The Dialogue
We begin by listening, and we keep listening.
Most families who come to us do not need more products or more opinions. They need someone to look at the whole picture, explain it plainly, and stay with them while they decide. That is the dialogue.
The family before the structure
A trust, a holding company, or an investment committee exists to serve people. So we start with the people. Who is involved, what each of them hopes for, what has worked, and what keeps someone awake at night.
We would rather spend an extra meeting understanding a family than propose a structure that fits the paperwork and not the people.
The decision is always the family's. Our job is to make sure it is an informed one.
How we ask questions
We ask plain questions and we write down the answers. Who signs? Who decides? Who would know what to do if the person who usually handles it were unavailable for six months?
Often the most useful thing we do early on is draw everything on one page, every entity, account, and adviser, so the family can see what it owns and how the pieces connect.
How we decide
When we recommend a change, we explain what it does, what it costs in effort, and what the family gives up by not making it. We show the options we considered and why we set them aside.
The decision is always the family's. Our job is to make sure it is an informed one, and to say so plainly when we think something deserves more attention.
Working alongside your advisers
Families with significant wealth usually have attorneys, accountants, and investment managers already. We work with them, not around them. Where a question belongs to an attorney or an accountant, we say so, and we help frame it.
How a conversation unfolds
Four steps, at your pace
Listen
We learn the family's story, its people, and what is worrying it.
Map
Every entity, account, and adviser, drawn on one page.
Structure
We propose a clearer design, and explain each choice in plain words.
Steward
We stay close as it is put in place, and as the family changes.