Legacies Evolve; Promises Don’t: Pathstone’s Approach to Multigenerational Financial Stewardship
Legacies Evolve; Promises Don’t: Pathstone’s Approach to Multigenerational Financial Stewardship
In life, we all run our own race. But where we start, as well as where we wind up, depends in part on the generations that came before us.
Coaching families through those choices are family offices like Pathstone. To the families and foundations it serves, Pathstone makes a promise: to uphold the family’s legacy across generations.
Pathstone thinks about each family’s legacy like a relay race: The first runner runs a portion of the race in a way that satisfies her. That first generation then passes the baton, while in the lead, to the second runner. The second runner runs the race he wants — while still respecting where he began — before passing the baton again. Each generation extends the lead while choosing its own path.
Pathstone’s role in the race? Marking the course, training the team, and providing support from start to finish.
Many Races, One Constant
Just as there are different kinds of races, there are many types of legacies. No one is more meaningful or valuable than the others, per se, but Pathstone knows they need different kinds of support.
Some family leaders turn to entrepreneurship. When it’s time to exit the company, Pathstone ensures a smooth handoff. In addition to rewarding entrepreneurs financially, Pathstone’s Steve Braverman, co-CEO, explains in Forbes that exits must be done in a way that ensures the remaining team can build on their vision and legacy.
For others, philanthropy is the finish line. Pathstone helps families not just choose charities to support, but also maximize their tax deductions, structure their contributions, and manage associated funds. Its emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments distinguishes Pathstone among family offices.
Multigenerational financial stewardship is, to still others, what matters most. Pathstone takes an “all of the above” approach. Financial planning, estate planning, and tax planning make sure the next generation is set up to succeed, while insurance and risk management guard against downside risks to the family’s future.
Many, of course, want a blend. That’s where Pathstone’s customizable, unbundled financial support comes in. Someone who wants to live well while giving back, for instance, may be interested in advisory services, ESG investments, and financial reporting. An aging entrepreneur focused on wealth preservation might need help with property management and estate planning.
Those priorities may change across generations. What’s constant is Pathstone’s promise: to ensure the legacy lives on, in whatever form its families choose.
Ready, Set, Run
To light the way on each family’s legacy, Pathstone has developed a series of initiatives, or paths. Like legacies themselves, they can be mixed and matched according to the family’s needs.
A favorite among Pathstone clients is FuturePath, which works to empower the next generation to be active, responsible stewards of the family’s legacy. FuturePath uses interactive events, peer engagement, and educational resources to ensure the younger generation understands its role in preserving and building the family’s wealth.
For female family leaders, Pathstone has developed HerPath. To help women take control of their financial situation, HerPath creates a space where they can connect over shared challenges and opportunities. HerPath’s nonjudgmental environment is key: Women can freely ask questions about wealth management, forge mentor-mentee relationships, and talk about their plans.
Supporting philanthropic legacies is Pathstone Impact, which helps families align their investments with their mission and values. Using ESG criteria, Pathstone Impact aims to deliver the best of both worlds: strong returns that make a difference.
To fulfill its promise, however, Pathstone knows its clients can’t be the only ones on the path. For the firm and its employees, it has laid out two additional paths.
Every Step of the Way
Pathstone’s own legacy mirrors that of its clients: As the generations turn, Pathstone knows its services may need to change, but its core promise must be kept. Its final two paths reflect that.
CareerPath cultivates Pathstone leaders with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. With the company’s core values — caring, openness, passion, excellence, humility, teamwork, proactivity, innovation, and experience — in mind, CareerPath helps Pathstone stay true to its mission.
CareerPath’s robust benefits program promotes commitment to the team, which is critical for fulfilling its multigenerational promise. By encouraging employees to make Pathstone their lifelong career, it builds trust and familiarity with the families it serves.
Because its team members, like its clients, are looking for more than financial support, Pathstone launched Path4Impact in 2019. This initiative falls under the Impact Committee, which produces the Annual Impact Report. Through this initiative, firm actions, and events, Pathstone works to build a community of which its team can be proud. FitPath, part of the Path4Impact initiative, encourages employees to lead fit, healthy lives with interoffice challenges.
For itself and its clients, Pathstone recognizes building a legacy takes a lifetime. Upholding it across generations, however, takes even more: a promise, a committed team, and a family that appreciates the gift it’s been given.
The post Legacies Evolve; Promises Don’t: Pathstone’s Approach to Multigenerational Financial Stewardship appeared first on ReadWrite.
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