Episodes

Quan is the author of his memoir “SPARROW AND THE RAZOR WIRE” His is an amazing story of redemption, the importance of second chances and the power of entrepreneurship. https://www.amazon.com/Sparrow-Razor-Wire-Finding-Sentence-ebook/dp/B08F34LBXL Quan spent twenty-two years in and out of correctional institutions, including a life sentence for murder. He was paroled 2015 and created his first company six months later. The following year, he received the Peace Fellowship Award for his wor...

New York City residents have the highest State and City tax burden in the country (it’s over 15% at the top level, recently overtaking California). It’s no surprise that New Yorkers are constantly strategizing around their tax burden and potential moves to other states- especially for high earners or those looking to sell a business. But a lot of New Yorkers suffer from ‘advice by cocktail party” and many misconceptions float around as people assume that being out of NY for more than 183 days i...

GRIFFIN BRIDGERS wears two hats – estate planning attorney, and content creator. He is a partner with the law firm of HUTCHINS & ASSOCIATES in Denver, Colorado, and also is piloting a fledgling media venture centered around bespoke tax and estate planning education in the digital age. IN THIS EPISODE: Quick tour of the changing estate planning landscape and the legislative shifts. Why GRIFFIN has started his media company Trends in the business models of the wealth management industry A c...

In this episode, MATTHEW MCCLINTOCK joins us. Matthew is a high end estate planning attorney and is a Principal at EVERGREEN LEGACY PLANNING which is based in Colorado. He has built his practice at the cutting edge of Cryptocurrency and Estate Planning, a field that is evolving by the day. This is Matthew’s second appearance and he’s on again for a good reason. We last recorded Oct. 2nd 2020. Bitcoin was around $10,000 . . . it’s now valued in the $48,000 range (having spiked over 60K!). Many o...

The LGBTQ+ community has always been an important part of American fabric. But it’s only in last two decades that society, the law and the financial services industry have started to catch up to the community’s unique planning needs. To help us put context around these features and the evolution of the law, I spoke with estate planning attorney, Brian Balduzzi Brian is a lawyer in Philadelphia at the international law firm FAEGRE DRINKER. Among many other activities, Brian serves as the Vice P...

For many wealthy families, concentrated liquid investment positions present special types of issues. More often than not, a diversification plan for a position that has been built up over decades, is relegated to a 5 minute discussion. And it shouldn’t. From low-cost basis issues, income requirements, family executive involvement and even other factors like emotional attachment, the decision to buy and sell liquid positions can be more complicated than it looks. To help us understand the bes...

Divorce in the Ultra-High Net Worth Space is a little bit different. Gates, Bezos, Kardashian . . . You don’t have to look too far into the headlines to see how important this space has become for wealth families. While the emotional pain is the same, the stakes are higher and the process can be more complicated. OLIVIA SUMMERHILL joins us to help us think through the issues. In her practice, Olivia has seen the devastating effects of divorce on stay-at-home mothers in ultra-high-net-worth fa...

“Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” is as old as commerce itself. Family enterprises rarely make it beyond three generations for many reasons. Today, we hear the story of the Grossman family from BEN GROSSMAN who co-operates the family business with his brother, David. They are fighting that “Shirtsleeves” phenomenon with an interesting set of tools and intention. In this podcast, we listen to their story of building the family business, managing transition and creating the condi...

With interest in alternative asset classes at an all-time high, the focus of family offices and other investors has been to investigate more “liquid assets.” We’re not talking about cash or oil . . . the spirits world has produced scores of profit stories at the asset class and business level. Bourbon is a niche that has been on fire recently. With a low interest rate environment, private capital’s huge appetite for “uncorrelated” asset classes, and a theme that is a haven for entrepreneurs in K...

With the Biden proposals comes the potential for tax increases at the income, capital gains and estate tax level. Life insurance is becoming interesting again to a lot of families looking to expand on their functions of income replacement, business succession and tax planning. Using trusts and other structures to amplify their effectiveness is shifting back into focus. The ongoing maintenance of these structures is usually underestimated and the resulting liability could be a nasty surprise for ...

Puerto Rico is a jurisdiction that excites the imaginations of wealth planners. It has interesting attributes for American citizens that other non-U.S. jurisdictions don’t. For instance it is the one place that American citizens can greatly reduce their Federal Income tax liability without having to renounce their citizenship. This has generated an enormous amount of interest. There is good reason for that interest. 2020 and 2021 have thrown a lot of uncertainty at wealthy families trying to ar...

https://www.amazon.com/Soundbite-Admissions-Secret-College-Beyond/dp/0306874830/ Sara Harberson, America’s College Counselor, is a nationally recognized authority on college admissions with formidable credentials: former Associate Dean of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, Dean of Admissions at Franklin & Marshall College, and Director of College Counseling at the Baldwin School. Sara is one of the only private college counselors who has led both an admissions office at a highly sele...

*(5/30/21 UPDATE: A FULL TRANSCRIPT IS UNDERNEATH THE OUTLINE). In this podcast, I spend some time speaking with wealth management industry expert, Brittain Prigge, about the role of communication and expectations with wealthy families. We both agree that broadening communication within wealthy families is the surest way to reduce the risk of wealth destruction across generations. Brittain brings many real world examples and wisdom to this important topic. She has unique insight into the art of...

This was an opportunity to speak with an amazingly accomplished portfolio manager and entrepreneur. Right now, the specter of interest rate volatility, market volatility and inflation risk have investors’ full attention. Nancy Davis’s fund, IVOL, was built on her experience dealing with these issues and has received a lot of positive recent notice. Nancy began her career at Goldman Sachs where she became the Head of Credit, Derivatives and OTC Trading. She went on to be a portfolio manager at Hi...

I think direct indexing is going to be a major innovation in the world of wealth and asset management. It will help the RIA and wealth management world deliver on the promise of financial planning. It will also help rationalize the business model of many advisors as clients request more specialization around their affairs. The impacts could be enormous and many players are entering the space. To help us understand the concept of “Direct Indexing”, I spoke with LISA GOLDBERG, PhD. Lisa is the He...

This podcast is off the beaten path from the usual wealth topics, but it’s no less a story of perseverance and vision. It’s a thrill to talk to my friends about their successes. In this case, it has been a long time and a lot of hard work in the making. Born and raised in Watertown, NY, JIM HARBERSON (TWITTER, INSTAGRAM) has a Masters in Religion and was a lawyer before embarking on his writing career. He has published many horror and sci-fi stories including podcast projects for “Chilling Tale...

On the referral of a colleague, I interviewed the Nashville-based, LEONORA WILLIAMSON. She is an expert in family business dynamics, corporate citizenship and executive coaching and she has unique insights into the world of family business succession. Aside from advising families on the myriad issues, she has lived them herself with her family’s own business. She is the founder of PLATINUM RULE ADVISORS and a Lecturer at Vanderbilt University on the topics of Negotiation and Corporate Social Re...

I’m thrilled to have Ted Seides on the show to discuss his new BOOK, his wildly successful PODCAST, his FIRM’S media and coaching focus and the world of capital allocation. Ted has a unique perspective in the asset management world, having worked for the legendary David Swensen at the Yale Endowment, having conducted thousands of interviews with portfolio and investment managers and having capital allocation responsibility both for others (at Protege Partners) as well as himself. He takes a look...

I see the concept of locating wealth and assets at the state level all the time for a variety of reasons . . . There has been only occasional talk of U.S. citizens exploring other citizenships. At the federal level, US citizens are taxed on worldwide income no matter where they live. However, with a new regime in Washington (and wealth tax initiatives) , there seems to be more interest in foreign citizenship options. To help make sense of the myths and the current climate, I spoke with David L...

The 75th “Wealth Actually” Podcast . . . Wow . . . it seems like I just started this project a few months ago. It has been 4 and a half years since the first one . . . it’s alarming how fast time flies. Hopefully, I have improved over time! This 75th recording is an industry specific interview, but it has wide ramifications. In getting up to speed on a different project, I stumbled across the book “Ethics for Trustees 2.0” by MARGUERITE LORENZ. Based in California, Marguerite is a Master Truste...

EUAN RELLIE is on the podcast today. We went around the world in half an hour and probably could have solved the worlds problems over drinks if we had the time. Alas, we only get a taste of Euan’s informed worldview and his story of building a business and advising clients as they solve the puzzle of doing business in Asia and around the world successfully. We do get a hear a bit about of his love for Arsenal Football at the end. For those who want to hear more from Euan, he is an excellent twi...

Occasionally, I get to speak with someone in the industry that both affirms my experiences, but also pushes my thinking and worldview. DAVID C WELLS JR, CEO of Family Capital Strategy, fits that bill on the topic of advising families. I met him in Nashville early in 2020 and stayed in touch. When I heard he was writing a book, I knew we were kindred spirits having gone through that process myself. That book, “When Anything is Possible”, just came out and I couldn’t be happier for him. I think it...

Here is the first video foray for the “Wealth Actually” podcast (a bit by accident! We had to switch formats midstream . . . so I decided to experiment with the video format). I interviewed Christopher Ott on #Cybersecurity for the Ultra High Net Worth, High Net Worth and Family Office space. We talk about how one should view their own digital risks, how to protect yourself, and what to do when you have been compromised. We kept it to 40 minutes and probably could have discussed issues for more...

After a slew of podcasts about structuring, estate planning, investment themes and politics, I thought it would be fun to dive into a sport with a long, regal. and unusual history- COURT TENNIS (or “Real Tennis”). Descended from handball, and equal parts tennis (players face each other unlike squash and racquetball), platform tennis (where the walls are part of the court), the sport has all sorts of peculiar rules. It has strange looking racquets, arcane rules and courts with unusual and idiosyn...