When it comes to advisors, I have two simple rules: Get good advisors Listen to them Family advisors need additional skills because they must work with the various members or governance structures of a family, and key people & structures may change with time. They need to know about communication, in order to help the family members themselves communicate well. They need to understand family dynamics, and get to know the ins and outs of…
How to maintain family wealth through generations? Get the best financial advisors and managers for operating assets? Other things are more important. Families of wealth must learn how to work together in the sharing of assets. A key part of that is to integrate their wealth management with their values. That means the values need to be articulated within the family. Then, the family needs clear and open dialogue discussing values as well as financial…
Philanthropy can be a great way to engage different generations in a wealthy family, and for family members to find purpose where there is no imperative for paid employment. It’s worth keeping in mind the intergenerational differences and trends in giving so that the family giving experience can be as positive as possible. The Blackbaud Institute’s report on the next generation of American giving has some useful insights. Giving priorities differ by generations, but health,…
The essential problem family businesses must deal with is conflict of interest, which arises when people have multiple roles – in the business, as an owner, and as a family member – that can potentially conflict. Thinking about the issues of a family business in this way is a good path to mitigating the challenges they can bring. Establishing explicit rules is a good start, and this article covers several good ones: only put family…
We’ve previously discussed the effect of increasing life expectancy on wealth transition – the ‘problem’ of the ageing family member who refuses to step aside is more prevalent than ever (the popular TV series Succession makes for great watching on this topic). Traditionally, roles within families have very long tenure, For someone who has been managing the family wealth for many years, the thought of leaving a job they have become very good at can…
Money is one of the few remaining taboo topics for discussion, but in wealthy families, it’s something that eventually does need to be discussed. The challenge is to develop a greater comfort in discussing it. The first step towards this is to understand the reason for discomfort, and it is usually because discussions about money bring on fear: fear that there isn’t or won’t be enough, that the next generation might be spoilt by excess,…
According to a Merrill Edge report, one third of “mass affluent” (mid-range wealth) Americans say their financial stability depends on their inheritance. But interestingly, this is more a result of prevailing economic conditions (markets, unemployment, weak wage growth) than the generation being brought up with a silver spoon sense of entitlement. Economic conditions for creation of wealth have been challenging for the rising generation. There are even signals of a decline in social mobility. The…
With the recent US elections in the news, there is talk of generational shifts in the electorate (which will take some time still to have a significant impact), and with the further polarisation within the US, the way political affiliations have come between friends and family members. This fascinating NPR podcast discusses how political preferences are driven by hidden moral frameworks. The nation is often described using the family as a metaphor, with terms like…
Transitioning a business can be difficult when the #nextgeneration aren’t interested … It turns out there are 4 core components to consider, and if you get them right, the conflict resolution usually runs very smoothly. Medium to large sized family business (turnover $50M+) have a problem: the next generation aren’t interested in joining. There are so many options out there in the job market (jobs that didn’t exist in the previous generation) that the family…
People are living longer, which means time spent in ‘retirement’ is increasing – the latest US Census figures report the average retirement is 18 years. The huge numbers of Baby Boomers moving into this stage of life is becoming a phenomenon of its own, and could potentially ‘reinvent’ what retirement actually looks like. Just because they are ‘old’, doesn’t mean the huge Baby Boomer cohort won’t continue to change society rather than ride off quietly…
© 2020 David Werdiger. Not to be reproduced without permission of the author. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Earnings Disclaimer - Support
