Hello again Friends,

FW = R (HC + RC)

33 Nuggets of Family Wealth Wisdom: Lots of Perspectives!

Life’s most important lessons rarely arrive as epiphanies. They show up as struggles, quiet realizations, or even as fleeting moments that disappear if you don’t pay attention. I wrap that whole journey up in what I like to call “perspective” and this blog is my journey of those moments.

When I was in a rut creatively almost three years ago, my accountability coach recommended starting this blog. Now, looking back, I can see how much of my perspective has developed from these blogs. Here’s my current mosaic: 33 ideas that have shaped my understanding of life, wealth, and family legacy.

This isn’t a list (including post-script below). It’s a conversation, a journey. And like any good journey, it needs our most valuable resource to work properly: time.

Time is the only resource we can’t make more of. We can’t store it, pause it, or bargain for extra. So we have to ask: are we using our time in ways that align with what we value most? Productivity is important, but it’s not the same as purpose. Purpose gives time its meaning.

Ah, entitlement. It’s the not-so-silent wealth killer. Gratitude, on the other hand, turns privilege into growth. The goal isn’t to strip privilege away but to guide it intentionally, turning it into opportunity.

Opportunities create growth and personal growth thrives with investment. Not just financial investment, but investing in people. Your team, your family, your community—they’re the multipliers in the Family Wealth Equation of long-term family success.

The challenge and opportunity with wealth requires mastering its complexities. There is perhaps no greater opportunity for wealth creators and stewards. Simplifying the complexity allows us to focus on impact, not avoids overwhelm.

One way to simplify is through family governance. Governance isn’t bureaucracy; it’s clarity. It’s the blueprint for generational harmony. When done well, it ensures that every family member understands their contribution.

The same goes for strategy—clarity before action. Strategy is the bridge from dreams to outcomes, a path that connects altruistic legacy goals to the tangible. And like any good bridge, it needs discipline to keep it strong.

Discipline teaches us that trade-offs are inevitable. Every choice we make is a sacrifice of something else. The question isn’t, “Can I have it all?” but “what is all this money actually good for?”

Sometimes, the hardest sacrifices are those tied to control. True leadership isn’t about management; it’s about influence, trust, and empowerment. The same goes for wealth management. Family offices, quite the buzzword in wealth management, are not for everyone. Start With Why, then determine which core activities should be insourced and outsourced.

By focusing on family wealth strategy, the family legacy will be well-built. They’re built in the questions we ask, the great people we spend time with (especially the mentors we seek), and the mindsets we adopt. A mindset of abundance shifts our focus from scarcity to opportunity, from fear to impact.

From a focus on not losing the wealth to empowering your family’s use of it.

Trusts are far too often misunderstood. Too often, they bind impede instead of empower. But a trust doesn’t have to be a gilded cage; it just has to be deployed with clear and effective strategy in mind.

By far the most important aspect of family wealth strategy is each family’s unique perspective on impact.

Impact is the heartbeat of meaningful work. It’s the reason wealth exists at all. Without impact, money is a tool with weak purpose. A blunt instrument. But used well, money amplifies everything we stand for. It’s a tool for creating flourishing, impact, and well-being.

Most of my favourite metaphors relate to flora. Like any strong plant, we have to make hay when it rains. It grows our roots deeper, our resolve stronger.

Our family and our personal journeys are no single thing. Added up, they are our culture. Culture is a garden. You can plant, you can nourish, but the garden takes on a life of it’s own through growth, experimentation, and resilience. Take the risks to experiment and address your culture nourishing intentionally!

Advisor networks are best thought of as ecosystems. Strong networks develop anti-fragility. Like a forest, there beauty in complex systems that thrive through thick and thin. I believe family wealth systems need a combination of deep roots and broadly spread seeds.

I think of myself as a Spripe (a pet term I use for spoiled-ripe-not-rotten), and like any wealth steward striving to be a contributor, I care about development. Stewardship is a responsibility with a very long development plan. Like Spider-Man says about power, with great wealth comes great responsibility. Stewards should take their development responsibly.

Perspective requires curiosity and collaboration. I hope this blog piques something in your curiosity and if it does, please reach out! Collaboration makes my day. Because I’m not all that fussed about the destination, but I care deeply about the steps we take along the way.

This month’s blog wouldn’t have happened without Chat GPT; it is heavily heavily edited by me (Grammarly says it is 0% AI which is impossible!) but I could not have attempted to incorporate the 33 blogs without it.

Here is a list of all of the prior blogs that Chat GPT and I prepared to setup this blog:

1. Time is Your Greatest Asset

You can always earn more money, but you can’t make more time. Use it wisely, or watch it slip away.

2. Trusts Aren’t Cages

A trust should empower your heirs, not trap them in a gilded prison. Build responsibly.

3. Entitlement Will Kill Your Legacy

Entitlement is like rust—it corrodes from the inside. Gratitude, on the other hand, builds resilience.

4. People are Compound Interest

Invest in your people—the returns are exponential.

5. Education and Strategy Build Wealth

Your financial empire needs a toolkit: books, conferences, and great advice.

6. Power Requires Purpose

With great power comes… you know the rest. Use yours wisely.

7. Discipline is the Foundation

No tree grows tall without strong roots. Discipline grounds success.

8. Strategy First, Always

Running headfirst without a plan? You’ll burn out. Strategy bridges dreams to outcomes.

9. Impact is the Best ROI

What’s the point of wealth if it doesn’t make a difference?

10. Your Ecosystem Defines You

Strong networks aren’t just nice—they’re necessary. Build symbiotic relationships.

11. Stewardship is About Vision

Being a steward is more than managing assets. It’s about leading with heart and clarity.

12. Simplicity Wins

Complexity is the enemy of clarity. Simplify wealth management.

13. Families are Entrepreneurs Too

Entrepreneurial spirit isn’t limited to business—families can embody it.

14. Perspective Changes Everything

Sharpen your lens, and growth will follow.

15. Wealth Equals Well-Being

If your wealth isn’t improving your life, what’s it for?

16. Culture is a Petri Dish

Experiment with your culture—it’s where growth and success thrive.

17. Control is Influence, Not Chains

Leadership isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about empowering others.

18. Rain Grows Roots

Challenges aren’t setbacks—they’re opportunities to grow.

19. Family Offices Are Legacies in Action

Done right, a family office is a legacy factory.

20. Sacrifice is the Cost of Greatness

Every choice has a cost. Pick your sacrifices wisely.

21. Mentorship is a Superpower

A mentor can shorten your learning curve by decades. Seek them out.

22. Abundance is a Strategy

An abundance mindset is more than optimism—it’s a growth tactic. Use it.

23. Self-Care is Selfless

When you prioritize yourself, everyone benefits.

24. Family Governance is Peace of Mind

Good governance isn’t bureaucracy—it’s harmony for generations.

25. Privilege is Potential

Privilege isn’t the destination—it’s the starting point.

26. Legacy is Built Daily

Your legacy isn’t someday—it’s every choice you make now.

27. Balance is a Moving Target

Well-being is a dance, not a destination. Keep moving.

28. Money is a Tool

It can help or hurt—it depends on how you choose to use it.

29. Ask Yourself ‘Why?’

All the wealth in the world means nothing if you don’t know what it’s for.

Hello again Friends,

Hello again Friends, we are into fall and I have noticed the transition back after summer tilts my focus towards family time. As we get busy, don’t forget about those amazing family moments. After all, time is our greatest resource.

The Family Wealth Equation: FW = R (HC + RC)

By using your Resources effectively, they amplify your Human Capital and Relational Capital, and that is how you increase your Family Wealth.

So using your time and money effectively is a consistent focus in family wealth strategy. Today, I want to discuss a fantastic opportunity where your most important resources, your time and money, can overlap resulting in great family wealth gains.

The overlap is where your strategic philanthropy and investment strategy align.

Strategic philanthropy; the intentional use of financial capital towards the philanthropic goals as collectively determined by the family.

Philanthropic goals often involve community; an area I strive to focus on. I recently joined the Advisory Engagement Committee for the Calgary Foundation.** They are helpful when discussing many topics (strategic philanthropy, Donor-Advised Funds, Foundations, charity selection, etc.) although they are no Gena Rotstein when discussing philanthropy.

Aligning philanthropy strategy with investment strategy

Defining your philanthropic goals is fulfilling, even when your time and money is already accounted for, because the clarity adds a lot of value. Take the time to develop the strategy, particularly when the family’s fortune is good.

Philanthropic goals often develop through misfortune. Yet, I think families stand to benefit by stating philanthropic goals during the family’s highs as much as their lows.

I recently completed the investment policies for my holding company. Family values overlap quite seamlessly when comparing philanthropy and investment strategy. I recently defined ‘Impact’ for my holding company’s IPS:

We seek out investments that go beyond financial returns. By investing with intention, we aim to contribute to a future that is healthier, more innovative, and deeply interconnected.

We focus our investment efforts in areas where we see the greatest potential for smaller cheque sizes to make an impact:

• Artificial Intelligence, specifically where innovation can be applied to tackle challenges to our collective well-being.
• Human Connection & Community, supporting ventures that bridge divides, foster meaningful relationships, and strengthen the fabric of the communities I care deeply about.
• Health Care Technology, where larger innovations can be deployed to improve lives, expand access, and elevate the quality of care within niche applications.

Although not all of our dollars are directed towards initiatives that inspire progress and bring people together, we strive to do as much as possible.

My holding company is not a large portfolio by any means, but writing out the Impact Statement above did make me realize a couple of things:

1. that my former actions showed an incessant focus on total return, and that is something I’d like to better balance with investing for impact, and
2. that my shiny bead syndrome is really, really active. I did not have an overarching theme to my strategy. Whatever inspired that month attention.

I look forward to developing a philanthropy strategy and finding the points of overlap; the most obvious one being place-based impact investing.

So whether you look to deploy resources into philanthropy strategically or into impact investing, using your time wisely is critical.

Hello Friends, and welcome back. Let’s spend ten minutes together on family wealth strategy. Sharpening our perspective on how to deploy our resources for better impact, well-being and flourishing of the people that we care about.

Hello Friends, and welcome back. As always, thank you for reading and emailing me with your thoughts!

I have not written for FO Perspective on perhaps the most consistent of topics I hear about, a topic that presents itself in families of all wealth scales. The concern about entitlement is two-fold from my perspective:

1. Entitled kids seem to have a hard time living the family values as well as finding their own moral code, making parents feel unsuccessful in the upbringing, and
2. Entitled kids are disinterested in long-term goals and finding the grit to achieve those goals, making it hard for parents to consider their childrens’ lives fulfilling.

A lack of fulfillment and a lack of success is quite the double whammy! And this is before considering the most-cited issue of entitlement amongst professionals which is that entitlement leads to weaker stewardship principles and then of course the financial resources deplete.

Entitlement is imbalance of privileges and responsibilities

Entitlement is often defined as an expectation of receipt of privileges without corresponding effort. This aligns with how I use the word. However, it was not until I was reading the Gift of Lift by David York that I realized that a lack of effort is not the entirety of the problem. York notes that entitlement exists when ones privileges and rights vastly exceed their duties and responsibilities.

I really like that. I picture the Scales of Justice and privileged stewards like us having a whole lot of weights piled into the rights and privileges side of the scale. Rightfully so, we carry more duties and responsibilities accordingly to maintain balance in our lives.

5G “technology” for overcoming entitlement

I was inspired to write this month’s blog and sharpen my perspective on entitlement as I have been working on a course with a fellow wealth steward.* I sent him my “5Gs for overcoming entitlement” which inspired the project. The 5Gs concept came to me as I was developing a list of tools for overcoming an entitlement mindset. The most important “G” is gratitude, as well as referencing two of the most important tools in strong family cultures which are growth and grit.**

But 3G technology is so last decade. So, with three “Gs” in hand and the world now heavily dependent on 5G technology, I got to brainstorming about other “Gs” that help families overcome entitlement mindsets.

Goodness is an important aspect for overcoming entitlement; the idea being that finding good, virtuous aspects of life and aligning your values with the good will certainly push entitlement out of your family culture.

I have two more great “Gs” and I’ll save the last “G” until 6G technology comes out. For now, the fifth “G” is: gone.

Gone as a tool for overcoming entitlement mindset is the only G that came to be a part of my advice for families from my own conversations. Most of my advice comes from the wisdom of the family wealth industry; I stand on the shoulders of mighty giants. But this nugget I’ll take credit for noticing as a recurring trend in the wealth stewards’ stories. This is why, dear Reader, I’m always so thankful when you share your stories!

Going, Going, Gone

Gone became a recurring theme amongst gritty rising generation wealth stewards when we got to storytelling about their work ethic. In their own minds, what made them work hard when many wealth stewards were less compelled. Surprisingly, many stewards, even from families where it would be remarkably hard to lose the money, told me stories about their being worried that the money could truly be gone in their lifetimes, so they had better develop skills to keep themselves afloat should the disastrous come to happen.

What a remarkable mindset to instil in your kids – that at any time all the good in our lives could be taken from us.

Family Wealth = Resources (Human Capital + Relational Capital)

All Issues of the FO Perspective relate the thought of the month to the wealth equation. Here, the relationship should be obvious. Family wealth, which over time is family legacy, is equal to the product of your resources multiplied by the sum of the quality of your people and their relationships. Your resources, principally your time and money, should be regularly assessed for how well they are being invested in your family.

In the case of entitlement, the key question is how can your resources be deployed to improve your family culture and better balance your family members’ rights and privileges on the one hand with their duties and responsibilities on the other.

I’m reminded of my favourite quote from Spider-Man: with great power comes great responsibility. With great wealth comes great responsibility as well.

Hello Friends, and welcome back to your favourite Newsletter.

Family Wealth = Resources (Human Capital + Relational Capital). A series of quick hits this month…

Professional Trustees

Personal trustees are friends and family typically. They agree to act as Trustee and bring great relationships with the beneficiaries to the table. Trust Companies are the exact opposite; they will have great professional acumen and built-in succession plans, but they lack the same depth of relationship.

Professional trustees are rare but combine elements of both personal trustees and trust companies. I am a professional trustee and so it was with great anticipation that I attended the Independent Trustee Alliance conference in Dallas last month.

It did not disappoint; what I had seen from Dennis Nerland’s professional trusteeship practice was mirrored by many other professionals. I posted my biggest takeaways here.

RipenQuest

I made what I call “pilgrimage” to Jay Hughes in October 2022 (if you don’t know Jay Hughes and you read these newsletters; email me ASAP. You need to know his work). He said so many profound things it is plainly ridiculous, but one statement really stuck with me: Family Wealth has a “medium is the message” issue.

By explaining all of his wisdom under the “medium” of family wealth, he felt like there was a gap in developing the wisdom for another key medium: the trustscape.

I took that guidance to heart and, knowing that there was no book on trusts that I would have enjoyed reading when I was 18 (a common age to be introduced to trusts particularly in the US) I set out to write it.

Well, my news is that the first draft is now complete! I am looking for early readers, please reach out. If you know great editors, I am picking an editor this month.

Family Enterprise Canada Symposium

What a week. It started off with Blackwood Family Enterprises Services’ one day seminar. It is clear that Dr. Moira Somers is a standout in tense family meeting facilitation (and is valuable in non-tense scenarios as well!)

Then, I attended FEC’s Symposium for the first time. This is such an exciting group serving Canadian family businesses. They are also known for elevating the family enterprise advisory industry with their FEA designation.

My favourite takeaway? It is quite possibly that all of the great work that advisors do will not land if it does not meet the family where it is. The range of ownership literacy in families is significant and I have felt the pain of my advice not meeting a family where they were; too focused on logical, complex outcomes in my case and not focused enough on actually helping the family with the big problem they were facing.

Taxes and Family Enterprise

I’m still a tax nerd, naturally. I’ve canvassed around 15 tax law and accounting professionals on Canada’s capital gains inclusion rate change. Without law to interpret at this time, the chances of June 24 being the final date is remote. Although we have seen worse retroactive law being imposed.

So in the efforts I’ve made with families to address this date, I have rediscovered the incessant issue that tax planning can really wag the family dog if left unchecked. Knowing your goals, knowing your family members and knowing your tax risk profile is absolutely critical before reviewing any tax strategies.

Hello once again. Financial resources can help or hurt your family wealth, your personal definition of success, and over time, your legacy in your family.

Family Wealth = Resources (Human Capital + Relational Capital)

Family Wealth = Success = Family Legacy

This month I’m sharing an article that I co-wrote with a close friend for decades who also works in family wealth wealth, Ari Fixler. We were given the opportunity by Olympia Trust to write something novel and interesting for their educateandexplore.ca website. We chose the area where our professional interests overlap; your financial goals.

Goals-based planning is absolutely central to the work I do and the way I see the world. As noted in the article, wealth accumulation of all scales must answer the question “so what is money good for?” and wealth of all scales is well-served by not ending that answer at the all-too obvious and trite “to retire”.

I hope you enjoy 🙂

Investment strategies are like those big cookbooks with countless recipes. You tend to pick the meals that are the most gourmet, but really, you should pick the meal best suited to your taste and ability.

When we sat down to co-write this article on goals-based planning, we came at the topic from our respective seats in the wealth management industry. Ari is a wealth management Investment Advisor and Financial Planner and has been in the trenches making retirement possible for Canadians for 17 years. Adam is a lawyer with a tax and estate planning focus that most recently ran a Single-Family Office for a fourth generation Canadian family and their wealth management firm. We have seen a lot of aspects of wealth for families of all sizes and at all stages. There is no doubt that one topic binds us all: planning.

As two born and raised Calgarians, we have seen the growth of this incredible city and the personal wealth that has been gained as a result. The amount of wealth the Baby Boomers have created is truly astounding. Yet, a large percentage of those successful Boomers did not consider themselves happy, successful, fulfilled or even wealthy!

Their relationship with their financial success was not well-formed, not clearly articulated, and without a clear reason for the wealth creation, some of those “success stories” became legitimately unsuccessful.

When we get together and talk about success, we try to clarify our “wealth purpose”. Good fortune comes to those that know why they seek wealth. This good fortune is available to everyone intentional enough to discover it.

The key to a successful investment strategy

The key to a successful investment strategy happens prior to the strategy creation. The goals are the foundation of your investment house. Without a solid base, your investment strategy is bound to crumble under the weight of uncertainty.

Sure, there are many other critical topics in investment strategy (risk tolerance, liquidity tolerance, geographic and industry specifics come to mind) but families that have laser-focused, strong answers to the key question, described below, meet their investment goals far more often than families that don’t.

The key to your investment strategy is your goals. What is your investment strategy driving towards? To frame the question as simply as we can: what is the wealth good for?

We all feel the urge to answer this question simply, as it relates to our basic human needs, and leave our inquiry at that. This might sound like the answer currently in your head: “I want money so that I can work less, or not at all, and still have the lifestyle I aspire to have.” This is a strong enough answer for your investment advisors to develop a strong financial plan and get to work, like the work Ari does with his clients.

This is a good answer. However, the best plans go deeper. The best plans require that you explore your emotional relationship with wealth. The best plans contain very careful detail about your lifestyle goals to avoid lifestyle-creep (the idea that your lifestyle spending seems to always increase in correlation with your income).

Wealth creators that have solved your basic human needs have even more responsibility to work out clear answers for your investment goals. We slightly alter the question for these individuals to “what is all this money actually good for?” and whenever wealthy people align their investment strategies to their evolving answer, they find greater contentment and satisfaction. They find their wealth purpose.

Back when we first started hanging out together as friends in the early 90’s, if we weren’t listening to music, we were reading comic books. It’s not surprising that we reference Spider-Man for some life philosophy. Uncle Ben’s key advice to Peter Parker applies to your wealth. Wealth is an incredible resource, a type of superpower, and it can be harnessed to fulfill your life, improve your well-being, and impact the lives of those you care about. Wealth is power and as Uncle Ben pointed out: With great power comes great responsibility.

By building effective goals, you clarify your wealth purpose (the point of creating the wealth in the first place). Without goals, the chances increase that comfort and luxury overstep their boundaries. Without goals, unnecessary investment risks are way too easy to take.

If planning is where all wealthy individuals must excel, it is probably clear that the key step in the planning is to answer and understand what your goals are. What are you trying to achieve? Sometimes the most important questions to ask are the most obvious ones.

We hope this obvious question is not just left as a mild curiosity. Attack it! Get the notepad out and start exploring your answers. As Uncle Ben would advise, take responsibility! The pursuit of clarity of your wealth’s purpose will be valuable, we assure you. Success as you alone can define it.

Spending your money on your people and their relationships should have no end. The result of all of that spending will be the most educated, wholesome, actualized, effective wealth stewards that family wealth has ever known. April Fools 😉… if only it were that easy!

The Wealth Equation:
FW = R (HC + RC)

Let’s talk spending; specifically distribution policies.

I have noticed that distribution policies are the battle line of family wealth strategy. To whatever degree that cash flow is reinvested in historical family investments, most commonly the family business, the decision is always seen as sound.

This is the root discipline of financially successful families (foreshadowing warning!)

Multiple activities converged this month to make distribution policies top-of-mind for me. It started with my work on the Family Bank; I’m excited that in the near future Daniel Trimarchi and I will have a STEP Journal article on the topic published.

The Family Bank establishes a formal distribution policy for families that desire governance discipline for their investment decisions in their human and relational capital pools. Going from an informal ad-hoc “bank of mum and dad” to a formal Family Bank is my favourite governance tactic as it combines family values, family goals, policy/procedure and strategy all towards my favourite aim; family flourishing.

Here are my Family Bank articles for Canadian Family Offices.

Another recent distribution task: I was asked about ownership strategy and how it relates to family wealth strategy. Family wealth strategy covers spending at all levels of the family enterprise. Ownership strategy is the shareholders of the holding company that must balance the business’ capital reinvestment strategy with dividends.

All owners are wealth stewards but not all wealth stewards are owners.

Once the complication of reinvestment versus dividends is settled, the use of the dividends requires some consensus: what is the budget for family-centric spending from the dividends? How will the family spend on matters like family retreat and shared property expenses before the owners receive money for their independent spending plans.

Lastly, a podcast interview of John Warwick included a story of a family with a remarkable distribution strategy: none! Over three generations, not a single dividend had been paid from this real estate family. Everyone lived within the means that their employment could support… and the cash flow of the business was entirely reinvested for decades!

The role modelling that each successive generation of this family showed within their stewardship is certainly admirable. Although I would not recommend it to any families myself, at least now I had a perfect example for an important metaphor in distribution policy:

The oak tree metaphor: when families focus on building the strongest of trees with the deepest of roots.

I love using trees as metaphors in distribution policy design, going back to the beginning of my trust law courses from law school.

In trust law, there is a distinction between income and capital beneficiaries. When we explain the difference, we use the “fruit and tree” analogy: income beneficiaries receive the fruit of the trust’s property and capital beneficiaries are entitled to cut down parts (or all) of the tree.

That real estate family with no distributions? They represent the deepest of roots. They invest in whatever it takes to make that tree stronger and stronger. They do not even have to consider seeds at this point; they are entirely focused on one big tree. Certainly no fruit!

But what happens when, despite the strength of that tree and it’s roots, it comes falling down? Where is the family then? There are always tradeoffs in family wealth strategy.

Families that diversify and invest in multiple areas address this risk by caring about populating the future of the family with new seeds. This diversification is valuable to the family long-term. Innovation (which begets family enterprise resilience) arises from the highs and lows of investing in new ideas. This carries more risk in the short term but as noted by Nassim Taleb, an anti-fragile goal requires these exposures to risks to grow stronger long-term.

Taking the tree metaphor to it’s anti-fragile extreme, a family might make their distribution policy metaphor to be that of a dandelion! They invest entirely in the distribution of the seeds and don’t set roots down anywhere. Now, that would be some chaotic capital investment strategy indeed!

I’m still waiting to hear of the family deploying the dandelion metaphor in their distribution policy; please let me know if you’ve heard of one marvellous Reader!