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For the wealth owners—and the family offices managing their assets—the opportunities that impact investing presents are arguably greater than for any other type of investor. While impact investing is a natural fit for family offices, most are still working out where to start—mulling over issues like how to source deals and measure impacts. In order...

To effectively serve as a trustee, it's crucial to understand your fiduciary duties. Even trustees with the best of intentions can create liability for themselves by being unprepared for the job or by not fully understanding their obligations. Learn more about some of the common mistakes family trustees make that can lead to lawsuits and other...

In this second paper of a two-part series on philanthropy and sustainable investing, we outline how families may wish to identify opportunities within sustainable and impact investing themes. Along with four guiding principles to help create an impactful portfolio, we discuss the broad opportunity set, how to construct and then actively manage...

Families of wealth often ask for views on two related topics—how to think about philanthropy versus impact investing and how to best implement a socially and/or environmentally impactful investment strategy. While common themes transcend these topics, each is distinct and presents an opportunity by allowing families to engage in a powerful combinat...

Serving as a trustee for your family can be a valuable experience for you, while also providing an important service to your family. But before you accept the position, make sure that you understand the role you will play for the family and are willing to accept the responsibilities and liability that come with it.

Ultimately, how well your wealth transfer plan fulfills your legacy and meets the needs of the next—and future—generations depends on whom you name as your trustee(s). This makes your trustee selection one of the most critical aspects of an already complex wealth planning process. To help navigate this selection process, work with a framework built...

Developing an impact investing strategy and taking subsequent action steps can be organized into three stages: Prepare, Build, and Refine. In this guide, which builds from the introductory guide on impact investing, the three phases are explored further to explain how to take practical steps towards implementing your first impact investment.

Impact investing, which seeks to generate social and/or environmental benefits while delivering a financial return, is expanding as a promising tool for both investors and philanthropists. This guide is part of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ Philanthropy Roadmap series and acts as an introduction to impact investing. To consider the next ste...

Conventional investing is all about diversification and maximizing returns. While both of these are still fundamental, some investors also want to use their economic influence to drive meaningful change. As these investors make financial decisions informed by both heart and mind, traditional barriers between making money and making a difference are...

Sustainability is increasingly material to investment return, and there are five prominent trends—including climate change and technological revolution—that are likely to have relevant implications for investment portfolios over the long term. Ultimately, investors that evolve more quickly to incorporate these risks and opportunities into...

As high-net-worth investors discuss plans for charitable giving and investing with their financial advisors, it is absolutely crucial for them to be on the same page in terms of the outcomes desired, both financially and philanthropically. For this reason, advisors and their clients need a set vocabulary of terms going into the first meeting. Only ...

With impact investing, the viability and projected growth of the creative economy is not easily seen. But when using the “creativity lens” that looks at creative activity beyond the limits of art and culture, a different story emerges. It can be seen that impact investing in the creative economy has been hiding in plain sight. This study by Rockefe...

When done well, a trustee’s service can have a profoundly positive impact on a family; when done poorly, a trustee’s service can create or exacerbate fissures within a family, dissipate family wealth, create personal liability for the trustee, and create a public spectacle that sullies the family’s good name and reputation. For key employees in fam...

The death of a loved one is a difficult and emotional time for a family. There is often additional stress if you are appointed as the executor of the will and trustee of your family’s trusts, especially if the deceased had been the sole manager of substantial family assets and wealth. For an untrained person, it can be a daunting role. For these re...

In an era marked by unprecedented wealth transfer and shifting societal dynamics, philanthropy is being called to actively adjust to a new reality. In the middle of all this, younger people are starting to have a bigger say in where philanthropic money goes. They care more about equity, inclusion, and transparency, as well as changing systems that ...