On screen title:
Valerie Galinskaya
Head of the Merrill Center for Family Wealth.
Valerie Galinskaya:
Hello I’m Valerie Galinskaya, head of the Merrill Center for Family Wealth.
My team and I have the privilege of working with individuals and families across the U.S., and their Merrill Private Wealth Advisors, to help them navigate the complexity that wealth brings. We help empower families to define the purpose of their wealth and to be intentional about wealth’s impact on themselves, their families, and their communities. Our clients include entrepreneurs, business owners, corporate executives, multi-generational families and professional athletes and entertainers.
Each is unique. But the one universal truth is that when families engage effectively on the subject of wealth and learn to navigate wealth together, they are more apt to sustain financial capital and family relationships for generations to come.
So what do thriving families who sustain wealth and values across generations do well? What are the challenges they face along the way? And what can we learn from that?
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Cover of a report titled MERRILL CENTER FOR FAMILY WEALTH/Pulling back the curtain/Wealthy families open up about money, relationship and decision-making
Valerie: The Merrill Center for Family Wealth sought answers to these questions by surveying over 270 ultra high net worth individuals between November 2020 and July 2023.
Valerie is back on camera:
I am pleased to share with you some of the key findings from our research.
First off, nearly half of respondents said that financial decision-making in their family is shared among two or more generations.
Things can get complicated quickly when they’re also managing shared assets, such as a family home, investment property or a business. Over 50% of respondents reported that the biggest challenge to co-managing shared assets was limited governance, including:
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Challenges in managing shared assets
· Undefined expectations of roles and responsibilities
· Lack of clarity on the purpose of shared assets
· And lack of transparency about how decisions are made and by whom
Valerie speaks over on camera graphic on screen:
Undefined expectations of roles and responsibilities
Lack of clarity on the purpose of shared assets
And lack of transparency about how decisions are made and by whom
Valerie back on cam speaking:
The good news is that more families are talking about wealth, a topic that has long been, and still is, considered taboo in many circles. We found that:
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Families talking about wealth
· 1 in 3 families reported an increase in family wealth conversations
· 78% of those wealth conversations occurred spontaneously.
· More than 25% who had these spontaneous conversations later regretted them
Valerie speaks over on camera graphic on screen
One in three families reported an increase in family conversations since the pandemic.
Yet 78% of those wealth conversations occurred spontaneously.
And more than a quarter of those who had these spontaneous conversations later regretted them
Valerie on cam speaking:
It’s an unfortunate, unintended outcome when families dive in without a process or skills in place to make well-intended conversations and decisions productive. But there is another path.
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Families and individuals meeting with members of the Merrill team to talk about wealth plan. They are sitting across desks or side by side discussing and looking at tools on a computer screen to help them plan
Valerie speaks while images are being shown
Based on research and our team’s practical experience working with several hundred families, we’ve seen how families that take the time to define their purpose and develop a thoughtful plan can not only help further their wealth but also their family members’ wellbeing.
Valerie is on camera again:
Sustaining wealth across generations and making shared family decisions is not easy. It’s a process that requires time and skills.
I invite you to look at the full report of our findings.
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Map #5963378
9/2023
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