The AICPA’s CPA.com site recently announced the finalists for the 2018 Innovative Practitioner Award. Among the 6 finalists is David Butler, who was nominated in connection with his adoption of Complex Interests software. We are super proud of David and hope that you will vote for him here. (Voting is open through September 15.) You can read more about David’s … Read More
The Enemy of Stewardship: Part 2
In part one of this series, we established that the stewardship of complex family wealth a) is important, b) is a job that requires some work, and c) like many important endeavors falls victim to procrastination. We further identified that fear (of a death in the family or of mismanaging an asset) is a necessary and effective motivator to cause … Read More
The Enemy of Stewardship: Part 1
At Complex Interests we have spoken with hundreds upon hundreds of families and family advisors. Almost all of them enthusiastically agree with the statement “stewardship of complex family wealth is important.” Yet prior to meeting with Complex Interests, very few families have naturally incorporated the discipline of stewardship into their wealth management routine. Why? Stewardship of complex family wealth is … Read More
Tracking Direct Investments
Ever increasing in popularity as an asset category and a common characteristic among families with complex wealth is direct investments in operating businesses and real estate ventures. While this investment class affords families the opportunity to achieve risk and return profiles differentiated from traditional investments, it also creates an administrative burden that one would not encounter with a traditional stock … Read More
Business Ownership comes in three flavors
Typically, the main factor that drives a family to pursue a formal wealth stewardship plan is the complexity associated with the family’s ownership interest in private business entities. At first glance, the complexity is not obvious. Why is owning equity (shares, stock, membership interests, etc.) in a private business any different or more complex than owning a house or a car? … Read More
Does your family have a ‘Business Continuity’ plan?
In the life cycle of a company, there comes a moment when management steps back and assesses the risks facing business operations. Invariably, one of the topics raised during this assessment is business continuity. The discussion almost always starts like this: “what if [enter catastrophic disaster scenario here] happens, how would our business be able to continue?” Often, this discussion … Read More
Who is the steward of your family’s wealth?
At Complex Interests, we spend a lot of time explaining what stewardship is and why it is a vital component in the preservation of family wealth. In all of this analysis, one theme that should become clear is that stewardship is not that valuable as a concept; it is only truly valuable as a practice. For a family to successfully … Read More
What Complex Interests is not
Historically, family wealth software options have generally fallen into two buckets: investment reporting software, and accounting software. Let’s examine the role of each in the management of complex family wealth. Investment Reporting Software Imagine that you manage investments for a high-net-worth family. There are probably three questions that are top of mind to you and the family: How are we … Read More
What is a family office?
A typical middle class family in the United States has need for financial and legal advice but probably doesn’t need to form a family office. That family may engage the services of an accountant, an attorney, and a financial / investment advisor. It is likely the time spent by all of these advisors would not exceed 30 hours in any … Read More
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