Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Money often costs too much.” While it might seem surprising for a Wealth Manager and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to embrace this quote, my experience advising high net worth (HNW) families has shown me firsthand the potential benefits and drawbacks of wealth.
In my twenty-plus years of working with HNW families, I have found that my most successful clients ask for our assistance in addressing the entire range of their finances, not just their investments. Their focus is on managing their wealth to serve multiple generations while preserving family unity. They also prioritize developing a long-term relationship with our team to ensure their descendants are prepared to pick up the reins.
Families grappling with this issue should start by assessing where their families stand. Ask yourself if, as a family, you have:
1. Prepared the next generation with the necessary financial skills. Can your children and grandchildren manage a budget? Build a portfolio? Their financial literacy is key to successful long-term family wealth.
2. Developed a culture that values empowerment, appreciation, and stewardship. Encouraging your inheritors to understand the value of wealth and hard work will help avoid their developing a beneficiary mindset, focused on self-interest, dependence and entitlement.
3. Defined a family vision focused on human capital, rather than financial capital. Foster shared values of education, philanthropy, and entrepreneurism; this allows younger generations to take on an active role in the community and family, and feel appreciated and capable.
4. Documented life and family experiences that have played a role in building your wealth and defining your family legacy. This helps replace entitlement with gratitude by enhancing your descendants’ understanding of their responsibility towards future generations.
Taking the time to examine your family’s financial literacy and approach to wealth is the first step to ensuring your family benefits from your wealth without any of the potential adverse effects. Contact us to take our free ten-minute online assessment and learn about your family’s specific areas of strength, weakness, and opportunities for improvement.
Keith Barberis, Financial Advisor of Raymond James Financial Services, is located at 7550 Wisconsin Ave Suite 420, Bethesda, MD 20814. Steward Partners Global Advisory LLC and Barberis Wealth Management at Steward Partners maintain a separate professional business relationship with, and our registered professionals offer securities through, Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC. He can be contacted at 240.800.3447 or at keith.barberis@stewardpartners.com.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Views expressed are those of Keith Barberis and not necessarily those of Raymond James or RJFS, and are subject to change without notice. Information contained herein was received from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy is not guaranteed. Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is no assurance these trends will continue or that forecasts mentioned will occur. Please note, changes in tax laws may occur at any time and could have a substantial impact upon each person's situation. While we are familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herein, as Financial Advisors of RJFS, we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. The examples throughout this material are for illustrative purposes only. Actual investor results will vary. Investing always involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss. No investment strategy can guarantee success. Ad Approval #2511608