Leading and sustaining an enterprise family that shares the ownership and stewardship of collective family assets can be challenging in the face of growing complexity and diversity. Fortunately, there is a path forward for families to ensure they thrive across multiple generations. Where To Begin Co-authors Sara Hamilton...
Entrepreneurs and business owners often put off wealth planning because they’re so busy with their businesses. Yet, wealth planning is a crucial part of protecting everything they’ve worked so hard for. That’s because their personal and business finances can be interconnected, but they aren’t always at the same stage of growth. This guide by BMO ou...
The data from this year’s research by Grant Thornton indicates that the progress achieved so far on women in senior management is fragile. There has been a dramatic decrease in the percentage of female CEOs, including a 15pp drop in CEOs who are women in the United States, a 14pp drop in China, and an 8pp drop in the UK between 2023 and 2024. Witho...
Retirement is supposed to be “our time”—when we’re no longer spending the better parts of our days building a career or raising kings (or both). But for a lot of women, that’s not how retirement plays out. Research reveals that women aren’t as confident about enjoying retirement as men. Part of that answer lies in financial education. With this ...
With a focus on women business owners and decision makers, a survey of nearly 900 men and women was conducted to learn and understand what might be different in men and women’s approaches to managing their personal and business wealth. This report by BMO explains what the study uncovered, revealing some valuable insights into the financial attitude...
Succession will happen—it’s a matter of when, not if—so families should approach it with strategic forethought, flexibility, and responsiveness to ensure a smooth, successful transition. Through three different scenarios that encompass most transitions, learn how the decision-making process succession varies in significant ways across those scenari...
Robust governance practices form the cornerstone of success for the family wealth enterprise, and ongoing succession planning is one element of a mature governance system. As family considers its future succession, it is vital to understand why a well-conceived plan is so important and what the critical elements of the plan entail. Here, we outline...
The 2018 U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth® study asked nearly one thousand high-net-worth individuals about their approach to building wealth and the extent to which they are using it to achieve their goals and support the causes they care about most. The study found that while wealth provides the freedom to do more, it also brings increased...
Family wealth encompasses more than the financial capital of the family. From a multi-generational and family sustainability perspective, it’s about thinking beyond the private wealth and incorporating a holistic approach that prepares the human capital, enhances the intellectual capital, and builds the appropriate governance framework. This shift ...
To succeed, any organization needs to develop, maintain, and adhere to well-defined business processes and workflows. For family offices, which manage the complex financial and business affairs of ultra-high-net-worth families, best practice business processes are paramount to ensure efficiency and employee productivity, reduce risks, and improve o...