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In this special 50th episode of the Wealth of Wisdom podcast, co-editors Tom McCullough and Keith Whitaker are interviewed by Scott Dickenson on their experience writing Wealth of Wisdom and recording 50 podcast episodes since October 2018. Tom and Keith discuss their favourite chapters from the book, the topics that have resonated the most with readers, and what specific skills and ideas that each of them brought to the project. They also cover how the podcast came to be and some of their most memorable interviews over the last year and a half. We hope you enjoy this special 50th episode of the podcast and that it inspires you to go back and listen to some of the previous episodes that you might have missed the first time around.

How can you think through the use of wealth that exceeds your personal needs? This is a perennial question to which Paul Schervish applies the perennial insights of St. Ignatius. In this conversation with Keith Whitaker, Paul shares elements of the 'discernment process' and its application to the disposition of wealth. He also talks about how discernment takes into account the joys and anxieties wealth-holders feel about the impact of wealth on others. And he even recounts some of the challenges he faced in a career of studying wealth and philanthropy within academia. This is a useful discussion for anyone seeking to connect wealth with deeper purpose.

In this week’s episode of the Wealth of Wisdom Podcast, Tom interviews investing legend Howard Marks on his chapter from the book entitled, "How should private investors understand and deal with investment risk?" Howard is a well-known investor, speaker and author on the topic of investing and risk. Listen as Tom and Howard engage in a wide-ranging conversation on the current market environment, his thoughts on investor behaviour, the trend towards passive investing, and how his memos to clients became must-read material for the entire investment community.

In this episode, Tom McCullough interviews Meir Statman, well-known author and professor at Santa Clara University who specializes in behavioral finance. We talk about what behavioral finance really means and how it impacts the lives of families of wealth. Meir also talks about his chapter in Wealth of Wisdom answering the question “What is the right balance between saving and spending in retirement?” In his research interviews with couples in retirement age, he finds that many have more than enough money to pay for whatever they need, without risk of running out of money before running out of life. Yet they resist, insisting that they cannot afford these services. Why do people behave this way? Can they change? Should they change? Fascinating conversation with a remarkable person.  

How much should we give our children and when? That's probably the most common question that parents with wealth ask. In this interview with Keith Whitaker, Peter Evans, a leading personne de confiance to wealthy families, takes on that question directly. He discusses the importance of not giving significant financial resources to children before they have become mature and independent. He also describes tools that families can use to learn about themselves--the surprising key, Peter argues, for long-term family success.

Dean Fowler is one of the founders and leaders of the field of family business consulting. In this conversation with Keith Whitaker, Dean shares his perspective on how the field has changed over the last 35 years. He also describes the seven habits that he has found help prepare successors in families with business or wealth to succeed as family leaders. Dean discusses strategies for successors to establish their own independence and reshape family communication patterns, as well as to learn how to manage financial risk. He also talks about how to apply the seven habits in families with financial wealth and to situations where, due to longevity, multiple generations are in the process of succession. This is a rich and rewarding conversation for anyone interested in family business and family wealth transitions.

In this episode, Tom McCullough interviews Chris Brightman, Chief Investment Officer of Research Affiliates, who discusses the rates of return investors can expect from their investment portfolios. Of course no one can predict exactly what returns will be, particularly over short periods of time, but in this conversation Chris lays out a fact-based, time-tested approach that will help families and advisors plan for the future. In this conversation, Chris also shares how he set up a diversified all-weather portfolio for his own adult children that is likely to deliver results and be resilient over time.

Lisa Parker is president and executive director of the Lawrence Welk Family Foundation, which was established by her grandfather, the world-famous entertainer and entrepreneur. In this interview with Keith Whitaker, Lisa talks about lessons she learned from her work with the second, third, and fourth generations of her family, as well as what she's learned from other families about how to engage children and grandchildren in philanthropy. Along the way, Lisa addresses the challenge of navigating family members' different interests, stages of life, and values. This is a great conversation for listeners seeking to deepen their families' commitment to giving as generations.

Family business consultant and educator Greg McCann has decades of experience consulting to other families and helping to run his own family's business. In this interview with Keith Whitaker he shares insights into a key challenge for every family enterprise: how to develop leaders. Greg describes the elements of vertical leadership development. He also offers a wealth of tips and practices that families can immediately put to work in developing leadership in all aspects of individual member's lives.

What is the point of family governance? Many a first-generation family leader has asked this question with some doubt that there is a point. Family business consultant Katherine Grady ably describes in this podcast how governance plays an essential role in the well-being of businesses and families that last for generations. In her interview with Keith Whitaker, Katherine describes the main structures of family governance--the Board and the Owner's Council--and their roles, as well as the perhaps surprising fact that family governance may be even more important for families who have sold their operating business and are now trying to manage a foundation, family office, or investable wealth together as a family.

How do you prepare for a good goodbye? That is, the final goodbye, death. That is the fundamental question that Kathy Wiseman takes up in this podcast and her contribution to Wealth of Wisdom. In her conversation with co-editor Keith Whitaker, Kathy talks about the role of the study of anxiety in her work with families, and she draws several lessons from her experience about how to raise the question of death with aging family members and other relatives. Kathy also shares the wisdom that, while we all know that this topic is an important and difficult one, it can be handled by families in a way that provides for a good death for family members who pass away and for stronger relationships for those family members who remain.

In this episode, Tom interviews Mary Duke about family meetings. Families are very complex ‘organizations’ all on their own, and the addition of wealth brings even more complexity. Families also face many changes over time – some predictable and some unexpected – which adds tends to add stress. So, good communication is key and family meetings are a helpful way to keep members in the loop and make decisions together. Mary offers practical guidance on using family meetings effectively. What are the benefits of a family meeting? Should every family have them? What should be on the agenda? Where should they be held? Who should and shouldn’t be invited? Should you use a facilitator? What should the ground rules be?

In this episode, Tom talks to Ashvin Chhabra (one of the fathers of goals-based investing) about ‘how you can make sure your portfolio lines up with your actual goals?’ This probably sounds obvious, but it is not commonly practiced in real life. In fact Ashvin argues that investing is not really about the markets at all - it’s about you, the investor. He show how you can organize your balance sheet into categories based on your goals and then fund each of those buckets with asset classes that are most likely to deliver success. A great conversation!

Lee Hausner is one of the leaders in the field of family wealth and business. In this conversation with Keith Whitaker she shares insight on what makes families thrive, when parents should consider telling their children about wealth and how, when parents should begin giving their children access to family funds, and how to manage the question of giving fairly versus equally to the rising generation. She also offers practical direction on using family meetings to communicate and manage the family's affairs.

When should a family call it quits and go their separate ways? How can a family even think about this painful question? In this podcast, Keith Whitaker speaks with family business consultant Doug Baumoel about these fundamental questions, ones that, from time to time, any family that is managing a business or wealth together have to face. Doug reviews the concept of the 'family factor,' which measures a family's ability to navigate change together, based on shared history, shared vision, and trust. He also talks about ways to raise, in a productive manner, the question of whether to stay together or not, and he shares examples in which families actually found ways to separate without mutually-assured destruction.

Business, wealth, family, and life itself all have a way of drawing our attention away from what matters most to what matters now, from the important to the urgent. In this episode, Tom talks to Thayer Willis whose chapter answers the question: What are the key considerations in crafting your legacy? Thayer offers a path to answering that question for yourself. It begins with identifying and clarifying your values, determining how you can better exemplify your values and priorities, and examples of specific ways to talk about these important issues with your heirs.  “We apologize for the occasional glitches on the recording caused by our telephone connection. We thought about re-recording or retouching the interview, but didn’t want to risk losing the energy, freshness and candor of our original conversation. We hope you agree.”

Jill Shipley’s chapter in Wealth of Wisdom is titled, ‘How Do You Raise Responsible, Independent, and Productive Children (versus Entitled Trust Fund Babies)?’. When working with wealthy families, this question comes up as often as any other question covered in the 50 chapters of the book. In this episode, Tom McCullough interviews Jill on what she thinks the best practices are for wealthy parents when it comes to raising their children. From thinking about how children mirror their parent’s behaviours, to investing in learning and fostering a reason to get off the couch, Jill covers some great starting points for families thinking about these issues.

Though it may not be – nor should it be – the first question families ask, is often one of the most important ones when it comes to the management of their financial assets: What should my asset allocation be? When it comes to wealthy families, we can think of no better person to answer that question than Jean Brunel, the managing principal of Brunel Associates. In this wide ranging conversation, Tom McCullough talks with Jean on the goals based approach to investing and asset allocation, and his decades of work with ultra high net worth families.

Life is complicated and it gets more so as wealth increases. At the same time, navigating the world of investments, financial products and planning is becoming more challenging every day. You can't be good at everything, so it is probably inevitable that you will have to rely on advisors with key technical skill and practical experience at some point. What do you do when you think you have found a good advisor, but you're not sure? In this episode Tom McCullough talks with Bob Dannhauser, the head of global private wealth management at the CFA Institute, about how investors can find qualified advisors, avoid the next Bernie Madoff and, in the words of Ronald Reagan, learn to “trust, but verify.”

What are tools to build healthy families? That's the question that Keith Whitaker discusses with Christian Stewart in this podcast. Christian is a non-practicing solicitor in Hong Kong who consults with global families around family governance. Among other things, Christian describes exercises he uses with families around managing difficult conversations and expressing gratitude. He also talks about how advisors can develop a comfort level in deploying these tools with their families.