“Successionis a processanda journey
allfamiliesgothrough,andnota one-off
event,”saysEdithAng,executivedirectorof
thefamilyadvisorygroupforUBSWealth
ManagementinAsia-Pacific, whoshares
heryearsofexperiencefromworkingwith
wealthyfamiliesintheregion.
Preparingthenextgenerationtobe
leadersrequiresearlyinvolvementand
education about their roles as futurestewardsofthefamilyandtheirbusiness.
“Clearandongoingdialogueastorolesand
expectationsbetweenbothgenerationsis
imperative,”saysAng.“Tothisend,Asian
familiessometimesbenefit fromhavinga
neutralthird-partyadvisertoactasa bridge
betweenthegenerations.”
Familyofficescanplaya roleinthis
transitionandareincreasinglybeing used to
preparethenextgeneration.2)BUILDSOLIDFOUNDATIONS
A successfultransferfromonegeneration
tothenextneedstobeenshrinedina
robustlegalstructurethatring-fencesrisks
andmakessurethateveryonethefamily
wantstoprotectis takencareof.Andthis
shouldnotbea set-and-forgetdocument
lockedawayina safefordecades.Families
needtohaveregularreviewsofstructures
andfamilyagreementstoensuretheyare
uptodateandrelevanttothechanging
circumstanceswithinthefamily.
Thesedocumentswillformanimportant
elementofthefoundationthata succession
is builton,butthereis moretoit than
justthe“hardware”ofcontractsand
agreements.The“software”is justas
important.“Familiesneedtopayattention
tocommunicationandgovernance—to
makecleartheframeworksofownership,
controlandmanagement,aswemovefrom
a singledecisionmakertopotentiallyjoint
decision-making,”saysAng.
A transfertothenextgeneration
mightseedecision-makingmovefroma
singlepatriarchtoa muchlargergroupof
siblingsandcousins.Thiscanbefraught
withpotentialconflicts,soa family
constitutiondraftedjointlybyitsmembers
canaddressquestionssuchashowto
resolvedisputes,therolesandexpectations
ofeachfamilymember,andthefamily
vision and legacy to be passed on.singapore tatler. the tatler 300 list 2019 5