Key Findings from STEP-IFB Engaging Advisors: Family Business Research

This joint research report from STEP and IFB provides insightful context and information about how advisors see family business clients and vice versa. While the sample of individuals was small, the summary of findings and implications for this research are important to the field of family enterprise and the further development of advisory services to business families. The report is a very realistic snapshot of challenges faced by family enterprise advisors and family businesses members. In some cases, the report makes valid points which are...

Read More

Re-thinking Family Firm “Failure”

A synopsis of the FFI Practitioner post, Evolutionin Thinking About Generational Transition in Family Enterprises:  Dr. Pramodita Sharma, Sanders Professor for Family Business at the School of Business Administration, University of Vermont, writes that the commonly used 30-13-3 statistic (referring to the devolving chances of family enterprises succeeding to the next generation) is no longer serving the field of family enterprise because of its inaccuracy and constraint on the reality of family businesses today. Sharma cites a number...

Read More

Philanthropic Patterns of U.S. Family Foundations

Philanthropy is big business, particularly in the U.S., where family foundations are more common than elsewhere in the world. Of the 200 largest independent foundations in the U.S. in 2007, 111 (55.5%) were family run, with proportionate shares of assets, contributions and donations: $166 billion in assets, $23 billion in contributions (to the foundation by the family), and $11 billion in grantmaking (donations). The authors of a study on family foundations, Lungeanu and Ward find that family foundation members exercise their influence over...

Read More

How Family Enterprises have Changed, and the Implications for Professional Advisors

From the FFI Practitioner Blog, an audio interview with Drew Mendoza, managing principal of FBCG: Drew will be sharing reflections about how a few of the constituencies of family enterprise systems have changed over the past 20 years and what that means for today’s practitioner. 2014 is the 20th anniversary of FBCG. He has done over 4500 client intakes and matched consultants with clients. Transcript: Q: What is the most profound change for the constituencies of family enterprise systems and of which practitioners should be aware? ·       must...

Read More