When families feud, nobody wins. What causes reasonable human beings to defy the advice of trusted advisors and lose sight of the costs of family fighting, not only in terms of money but vital family relationships and peace of mind?
Family Learning
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Family Employment & Compensation
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For family members working in the business, the area of compensation overlaps with contentious considerations of fairness, equality, performance-management and long term engagement. This artcle itemises how families have approached this issue, and advocates some pathways to avoid disharmony.
Perspectives on Legacy: Managing Family Dynamics and Wealth’s Human ImpactArne Boudewyn, Managing Director, Abbot Downing Building and preserving a family legacy requires attention to not only financial capital but also human, intellectual and social capital. It is the dynamic interdependence of these elements that ultimately influences successful wealth transfer across generations.
Traditional wills involve what you want your loved ones to have. Ethical wills involve what you want your loved ones to know. This short article discusses how the ancient practice of crafting an ethical will is an essential piece of today’s multigenerational wealth planning.
Peter Drucker has famously stated that "management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." The challenge of that statement of course is identifying what should be done and your capacity to accomplish the ‘right things’. The Family Office Exchange in partnership with Vantage Leadership has initiated a study to identify a framework for assessing key family leadership responsibilities.
Gen Y, or the Millennial Generation (those people born from 1982-2000), present some very specific challenges for wealth advisors. While wealth advisors have spent most of their careers successfully building and managing relationships primarily with their Baby Boomer clients, these same wealth advisors stand to witness the greatest transfer of wealth from those Baby Boomer clients to their Gen Y children. These same Gen Y children have different values and priorities than their Boomer parents.
While the concept of discussing the values and expectations surrounding philanthropy aren’t new and advisors are tasked with satisfying the gifting expectations of the families they serve, as indicated in the 2013 U.S. Trust and The Philanthropic Initiative research on philanthropy—there is a significant disconnect between advisor approach and client expectations.
Achieving Sustainability: The Challenges, Opportunities and Complexities of Enterprising Families
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If a family wants to increase its economic capital, it must work on its human capital – its emotional, social and intellectual competencies. Although it may be challenging to keep economics from dominating emotional life and vice versa, sharing assets can provide an opportunity to develop family members who are financially and organizationally knowledgeable.
Creative Engagement - Brower
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Families often complain about the challenge of getting siblings and cousins more engaged in business and family activities. There is a great divide between the “make it happen” people and the “watch it happen” people in the family, and a risk of burnout for the family members who are providing the leadership.
Master Class on Talent Strategies
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Despite the continuing concern over job creation, researchers around the globe identify a lack of available skilled talent as a continuing drag on performance. Inherent in this issue are three profound questions: How do you achieve a successful combination of culture and talent to allow ideas to thrive within the context of the family and family office culture? How do you remain competitive in recruiting and retaining talent? How do you effectively engage, motivate and inspire the next generation of family members and employees?