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At times of high uncertainty, the dissemination of information can create more confusion than clarity. The downside of today’s media model has been on prominent display in the days since voters in the United Kingdom cast their Brexit vote, expressing a wish to depart the European Union. In the aftermath, analysts began to project a wide range of separations occurring within regions and countries. It was as if the map of Europe were heading back to its standing of 400 years ago.

Avoiding the issue of succession planning is much easier than starting a conversation about handing over the reins to other family members. But avoidance does not defer the inevitable, and it puts family harmony and wealth at risk. As patriarchs and matriarchs of wealth families confront the issue of succession planning, there are seven questions families must address if they want to avoid a failed wealth transfer.

On a timely visit to London following the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union, the Pitcairn team had the opportunity to interview Wigmore Association partner, Marc Hendriks, Chief Investment Officer of Sandaire Investment Officer about what Brexit could mean to global investors. Marc provided thoughts on the following:

At the start of a family enterprise journey, there is often a patriarch (or matriarch) who was both an entrepreneur and a leader who overcame uncertainty or adversity to create something very special with the potential to last for many generations. For the families seeking to sustain their legacies, there will come a time for the patriarchs to move forward to the next phase of life—preparing for the generational transition. However, it will require a different mindset and form of leadership.

Like many families, you may be involved in running businesses or other types of investments together with other family members, but is this necessarily the right choice? Should you consider breaking away and creating your own path. The decision on whether to stick together or unbundle collective assets into separate ownership and investment structures will perhaps be one of the most difficult decisions a family will ever confront. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

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 reasons and more, many families are choosing not to appoint a family member or close friend to be their executor and trustee. Rather, they are choosing a professional trustee company to act either solely or jointly with a family member.

Poorly structured family meetings that lack a clear purpose and agenda can do more harm than good. Failing to get buy-in from all family members can cause irreparable damage to relationships, despite the best of intentions. There are five key tips for holding a successful family meeting, which is an essential ingredient for managing wealth across generations and ensuring families achieve their ultimate goal of sustaining family unity, maintaining wealth, and preserving the family legacy.

The UK has voted to leave the European Union after 40 years of membership, defying the expectations of most market participants and ignoring the warnings from the International Monetary Fund and other leading economists regarding the negative impacts on trade. Market reaction was swift, with the pound falling to a 30-year lows and a “risk-off” trade rippling across the global markets. While the UK leave vote (“Brexit”) has generated volatility and a flight to safety trade in the short term, it has not altered our longer term outlook on global markets.

The Brexit vote—the United Kingdom voters’ decision to exit the European Union—has unleashed political, economic, and financial uncertainty that will play out over the months ahead for affected currencies, equity, and fixed income markets, sectors, and individual firms. Immediately after the vote, market values for banks, insurance companies, and asset managers dropped from 5 to 30 percent, with UK firms understandably hit the most and those less reliant on UK-based revenue sources impacted the least.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) voluntary exit from the European Union (EU) is unprecedented—and with it comes more questions than answers about how it will affect business entities in the UK and beyond. Economists anticipate at least several years of uncertainty, which typically does not bode well for financial markets. U.S. companies that sell to, buy from, or operate in the UK or EU, or are engaged in their financial or stock markets, are likely to experience some financial effects—but the nature and extent of those effects is still to be determined.