HighView Family Story: Former Entrepreneur with Multiple Advisors in Need of Integrated Family Wealth and Succession Plan

This family story is the first of a series in which we discuss some of the common investment challenges families face and what ultimately led them to HighView. Here, we explore the topic of families who have built their wealth through entrepreneurship. Often, the biggest worries in these situations are ‘what ifs’—what if my money isn’t well managed, doesn’t last, or needs to be rebuilt—that can leave families feeling like they don’t have full control over the wealth they have worked so hard to create.

In this story, the family had built a successful business over three decades before selling it to net several million dollars. At the time, in working with the entrepreneur’s accountant, the family’s investable assets were allocated between three financial advisory firms. Three years of operating in this manner left the family feeling financially lost as their portfolios were simply riding the waves of the capital markets with no defined purpose or method of measuring success that was personally relevant for them.

Through their accountant, the family approached HighView to create an integrated wealth plan for the whole family—first generation of Mom and Dad, second generation of adult children, and future generations as well—that would build true multigenerational and sustainable family wealth.

• Collaborating with the Family’s Advisors to Create a Wealth Plan: By collaborating with the family as well as their accountant and estate lawyer, HighView crafted a tailored wealth plan that illustrated how the family could create a sustainable balance sheet that could be passed down through the generations.
• Increasing Wealth Security and Decreasing Fees: HighView consolidated the family’s assets with a single, large Canadian financial institution. We were also able to materially lower their investment fees relative to expensive retail-priced investment products in which the family had previously been invested.
• Providing the Family with Peace of Mind: The family receives quarterly and annual reviews that measure their portfolio’s behaviour against their stated goals. This objective, transparent approach gives the entire family confidence in knowing that their portfolio is supporting their goal of creating multi-generational, sustainable family wealth.

Read the full family story here.

HighView is an experienced fiduciary portfolio management firm whose sole purpose is to provide our clients with peace of mind by making their wealth sustainable. We would be happy to discuss our goals-based investment approach with you and your professional advisors.

You may also be interested in:

• Mitigating Volatility to Create Sustainable Family Wealth
• The Client Dangers of Proprietary Investment Product Overload
• 7 Common Hurdles in Creating Sustainable Wealth