Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Tom McCullough, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Northwood Family Office. Tom is an adjunct professor and executive-in-residence at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Wealth Management, and a member of the board and faculty of the UHNW Institute. He is an accomplished author and frequent speaker on issues relevant to families of wealth and their trusted advisors.
Tom recently published his influential article, The Rise of the Integrated Advisor, in the Journal of Wealth Management, and in this episode, he shares his views and work on the role of the “integrated wealth advisor” and the value it creates for UHNW clients. He talks about the challenges of identifying, hiring, and developing integrated wealth advisors, especially in an industry, where deep technical, quantitative expertise has traditionally been overvalued and qualitative skills and emotional intelligence have been undervalued. Tom offers practical tips for families who are looking to find or select an integrated wealth advisor and shares his thoughts on how to decide who is best positioned to play that role for the family: a family member, a family office employee, or an external advisor.
Tom introduces his framework of the “Four Markers” of integrated wealth advisors, which summarizes the personality traits and skills needed for one to be successful at this complex and important role for the family. He provides actionable advice to professionals who are interested in becoming integrated wealth advisors, including how they can prepare and equip themselves for this role, what formal educational programs or informal career pathways they can pursue to acquire the knowledge and hone the skills they will need to be able to play the integration and coordination role for their UHNW clients.
Don’t miss this deeply insightful conversation with one of the best recognized thinkers and practitioners in the Family Wealth Advice field.
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