This article is part of our Special Report on “Educating the Next Generation of Family Office Leaders.”
Tom McCullough, founder and chairman of Northwood Family Office, has long been vocal about the need for education aimed squarely at family offices. He’s taught an MBA course, The Management of Private Wealth, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management for the past 15 years, and a three-day intensive program for family members and family office staff for the past seven. He’s now headlining a new course, offered through Cambridge Forums, that aims squarely at answering the big questions regarding establishing and running a family office.
McCullough, who is also managing director of thought leadership and strategy for the Ultra High Net Worth Institute, is one of three experts offering the Masterclass on Family Office Designs from April 13 to 16 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. He’s joined by Judi Cunningham, founder of the Trella Advisory Group, the Business Families Centre at UBC Sauder School of Business, and the Family Enterprise Advisor program and designation, which established the global standard for professional advisors to business families. Also presenting is Devin DeCiantis, managing partner, LGA and teacher, Family Enterprise at Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management-John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises.
It’s very difficult to find people you can share your stories with because it’s private, it’s about money, or maybe about challenges with family members.
Tom McCullough
The masterclass was developed based on suggestions by members of the Cambridge Forums’ family office ecosystem. Its goal: to assist families in achieving clarity on the foundational elements of successful family offices.
“I agreed to be part of this course because it’s a bit different,” McCullough says. “It’s really about people who either have a family office or are thinking about creating a family office and need help answering questions before moving forward.”
The course includes case studies and personal stories. Participants are encouraged to talk about their family, what makes them unique and what services they need to establish five elements of success: family well-being; structure and system design; financial continuity planning; asset management and investing; and wealth administration.
How they incorporate those elements will require families to answer a number of questions, including:
- What does my family need?
- What do I already have?
- What do I need for the future?
- Is a family office appropriate?
- What kind of family office do I need—single, multi, or hybrid?
- If I have a single-family office and want to retire or get less involved, do my children keep it going, outsource it or do something different?
“This course helps people make those types of decisions for the next 20 years of family management,” McCullough says.
Cambridge Forums has been hosting private and confidential learning events for single-family office CEOs, principals and select groups of trusted advisors for more than 14 years.
“Our founding program was largely for single-family offices, and we continue to offer a strong focus on SFOs with our Cambridge Forums programming,” says Mike Howe, director, family office learning programs.
“These classes are by invitation or referral only,” Howe says. “You need to be nominated by a steering committee of your peers for participation, and these groups are typically small—no more than 40 people. That encourages a very high calibre of participation and really allows participants to dive into issues from a common level of understanding. People can talk to each other about these niche areas of focus, and work through challenges together.”
The masterclass is limited to 20 applicants and is aimed at people who have family offices or a family office relationship, or are thinking about establishing one—both decision-makers and next-gens.
Howe notes that participants will ideally come together for related programming and begin to develop long-term connections in a growing community of peers.
McCullough agrees. Family office programs, he notes, often begin their first day like “a Grade 7 dance,” with participants reluctant to be the first to speak out.
“It’s very difficult to find people you can share your stories with because it’s private, it’s about money, or maybe about challenges with family members,” he says. “By the end, there’s hugging and tears because they’ve had this opportunity to share their stories and get input. They’ve made friends and connections that last years with people who are on similar journeys.”
Peter Kenter is a Toronto-based writer with a deep and abiding interest in how everything in the world works and how it got that way. He’s written about the economy, investing, financial services, cryptocurrency, pharmaceuticals, mining, energy, cannabis, agriculture, consumer electronics, education, sponsorship marketing, and entertainment. He’s the author of TV North: Everything You Wanted to Know About Canadian Television.
The Canadian Family Offices newsletter comes out on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in stories about Canadian enterprising families, family offices and the professionals who work with them, sign up for our free newsletter here.
Please visit here to see information about our standards of journalistic excellence.