Category: Family CFO
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When Successful Investors Stop Doing Their Own Bookkeeping
Many successful investors spend decades building businesses, managing investments, and handling the administrative details of their financial life themselves. In the early years, that approach makes perfect sense. The systems are simple, the number of accounts is manageable, and doing things personally is usually the most efficient. But at a certain stage of life, often…
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Does Wealth Management Get Better with Age?
Experience carries enormous weight in the world of wealth management. Clients often assume that someone who has worked with money for forty or fifty years must naturally be better at it. After all, long careers bring experience, pattern recognition, and a deeper understanding of markets and people. But is wealth management something that improves indefinitely…
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Losing Control of Wealth
We often assume that wealth automatically brings control. If someone has accumulated meaningful assets such as investment portfolios, holding companies, trusts, or even a family foundation, it seems logical that they’re firmly in charge of their financial life. Surprisingly in practice, the opposite often happens. As wealth structures become more complex and professionalized, decision-making can…
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How I Resist My Investing Urges
Recognizing our behavioural biases is one of the most powerful ways investors can improve their long-term results. However, this is often easier said than done. Each investor is a different person, a real human being with personal emotions. Some struggle with fear during market downturns, others with overconfidence during bull markets. Even experienced investors (and…
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The Truth about Financial Advisor Incentives
Most families assume that financial advice is embedded in the services they receive. They see reporting, transactions, implementation, and assume that judgment is included in the fee. The industry’s compensation structure often tells a different story. And even for firms like ours, who deliberately avoid charging a percentage of assets, the incentives are more complex…
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Paper Money vs Real Wealth
High income can be deceptive. It creates the appearance of abundance, stability, even financial success. But income alone is not wealth, and confusing the two can quietly undermine families for decades. And, create blind spots for the next generation, which may put their own financial future at risk. High Income Is Not the Same as…
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Home Bias and Global Investing: Global vs. International Equities Explained
When investors talk about diversification, the terms global equities and international equities are often used carelessly. They are not the same thing. For Canadian and U.S. investors, understanding the distinction can materially improve clarity, discipline, and long-term results. What is the difference between global equities and international equities? And, why does it matter? Global Equities…
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Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: Governance in Family Foundations
Most family foundations are created with generosity and good intentions. Over time, however, many discover that their biggest challenges have little to do with investment returns or grant performance. Instead, the friction comes from a more basic question: who actually runs the foundation? When governance is unclear, even well-funded and well-advised foundations can struggle to…
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DAF, Private Foundation, or Both?
Many strategic philanthropists ask a simple question as they progress their charitable journey: Should we use a donor-advised fund or a private foundation? Over time, however, philanthropists with growing complexity often discover that the better question is not which vehicle, but how to use the charitable tools in their toolbox effectively. DAF or Private Foundation,…
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Stepping Into Family Wealth Stewardship: Next-Gen Challenges
Stepping into the role of “point person” for your family’s wealth and investments is both an honour and a burden. It can feel exciting and purposeful but also heavy and awkward. Many next-gen investors don’t plan to make this their full-time job, yet they still want to protect their family legacy, create alignment, and ensure…