This article highlights steps that should be taken to ensure the privacy of family members and family office staff who use social media tools, including warnings about posting location-based information and a review of privacy settings for social media.
In his latest research study, Dennis Jaffe and research contributors from Family Business Network, Family Office Exchange, and Stetson University’s Family Enterprise Center interviewed 38 families that have managed to overcome the adage “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” The report discusses the...
A software consultant to financial services firms provides some food for thought about the extensive use of custom built Excel-based applications. The article touches on reasons why the use of Excel may be hurting your advisory firm or family office, reasons to review your existing Excel applications in use and whether you should consider other opt...
With some care and effort, your family’s story can live on and grow with each new generation. This article describes the process of creating a family archive: a treasure trove of historical information about family decendants, business accomplishements and important events. Helpful tips such as archival vendors and types of materi...
Purposeful travel is using travel as a shared family experience designed to strengthen the family's common purpose. There are endless opportunities for a family to engage in purposeful travel without at the same time holding a family meeting.A purposeful trip can cement bonds between family members, and contribute significantly to sustaining the fa...
This issue of FourThought explores the questions which arose for a multigenerational family — questions about ultraluxury travel, private aviation, emergency medical care, and personal security — as they planned a trip to Tanzania for a safari on the Serengeti Plain. In a trip designed personally for the family, each element of the trip ...
Entrepreneurial stewardship is the key to perpetuating family wealth through multiple generations. Stuart Lucas and David Lansky discuss some of the paradoxes of maintaining a healthy, wealthy multigenerational family and how to address effectively these paradoxes. The article explains how entrepreneurial stewardship can be a key to perpetuat...
Business owners and managers are looking to get rid of operational bottlenecks caused by outdated methods of storing and retrieving documents. What seems on the surface to be a pretty simple concept—convert paper to images and keep them on the computer—can become a challenge without taking time to put together a plan. The purpose of thi...
This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of four compliance options available to U.S. taxpayers who have not reported all of their non-U.S. income or who have not complied with all of the various reporting requirements applicable to non-U.S. income and assets.
This article addresses some of the most important legal and tax issues the real property professional needs to know when representing foreign investors in the United States, as every aspect of involvement is different from those of a domestic purchaser.
Regardless of the project scope, knowing the parties and defining parameters are essential to a successful relationship. Investors and developers alike should do their homework, protect themselves and have confidence in the structure of the deal.
Wealthy individuals need to play an active role in their wealth management, asking advisors the right questions and reviewing their answers regularly. This requires a solid understanding of wealth management principles and how to apply them in a variety of areas, ranging from personal tax planning to the transfer of a business.
This paper is a technical summary of some of the challenges facing the U.S. nonprofit museum community in regard to risk management of art ownership. It includes a summary of key events that has shaped the art market over the last 50 years as well as consideration of the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley and issues surrounding D&O insurance, where muse...
Wealth management firms are beginning to understand the value of their data, the efforts required to maintain it and the importance of managing and storing data accurately. This white paper looks at why data aggregation has become so important and dives into the various risks and rewards associated with different data aggregation options.
Families that marry the strength of individualism with a more inclusive, long-term mindset can capture the best of both worlds. They can improve on a traditional foundation with diversified business interests and strategically populate affiliated ventures with members of the extended family.