The Whitnell Way

Most people want their children and grandchildren to do better than they’ve done. They want their heirs to be safe, to thrive, to achieve their full potential and maybe even avoid some of the suffering they’ve encountered. This desire often shapes the choices they make, sometimes in subtle ways that may not be obvious to them. But their motives and goals often come to the forefront during the process of legacy planning. 

Most affluent people know that money will be an important part of what they leave their heirs, but maybe not the most important part. I’ve noticed that my affluent clients sometimes struggle to talk about what else they’ll leave their heirs besides their wealth and their memories. If you’ve struggled in this area, I’d like to provide some ideas for how to think about and enhance your entire legacy, not just the wealth you’ll leave to loved ones. 

In this podcast, originally aired on Chicago’s premier talk-radio station, WGN, Brian Henderson discusses stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Brian acknowledges that this event has taken most people by complete surprise. His response, once it became clear how big an impact COVID-19 would have on the markets, was to become his clients’ risk manager. His primary financial concern was that each client had more than enough cash to ride out the storm, so they didn’t have to sell equities to cover living expenses. 

In this podcast, originally aired on Chicago’s Premiere talk-radio station, WGN, Brian Henderson discusses how success breeds complexity. Successful and hard-working people are also typically time-starved. This means that sometimes they have to choose between work, spending time with family or taking care of the details in their personal financial situation. When push comes to shove, work will get done and most people won’t sacrifice time with their family – leaving personal finances at-risk.

In this podcast, originally aired on Chicago’s Premiere talk-radio station, WGN, Brian Henderson describes how he uses a strategy called The Book to organize the financial life of successful families. These people often are time-starved, have way too many tasks on their plate and contend with the complexity that seems to follow success. Many times, the more successful a family becomes, the more complex their lives become. At some point, they reach a catalyst event that causes them to seek a solution to simplify their lives.

It probably sounds strange to hear me say that your family needs a mission.  After all, companies have missions.  Military units have missions.  Charitable organizations have missions.  Sports teams have missions.  But families?  Not so much.  However, I believe that affluent families can really benefit when they have a clear mission that everyone understands. 

I’ve been working with quite a number of affluent families to develop these missions.  After reflecting on those experiences, I’ve identified five ways that family missions create unity and harmony – something that nearly every family struggles with – but especially affluent families.  Let me share these with you.   
 

A decade is a long time, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.  A lot can change in a decade, even though it seems to happen in fast-forward mode, like a time-lapse video.  This often leaves people with a nagging sense that they need to update some things.  Maybe it’s their estate plan or their insurance coverages?  But in my experience, for every one thing you can think of that needs to get updated, there are likely five to seven things that you probably would update if you had time to think about it.

You wouldn’t go an entire decade without seeing a doctor and getting a health checkup.  Yet so many people let a decade slip by without having a financial health checkup with a professional who can update their financial plan to be in line with their wishes.  If you or someone you care about is in this situation, I’d like to provide a framework for bringing your wealth and your goals into lock-step. 

Whitnell’s commitment to producing thought leadership materials stretches back several years now.  The Whitnell Way is one example of how we share ideas with our clients and the wider market.  But it’s not the only way – especially now that Brian Henderson is a published author on Forbes.com. 

Over the last few years, I've begun to work with more private equity entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business executives.  I really enjoy working with these people because they are so bold and willing to take risks.  These individuals live and breathe the American Dream every day.  They put it all on the line.

Yet I've also noticed that their penchant for risk-taking sometimes hurts them when they miscalculate an opportunity.  Private equity entrepreneurs are willing to take huge risks because they know that's how they'll realize huge rewards.  But this mindset can be a hindrance to building and preserving long-term wealth. 

We all have to take risks to achieve rewards.  But it’s essential to fully evaluate the opportunity while being realistic about best-case and worst-case scenarios.  The key is to take the right risks at the right time.  When we take the wrong risks, or take reasonable risks at the wrong time, we diminish the likelihood of achieving our goals.  Here are lessons I've learned about risk-taking from working closely with private equity entrepreneurs. 

As I watched the Super bowl recently, I was reminded of different teams I played on growing up. In team sports, there are certain fundamental principles that come to life. Teamwork prevails over a star player. Execution matters more than raw talent. Experience comes with age. Defense wins championships.

But the football season is now over and baseball is just around the corner. Not everyone finds baseball exciting, but I find myself exhilarated by the looming start of the season. Of course it doesn’t hurt that I’m a lifelong Cubs fan and we have a lot to be excited about.

Interest rates are still pretty attractive compared to previous decades. In fact, today’s low interest rates provide some opportunities that may not come around again for a very long time, potentially in our lifetimes. What seems certain, at this point, is that interest rates will not remain low forever – in fact, they could start to trend higher yet this year.

This raises some important questions. How can one take advantage of low interest rates? What strategies might work for your goals? What steps might you take now that might not be available or attractive in the coming months and years? Will you miss out on some great opportunities?

The holiday season is here in force. I feel it and I’m sure you do too. This is a wonderful time of year. But I sometimes wish there were 62 days in December instead of only 31 days. I know it’s the holiday season because of what happens with my clients. The busy executives and business owners that I’m privileged to serve are often so busy during the year that I have to schedule meetings months in advance. The pace of work and life leaves them with little time for anything else.

But during the holidays, somewhere around the third week of December, things start to change. People slow down a bit. They take time off from work and spend it with family. They relax and just breathe.

My son’s t-ball team recently won the championship in the Oak Park, Illinois youth baseball league. Over the course of the season, we experienced many highs and lows. That’s the nature of coaching 5, 6 and 7-year olds. I witnessed joys and agonies among these young competitors who are just learning to deal with life’s ups and downs.

In 2013, the market performed very well for many investors. However, there are some people who feel as if they missed out on opportunities since their portfolio return didn’t keep up with domestic stocks. Some investors, with a balanced portfolio that includes a long-term perspective, feel as if their portfolio could have performed better.

This feeling is reinforced by industry news media who often seem to highlight the strongest gains of 2013 while frequently ignoring the potential risks. If you have a long-term investment strategy and feel as if you missed out in 2013, I’d like to offer an alternative perspective.

Sooner or later most senior executives consider switching to another company. Exciting new opportunities pose increases in career satisfaction and work-life balance. But when it comes to comparing the executive compensation packages and figuring out if you are better off leaving or staying – based on economics alone – it can be very tough to make an apples-to-apples comparison.