- Classic Article Outlining Characteristics of Wealth Acquirers and Inheritors
This 2007 article was the first comprehensive review of the psychology of wealth literature at the time. It also introduced the now-classic metaphor that wealth acquirers are like “immigrants to the proverbial Land of Wealth” while inheritors are more like “natives of wealth.” It summarized the perspectives on wealth at that time, providing insights and recommendations for understanding the similarities and differences of wealth’s acquirers and inheritors. In retrospect, some of the commonly-accepted principles about the ephemeral nature of wealth across generations – the “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves” adage – have now been shown to lack foundation. However, many other parts of the article remain helpful today, nearly twenty years later. - Tips on Choosing a Family Consultant
A New Resource for Wealthy Families and Their Advisors
The process of finding, interviewing, selecting, and working with a consultant around family wealth or family enterprise issues is a difficult one for many families. There are few resources in the industry to guide families along the way. This handout, based on extensive experience, helps clarify the steps involved and how to navigate toward a successful outcome.
- A New Perspective on Family Enterprises
Article Published in Harvard Business Review Online
A positive view of the Second Generation (G2) in family enterprises was the subject of an article in Harvard Business Review by Jim Grubman and Dennis Jaffe. The article, entitled Why the Second Generation Can Make or Break Your Family Business, provides insight into the importance of G2 in transitioning many family businesses from the dynamic growth in G1 to a more sustainable, family-centered enterprise for future generations. - Client Relationships and Family Dynamics
Competencies and Services Necessary for Truly Integrated Wealth Management
Every interaction in wealth management can be characterized along two dimensions: the complexity of the client’s technical needs and the complexity of the client’s personal and family needs. Advisors often attend mostly to the technical dimension, addressing clients’ personal issues or family dynamics only when these are overly problematic. Yet, excellent wealth management requires advisors to have a solid foundation in client relationship skills as well as good basic knowledge of family-dynamics situations that commonly arise with wealth.
In an ongoing series of comprehensive articles, Jim Grubman and colleague Dennis Jaffe outline new ways to conceptualize, assess, and implement client-relationship skills and services in integrated family-office-level wealth management.
James Grubman, Ph.D and Dennis Jaffe, Ph.D. Journal of Wealth Management, Summer 2010 - Working With Overspending Clients
Motivating and Helping the Overspending Client
Most financial advisors find that overspending clients represent some of the most frustrating situations in their work. Time spent with these clients is often ineffective and ultimately unsuccessful. This article provides an overview of addictive-type overspending and what advisors can do to help it.
James Grubman, Ph.D, Kathy Bollerud, Ed.D, and Cheryl Holland, CFP. Journal of Financial Planning, March 2011 - Articles Distilling Cross Cultures Concepts
Cultural Insights and Recommendations for Families and Advisors
The central concepts outlined in depth in Cross Cultures: How Global Families Negotiate Change Across Generations are summarized in two articles by Jim and Dennis from late 2015. The STEP Journal article provides an overview of the three main global cultures and the implications for advisors working with global family enterprises. The second, published in Tharawat magazine, focuses more on the implications for families themselves. - Wealth, Entrepreneurs, and ADHD/Learning Disorders
Whirlwinds and Wealth: Entrepreneurs, ADHD, and Wealth Management
The broad population of affluent families contains many high-achieving individuals with ADHD and/or learning disorders (LD). In one of the few published articles on this important topic, Dr. Jim Grubman and colleague Dr. Jerry Schultz discuss one family’s situation and how the strengths and stresses of ADHD/LD can be managed successfully in wealth management.
James Grubman, Ph.D, and Jerry Schultz, Ph.D. Wealth Manager Magazine, July 2010