The family wealth industry is at a strategic inflection point with a future that’s both bright and turbulent. Wealth professionals will face challenges driven by the rising complexity of the families they serve and the imperative to evolve quickly and serve a broader range of their clients’ needs and expectations.
As families grow their investment function, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) must provide insight and flexibility to serve varied and changing investment platforms. While much of the CIO’s role is focused on investments and the investment decision-making process, many CIO responsibilities aren’t investment-centric and will impact the long-term success of the investment strategy—and therefore the long-term success of the family office as it continually evolves to meet its mission, goals, and objectives.
Traditionally, wealth advisors use a succession planning framework that involves working with the founders to look downstream to the next generation for an effective “passing of the baton” strategy. In contrast, a multi-generational approach encourages each person within the family system to contemplate and share with others where they’ve come from, what they’ve come with, what they wish to pass on, and what they wish to leave behind.