This pre-conference session will discuss foundational concepts and strategies to help your family thrive and succeed as you integrate wealth and an understanding of its benefits and challenges into your family culture.

Issues of control can be fundamental to an effective transfer of wealth that sets up future generations for success in life and work. Decisions made can reverberate for good or ill for generations.  Should you try to preserve your legacy “from the grave,” and bind heirs to your wishes, or should you create a wealth transfer strategy that allows future generations flexibility to choose their own paths while avoiding an entitlement mentality?  Panelists will look at the effects of this question on the business, the family, and on future generations, and offer lessons learned.

With Allison Moran,  family member, former CEO and current board member, RaceTrac; board member, Herschend Family Entertainment. Moderated by Peter Begalla

Keeping the family together as an economic unit for the long term involves cultivating a stewardship mentality, instilling a work ethic, developing governance systems and teaching the family values. Panelists will share their insights on how building the family’s relationship skills and developing a family education program promotes rational discussions of financial issues such as dividends and risk.

In multigenerational enterprising families, there is often wealth disparity across households. Panelists in this session will discuss strategies for ensuring family harmony, creating family education programming and addressing the needs and concerns of the various households. Estate planning issues will also be addressed.

While our nature is typically to avoid conflict, it is inevitable in family enterprises and families of wealth.  Conflict and tension can be positive forces for growth and innovation but, if not well managed, can lead to destruction of the enterprise, dissolution of the wealth and a breakdown in family relationships.  In this interactive workshop Jill Shipley of Cresset will facilitate a discussion on the types of conflict that impact families of wealth and help us explore the factors that lead to conflict such as dependence and independence, power and control and equality and fairness. Jill will also provide tangible recommendations and solutions to mitigate or navigate conflict.

• Finding a Great Trustee: Moderated by Andy Busser, Pitcairn
• Best Practices in Parallel Governance for the Family Enterprise: Moderated by Bobby Stover & Sean Aylward, EY
• Big Transitions and Wealth: Marriage, Divorce & Adoption, Moderated by Rhona Vogel and Shannon Zur, Vogel Consulting
• How to Hire a Wealth Advisor: Moderated by Erich Hickey and Joseph Zaccardi, Drexel Morgan Capital Advisors
• Overcoming Anxieties about Children Inheriting Wealth: Moderated by Nichol MacManus and Benjamin Persofsky, Brown Brothers Harriman.

What factors do family leaders weigh when determining whether to start a family office or join a multifamily office and which menu of family office services works best for them? What do they look for when hiring family office staff and choosing advisers? These and other family office “nuts and bolts” issues are on the agenda for this session.

• Trusts and Estate Planning 101: Moderated by Nicholas J. Bertha, Fieldpoint Private
• Managing A Risk Framework for a Family Office: Moderated by Catherine Fankhauser, EY
• How to Build A Successful Foundation: Page Snow, Foundation Source

Giving money away as a family can be just as stressful as running a family business. Without strong governance, intrafamily disputes and philosophical differences among the extended family can undermine even the best-intentioned philanthropic program. Panelists will describe the systems they’ve established to ensure their charitable giving has broad family support.

• Finding a Great Trustee: Moderated by Andy Busser, Pitcairn
• Best Practices in Parallel Governance for the Family Enterprise: Moderated by Bobby Stover & Sean Aylward, EY
• Big Transitions and Wealth: Marriage, Divorce & Adoption, Moderated by Rhona Vogel and Shannon Zur, Vogel Consulting
• How to Hire a Wealth Advisor: Moderated by Erich Hickey, Drexel Morgan Capital Advisors
• Overcoming Anxieties about Children Inheriting Wealth: Moderated by Nichol MacManus and Benjamin Persofsky, Brown Brothers Harriman.