today's headlines affect charitable and estate planning.
"Because of the philanthropic nature of our clients, it is important that we support efforts to stay current on matters of estate planning as it pertains to charitable giving," explained Erica Farber, Balentine's Director of Operations and a Balser Symposium Committee Member. "We are proud to partner with an organization that supports this mission."
Due to recent global market volatility and uncertainty, high net worth individuals and families, as well as charitable institutions, have had to increasingly focus on risk management in order to preserve capital and continue charitable intent. In the U.S. individuals give nearly $300 billion a year to charities, and permanent impairment to wealth can have a significant effect on giving. "It is increasingly important to stay ahead of today's headlines by incorporating proper estate and tax planning with strong investment counsel," said Philip Cave, Balentine's Director of Business Development.
Most charitable foundations have found it difficult to maintain a five percent payout in times of historically low interest rates and flat equity returns. "The irony is that in the current economic environment in which needs are greater, philanthropists are often less able to meet those needs given the new normal of lower expected rates of return. Consequently, investors must place an even greater emphasis on being more engaged in the process of preserving capital for charitable giving," Cave explains.
For nearly three decades, Balentine has advised clients on strategies for managing risk in order to preserve purchasing or contribution power. In addition to this experience, each Balentine partner and many of its employees have served on boards of not-for-profit institutions, allowing them to understand both sides of fiduciary involvement. For this reason, Balentine is committed to sponsoring events that address these areas of discussion, and 2012 marks the firm's second consecutive year of involvement with The Balser Symposium.
The Balser Symposium will be held on Friday, January 27th at the Selig Center. For more information, email info@balentine.com
