With higher rates and tight capital markets, the private equity environment, particularly in the small and mid-market, has changed dramatically in a short time. This new environment has implications both for PE investors and for business founders assessing the merits of partnering with a PE firm to fund growth. Whether this is a hurdle or an opportunity is a nuanced question, one which Pathstone’s recent webinar with Stewart Kohl, co-CEO of The Riverside Company, explored.

The academic year has begun, and with the new season it’s a logical time to reassess planning for educational expenses. Typically, 529 plan funding is handled by a parent or grandparent with the goal of simply covering the costs of each of their children or grandchildren. For those with the means and interest in doing so, however, a Dynasty 529 Plan can be used to cover qualifying expenses for extended family and across multiple generations.

This note provides a simplified overview of the Dynasty 529 concept. For extended or multigenerational families, discussions of goals, strategy, reach, and the like can be quite complex and entail considerations much deeper than financial objectives. Our goal in sharing this information is to stimulate conversations around those complexities.

August was a difficult month for markets. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell -1.6% and -2.1%, respectively. Bonds fared little better, with yields rising during the month.  Jobs grew faster than forecasted in August; however, this was the third consecutive month of gains below 200k and figures for the prior two months were revised lower by a combined 110k. Inflation edged a little higher and the headline Consumer Price Index now stands at 3.2% year over year after rising 0.2% since last month.