Finding The Right Family Office
For high-net-worth individuals and families, a family office can optimize giving, investing and more. The term “family office” is frequently used, but what exactly does it mean and how are these services delivered? Each high-net-worth family needs a full complement of professionals to manage their needs. What does this look like? There are probably as many configurations of a family […]
Transparency in Family Financial Matters
Choose the right time and tone for topics such as money and succession issues in family-run companies. The last thing you need in your family business is a disruption caused by miscommunication over crucial decisions such as promotions, the succession plan, or division of ownership. But in the absence of deliberate, scheduled discussions, people tend to […]
Whittier Trust Elevates Dean Byrne to Executive Vice President
Whittier Trust, the oldest multi-family office headquartered on the West Coast, is pleased to announce that Dean Byrne, CFA®, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, while continuing to serve as Senior Portfolio Manager and Regional Manager of the Whittier Trust Company of Nevada, Inc. In his role, Dean is responsible for leading a team of experienced […]
Wealth Education: Fall Back Into Financial Discipline and Secure Your Family’s Future
As the fall season and the upcoming new year usher in a sense of fresh beginnings, they provide an ideal opportunity to revisit an essential aspect of family wealth: preparing younger generations to manage and preserve it responsibly. Just as students gain knowledge for their futures, educating heirs about financial discipline and responsibility equips them […]
Weathering the Storm: Preparing for the Unexpected in Wealth Management
In a world where sudden shifts are inevitable, natural disasters such as the recently devastating Hurricanes Helene and Milton are powerful reminders of life’s unpredictability. Such events highlight the importance of robust financial preparation for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), especially on the West Coast—an area prone to natural risks. While personal disaster preparedness is key, UHNWIs […]
Assessing the Need for a Family Office or Transitioning an Existing One
For individuals and families of significant wealth, managing a substantial portfolio of assets and investments demands a sophisticated and comprehensive approach. From financial planning and asset management to legal and tax strategy, risk mitigation, and multi-generational legacy preservation, there are myriad intricate factors to navigate. This growing complexity has led many affluent individuals and families to establish […]
Don’t Let ‘Em Buy the Ferrari
Exploring trustee discretionary distributions: Trustees are often given discretion over the circumstances under which a distribution may be made from a trust to a beneficiary. This article explores some of the factors that are important to consider when giving your successor trustee this power. There are many reasons people place money in trust for their […]
Identifying the Key Traits of Market Disruptors
Typically, in portfolio asset allocation, the concept of diversification is deemed beneficial to avoid stock-specific risk. There have been many academic studies supporting this concept. Although diversification makes sense from a “risk-return” perspective, to have robust performance and beat benchmarks consistently, investors should find stocks that they are willing to hold in a sufficient portfolio weight that […]
Real Estate Wealth Management
The right investment and estate strategy can help create a legacy of real estate holdings that will benefit your family for generations. In 1891 just before the turn of the century, a young man from Maine named Max Whittier rode a train cross-country to California to seek his fortune. Nearly a decade later, after several failed attempts […]
Market Insights – Fourth Quarter 2024
How Heavy is the U.S. Debt Burden? The last several months have seen a steady drumbeat of data to validate both declining inflation and a slowing economy. CPI inflation for June posted a significant milestone with its first negative monthly print since the depths of the pandemic in Q2 2020. The remarkable deceleration of inflation […]