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FOX honored Shannon Kennedy, Head, BMO Wealth Management - U.S., with the Glen W. Johnson Legacy Award. The award is presented to a distinguished individual with extraordinary business achievements and who demonstrates Glen’s values and characteristics. Glen was a great admirer of Shannon and we can’t think of a more deserving inaugural recipi...

This session with the Salgar Family will provide background on the transitions underway in their family and how they used the Family Charter / Constitution to reaffirm the family values, align their goals, and organize their governance process. As part of the move from the first generation to the leadership of Gen 2-3, the family outlined the key c...

Many successful families have put their shared values and goals in writing, often called a family constitution. A constitution can help build family unity and harmony, and the creation process itself provides benefits to the family. Learn the value that families can derive from creating a constitution, the work involved in creating one, and the top...

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...

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...

Engaging and preparing the rising generation is often top of mind, as the wellbeing of future family leaders is of great concern. Setting out to understand the needs and wants of the rising generation, this research tapped into the wisdom and experience of 55 families, 28 future family leaders, and 38 family office executives. The practical advice ...

Family governance need not be an oxymoron. A conscious family governance system can help create an efficient and rewarding means of ensuring the family enterprise’s viability for generations to come. Therefore, any family enterprise that seeks to maintain and grow its wealth—financial, human, social, and intellectual—should consider creating a...

The number and scope of women-owned businesses have risen at an unprecedented rate. In an era of new opportunities, this paper profiles eight courageous and resilient women who share their personal stories and the lessons they learned building successful businesses. One theme that emerged from these women’s stories was the critical role of mentorsh...

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...

A family constitution—the rule book that defines the vision and principles of a family’s wealth strategy and acts as an operating model—should be as unique as the family itself. The key to developing an appropriate family constitution is not in the ultimate output, but in the collaborative process of developing it. In working together, families oft...

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...

A major trend with family enterprise organizations is designing ways to develop and retain early career professionals. The most effective emerging practice is to develop a strategy that blends the quantitative skills necessary to meet the financial, legal and technical needs of a family, along with the qualitative skills needed to navigate complexi...

Although high-net-worth families and individuals recognize the importance of instituting formal family governance structures, doing so presents a complex task. For families who are committed to creating a flexible and durable system of governance, the benefits are lasting. Where To Begin Family governance need not be an...

The success of a private equity fund’s investment in a portfolio company largely hinges on the performance of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Initially chosen CFOs may be ideal for early goals, but market shifts might necessitate a change in CFO to adapt and succeed. Understanding the unique skills of different CFO archetypes is key for funds to...