The Veris Blog

The Veris blog expresses the diversity of thought and opinion at our firm. We also present other points-of-view of those we appreciate and admire.

The Money Talk: Talking to Your Children About Money

By Alison Pyott

There is no single best way to talk to your children about money, but many experts agree that a series of age-appropriate conversations are better than THE one big money talk. This includes weaving money conversations and lessons into everyday life to help your children build perspective, skills, and confidence.

Children are naturally curious and perceptive. They likely are creating assumptions and making judgments about their family’s financial situation vs. their peers. Starting a series of age-appropriate money talks early in life can help them understand what they need to know in the present while preparing them for the future.

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There is a Strong Business Case for Racial Equity, But Investors Must Look Beyond the Data

George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer on May 25th, 2020–just a few days before the anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre on June 1st. On that day in 1921 a white mob attacked, burned and bombed Tulsa’s Greenwood District; a thriving Black business area known as Black Wall Street. Hundreds of Black Tulsans were murdered and over thirty-five city blocks of homes and businesses were destroyed. Overnight, one of the most prosperous Black communities in the nation was reduced to ash and rubble.

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Shareholder Advocacy Update: Veris Clients Leverage their Equity Ownership to Advance Diversity, Racial and Social Justice, and Environmental Stewardship

Our shareholder proxy engagement initiative with Aperio and As You Sow this 2020 – 2021 proxy season once again demonstrated that engagement with corporations on ESG issues is an effective tool for bending the arc of capitalism to benefit all stakeholders. This year was a transformational year and shareholders took little time to address issues concerning COVID-19 and the social justice and wage inequities many in our country experienced. The Trump administration also proposed and then enacted changes to the SEC shareholder engagement Rule 14a-8 before the election of a new administration.

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PG&E, Climate Change and the Sustainable Path Forward

The failure of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to provide power safely to Northern California has been a human and economic nightmare, while highlighting the ineffective regulatory oversight of the investor-owned utility.

But as tragic as this has been, the fallout has created new momentum for a safer, greener era of power generation and distribution in the Golden State and potentially elsewhere.

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The new SECURE Act: What You Should Know

By Tim Kingsbury, Wealth Manager

The SECURE Act, passed on Dec. 20, 2019, contains some major changes governing IRAs and retirement plans, charitable contributions, 529 plans and college student loan debt, among other financial matters. In this blog, we focus on key provisions of the Act to help you plan ahead.

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