This month, Canadian Family Offices will be publishing our first-ever special report on education, which we hope will be of interest to family members and executives who work in (or aspire to work in) family enterprises or offices. The package, running through the course of March, will include lists of available academic offerings at Canadian postsecondary institutions and, in recognition that educational options today are global, of international programs as well. We will also take a more in-depth look at a few of those programs and explore some of the issues and opportunities for academic training in family enterprise and family offices.
Why the focus on education? In part, the editorial interest springs from our ongoing coverage of the next generation and the impact of the transition of family enterprises and wealth, along with the corresponding impact on family offices. But it also has to do with how the family office/enterprise ecosystems in Canada seem to be evolving, and what we see as an appetite among our readers not just in learning more about it, but also in finding out how they can learn more about it.
In the family business context, we will look at the potential role of academic programs in helping younger members of the family be better prepared for taking over, or at least for having an active, informed voice in business decision-making. It’s no doubt true that, for some, “growing up” in the family business will be considered education enough; they might also make use of the services of advisors, such as Family Enterprise Advisors (FEAs), who specialize in supporting businesses through succession planning, family dynamics and other issues. But as we hope our report will demonstrate, family members may still benefit from learning in a more structured environment. So, too, might executives—non-family members—who work in family-owned businesses, a job that no doubt brings unique complications and challenges.
When it comes to family office programs, the view becomes a bit fuzzier and the options for Canadians more limited. A family enterprise and a family office are not the same thing, yet there is often an overlap. At Canadian Family Offices, we cover both, in recognition that today’s family business could very well become tomorrow’s family office, and that “enterprise” and “office” frequently co-exist. Still, an academic program in family enterprise is far different from an education in family office. Learning how to manage a company does not necessarily equip you to manage intergenerational wealth and all the complexities of governance, law, succession and family dynamics that come with it.
The challenge is that in Canada, with a handful of exceptions, most of the academic programming and research in what we might call the “wealthy family” space focus on enterprises rather than offices. Perhaps that reflects the widely acknowledged youth of the family office model in Canada compared with the U.S. and Europe; it might also reflect the economic importance of family businesses, which comprise more than 60 per cent of all private enterprises in this country, according to Family Enterprise Canada. This month’s special report looks beyond our borders to international offerings simply because not many domestic options exist.
That said, through our conversations with Canadian academics, it became clear that there is growing interest in family offices and their importance both to enterprising families and to the economic landscape. So, while it’s fair to say that university offerings in family office education are still few, they are emerging.
There is also an acknowledged lack of Canada-specific academic research on family offices. Our own humble attempts to address that gap include the annual multi-family office study and other surveys, but these cannot match the rigour of proper academic research (nor are they intended to). In our view, this is an area of opportunity for researchers and for media outlets like ours.
While we have made our best efforts, we are well aware that this special report will not be comprehensive. If there are programs in Canada that we have overlooked, or if there are research projects under way, we would very much like to know about them. (A little learning is a dangerous thing, but we hope it is not lethal in this case.)
Feedback, ideas and constructive criticisms are welcome. As always, you can reach us at newsroom@canadianfamilyoffices.com.
Joe Chidley is managing editor of Canadian Family Offices.
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