The pandemic crisis is forcing the hand of family businesses to address the pace of change in new ways. Every day we must act and even make some tough choices—despite the lack of any reliable information about the best direction to take. Some owners make tough decisions on their own, rather than seeking help from others. Some choose impulsive or blind allegiance pathways. I wrote the following on the Bloomberg press about the Singh brothers…
How to deal with family members by marriage poses significant challenges to wealthy families. Should they be allowed to work in the family business? If so, should there be a ceiling on their authority (stock, voting rights, etc)? Do they have a seat/voice at family meetings? What if the only person in the rising generation with the skills to be involved in the family business is a child-in-law? What to do when a marriage is…
The family office space is constantly evolving. This is driven in part by the investment flavour of the month, global economic/political trends, wealth transition within families, the family follow-me-go-round (families looking at what others are doing), and the general competitive environment amongst FO offerings. Essentially, a family office is a set of services used by a wealth family to manage its wealth and other associated needs. There are no rules for how a FO can…
How we deal with conflict in family business is totally different to a regular workplace. Why? In family business, we wear multiple hats: family member, co-worker, owner, and those roles can lead to conflicts of interests. The work hierarchy is overlaid by the family hierarchy, and that can lead to … conflicts of interests. And unlike a regular workplace, it’s not quite so easy to just quit for another job. By their nature, families and…
The headlines are everywhere – a high percentage of family businesses have no formal succession plan – and then the story launches in to the usual tropes about estate planning, life insurance, choosing a successor, etc. But maybe we should be turning this upside down? After all, by necessity, a family business succession involves two generations – the incumbent and the rising – and so much of the thinking about succession focusses on (a) the perspective of…
“How to transition the family business to the next generation?” The answer depends on (a) who is asking (incumbent or rising generation) and (b) when (in the life-cycle of the business) they are asking. More often than not, the question is raised too late – when the incumbent generation is thinking of retirement, when there are already unstated expectations from both generations, and when there is already latent conflict. The key ingredients to a successful…
“How do I transfer wealth to my children without spoiling them?” That would be the most common question I am asked, and for most people, stands at the heart of the challenge of wealth transition. But often this question masks what parents really want, e.g. “how do I get my children to do/be what I want?” That question is not about wealth, but about parental power and control. And when parents say “I don’t want…
Women are at least 50% of the population, yet historically have been poorly represented in the wealth industry – as custodians and managers of family wealth, in family business, and as advisors. But that is changing on all fronts. The percentage of wealth in the world held by women is steadily growing – as a result of inheritance (females generally outlive their husbands), divorce and entrepreneurship. In the Middle East, 20-40% of wealth is held…
Family philanthropy can be a very effective way to bridge generations and engage the rising generation. However, according to a recent poll from Key Private Bank, there are significant differences between parents and children on matters of giving. Most parents are not discussing philanthropy with their children, let alone agreeing on causes. 82% of advisors say very few clients involve the next generation in family philanthropy. Faith-based causes represent 73% of interest from parents, but…
The conflicts that take place within wealthy families are often on display through the media as a result of their public profiles (and because people want to read about them). For outsiders, they can be hard to understand: What are they fighting about? Surely there is enough there for everyone? But in fact, wealthy families have all the same family issues as others: sibling rivalries, favouritism, jealousy, power struggles, and the search for identity. The…
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