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 James Grubman, Ph.D. 356 Montague City Road - Suite 100 Turners Falls, Massachusetts 01376 413-775-0557 jim@jamesgrubman.com  |
Resources - For Clients 
Who Really Inhabits the Land of Wealth?
Understanding Differences between Wealth's Immigrants and Native-born Citizens
A surprising statistic is that over 80% of affluent households have achieved their wealth within one generation. Only 20% of the wealthy have been raised with inherited wealth. First-generation wealthy families ("New Money") are much like immigrants, having travelled from the economic culture of their birth to a much higher economic level. Those marrying into wealthy families from a more modest background are also immigrants of a different type who make the journey suddenly.
Many of the stresses experienced by individuals, couples, and families of affluence are similar to other types of immigrant experience, including the strains between first-generation parents and their native-born children and grandchildren. Referenced by Robert Frank in his Wall Street Journal Wealth Report, this analogy is explored in a series of articles by Dr. Grubman, Dr. Dennis Jaffe, and Dr. Keith Whitaker, with recommendations for how to approach these issues by a trusted and thoughtful advisor.
Immigration To The Land of Wealth - Private Wealth magazine, March/April 2009
Immigrants and Natives to Wealth: Understanding Clients Based on Their Wealth Origins - Journal of Financial Planning, July, 2007
Acquirers' and Inheritors' Dilemma: Discovering Life Purpose and Building Personal Identity in the Presence of Wealth - The Journal of Wealth Management, Fall 2007
Raising Responsible Children with Wealth
One of the worries most consistently voiced by families of affluence is how to raise children who are productive, motivated, responsible, and generous. This task is difficult for parents who have acquired wealth during their lifetime and for parents who were raised amidst wealth themselves. See the links below for a list of educational resources about parenting skills and estate planning and for a white paper emphasizing the value of "teachable moments" about money and children.
Resource Guide for Financial Literacy and Estate Planning (pdf)
Taking the Time to Teach - A Calibre White Paper, May 2006
The ABC's of 123's: Helping Clients Raise Financially Intelligent Children: Webcast for Clients with pdf handout: In a webcast made in collaboration with State Street Global Advisors, Dr. Grubman outlines the basics of financial literacy training. He discusses the importance of starting early in building sound relationships with money for children. (free registration necessary for viewing the webcast)
Understanding Family Meetings for Families of Wealth
In this collaboration with the Family Dynamics Practice of Calibre, Dr. Grubman helps outline essential principles of family meetings as a core part of basic governance and communication processes for families of wealth. Run successfully, family meetings contribute immeasurably to the long-term health of the family and its legacy.
Should We Have a Family Meeting? - A Calibre White Paper, Spring 2007
Communicating about Money: Distinguishing Privacy from Secrecy
In many families, talking about money is largely avoided, with wide-ranging consequences. Children may be left in the dark about how to think about money or handle their finances, creating needless mystery and anxiety around the topic of money. This anxiety carries into adulthood and gets passed on, repeating the pattern.
Families with wealth may not be any more adept at talking about money. They may in fact communicate less, due to a culture of secrecy around wealth. Parents also fear that private family information discussed with children will leak out to others. So, to prevent unwanted gossiping about the family's personal information, parents reveal very little to their own children. Yet wealthy parents possess much information which the children eventually need to know. All too often, this information may not come out until circumstances force the issue. As in other families guarding powerful knowledge, the holding of secrets has its own negative effects.
Understanding the differences between appropriate privacy and harmful secrecy can help us know when to face our anxieties and talk about money.
Privacy versus Secrecy - The More than Money Journal, Winter 2001.
Finding and Keeping a Trusted Advisor
A great financial advisor is not unlike a great doctor. Advisors - like healthcare professionals - must be skilled in technical knowledge while highly adept at empathy and support. Financial advising is, at its core, a helping profession.
Financial service clients can and should expect their advisors to be trustworthy, attentive, and compassionate. What should you do if these qualities are missing in the advising relationship? This article addresses the tricky but important steps to be taken to insure the relationship succeeds.
Creating Great Relationships with Advisors - The More than Money Journal, May 2005
Some
of the resources listed above are in .pdf format
and therefore must be viewed with Adobe Reader. Click on 'Get Adobe Reader' to the left to download a free version of Adobe Reader.