Wealth of Wisdom

Life is complicated and it gets more so as wealth increases. At the same time, navigating the world of investments, financial products and planning is becoming more challenging every day. You can't be good at everything, so it is probably inevitable that you will have to rely on advisors with key technical skill and practical experience at some point. What do you do when you think you have found a good advisor, but you're not sure? In this episode Tom McCullough talks with Bob Dannhauser, the head of global private wealth management at the CFA Institute, about how investors can find qualified advisors, avoid the next Bernie Madoff and, in the words of Ronald Reagan, learn to “trust, but verify.”

What are tools to build healthy families? That's the question that Keith Whitaker discusses with Christian Stewart in this podcast. Christian is a non-practicing solicitor in Hong Kong who consults with global families around family governance. Among other things, Christian describes exercises he uses with families around managing difficult conversations and expressing gratitude. He also talks about how advisors can develop a comfort level in deploying these tools with their families.

In world where it is pretty much assumed you need a specialized and complex strategy to be a sophisticated investor, Robert Maynard argues that a simple, transparent and focused approach is a viable and successful alternative. He runs the $17 billion Public Employee Retirement fund for the state of Idaho and practices what he preaches. In this interview, Bob talks about the three ways to make money, the importance of understanding your goals, and the role of active management, among many other fascinating topics. 

In common law countries, a very large proportion of wealth will be held in trusts by the third generation. As such, finding and retaining good trustees will be increasingly important. Yet, somehow, family trusts often preserve a family's financial assets, yet fail to preserve either family or trust. Hartley Goldstone, a trained lawyer and an experienced consultant to trusts and trustees, talks about how families can source great trustees and how trustees can ensure they fulfill their important responsibilities. He also shares the results of his substantial research and interviews with beneficiaries and trustees on what works most effectively and does the most good. 

John Davis is a household name in the world of families and business. He is one of the creators of the three circle model, which has been a helpful tool for understanding how families, managers and owners interact in family enterprises for over 40 years. In this episode, John talks about how he found his way into this work, the history of the three circle model, why family unity is important and how it can be built, and the future of enterprising families.

In this interview, renowned investor Charley Ellis pulls no punches. Active managers, he says, cannot beat the market on a consistent basis. Fifty years ago, Charley argues, institutions did less than 10% of total NYSE trading, and individuals did more than 90%, and beating the market was probable for well-informed professionals. Today, full-time professionals who are constantly comparison-shopping inside the market for any competitive advantage are executing more than 98% of trades in listed stocks, and nearly 100% of derivative transactions, which makes it almost impossible for the average manager or investor to outperform. A fascinating conversation about investment performance, fees, and the future of active management for private investors. 

Even as passive investing continues to rise in popularity, many families struggle with the choice of active versus passive. In this podcast Harvard Business School professor Randy Cohen, a close researcher of investment returns, argues that there's no going back to the days when famous managers could 'beat' efficient public markets. However, Cohen does identify four strategies that--with patience and the right advice--families should consider in order to achieve outsized returns with a significant part of their portfolios.

Risk is a commonly misunderstood concept – even more so for private clients, who have to operate in world that is increasingly tilted toward institutions and professional investors. In this interview, long-time investor Jim Garland, who shepherded the Jeffrey family portfolio for many years, provides his guidance on how families should think about investing and how they can manage risk. The way Jim thinks, risk means the possibility of not having available the money you need at the time when you need it. And you definitely want to hear his analogy about ‘Chicken farmers’ and ‘Egg farmers’.

Ellen Perry, an Expert in passing on values, discuss important topics like advising families on generational success, transitioning from financial expertise to working with families, and navigating divergences in family values. The podcast also explores Benjamin Zander's teaching style and its parallels to family leadership.

There are strong forces against family business continuity. So every enterprise must find ways to engage the rising generation. In this interview with Tom McCullough, Dennis Jaffe talks about how business families can increase the critical elements of connection, transparency, capability, and commitment. He also highlights some of the best practices around designing and holding effective family meetings, which can help to sustain these family building blocks.