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.
Family Journey
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While each family office has its own unique makeup and course to success, there are many recurring themes over the years which, when aggregated, form something of a roadmap which can be used to help guide other families on their own unique journeys—be they new to wealth or several generations deep. Against that backdrop, this eBook brings collective insights and experiences around family enterprise governance structures that will help families manage their family wealth across generations.
Should We Have a Family Meeting?
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At some point, most families ask if they should have a family meeting, recognizing the importance of providing a forum for sharing news, concerns, opportunities, and challenges in an open and direct way. Family meetings are often seen as a great place to learn, whether the topic is investments, business, legal matters, or the family itself. Furthermore, the interplay of generations is a great way to model and develop family leadership and help nurture the family legacy.
One of the greatest concerns among wealthy parents is that the family’s great fortune might inadvertently lead to misfortune for their children. Raising responsible children in affluence is a life-long task requiring patience and persistence. Like learning to read, financial literacy is a process that is best started in early childhood. Teachable moments, alongside practical ways to teach children about wealth, are the beginning of financially responsible parenting.
If Money Talks, So Should You
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How much capital does your family have? Is there enough to secure a stable and happy future for you and your children, or even for your children’s children? When the topic is one of financial capital, these are likely familiar questions to anyone dealing with wealth transfer concerns. But what many families often fail to see is the opportunity to build “relationship capital” through engaging conversations — a more intangible but equally important step to incorporate when you are establishing your family’s wealth planning goals.
Family Governance: A Best Practice Framework for Maintaining Family Connectivity, Collaboration, and Continuity
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When it comes to reaching your family’s financial objectives and perpetuating its wealth, integrated family wealth planning is critical. A family governance system can significantly facilitate that process. This evergreen guide offers best practices and key elements of an effective family governance system, one that can be instrumental and flexible enough in equipping your family to navigate the challenges associated with family, business, financial, and legacy continuity.
While many business owners are struggling to find qualified successors, family members oftentimes oppose proposed sales to outsiders because they think they should have the chance to take over the business. Research from Rothstein Kass suggests that advance planning can minimize family squabbles and ensure smoother business transitions.
50 Best Practices for an Enduring Family Enterprise
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Recognizing that enterprise families are unique, this research report provides the 50 best practices across 10 important aspects—from family governance to family learning and measures of success—that have the greatest impact on long-term sustainability of families of wealth across generations.
By identifying and addressing potential risks, family offices and enterprise families can proactively mitigate potential threats, protect their assets, and minimize the likelihood and impact of negative events. With insights and sound advice from the FOX community, discover the best practices for risk management and build resiliency into your enterprise—ultimately enhancing operational efficiencies, enabling better decision-making, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
There's a structural, philosophical, and cultural transformation taking place with the family journey. It's a paradigm shift toward an enterprise mindset that better balances managing the family's financial capital and nurturing its other capitals, especially the well-being of its members. Learning from the collective perspectives through the years and the forward-thinking practices gathered here, families who build from their strong foundation of success and values will continue to thrive and flourish across generations.