Holistic wealth management is an approach to managing a family’s wealth that takes into account a range of factors both financial and non-financial. These factors not only include investment management, tax, retirement, estate planning, and insurance, but also estate management, philanthropy, and travel and lifestyle management.
By considering all these factors, holistic wealth management aims to foster the five forms of capital: financial, human, intellectual, social and spiritual.
The intersection of estate management and holistic wealth:
An individual’s home environment plays a key role in their emotional, social, and financial well-being. A family’s homes can provide respite, a setting for bringing loved ones together, and a space to focus on what matters most to the family. A new home can be a symbol of a family’s achievements. A historical home that’s been passed down for generations can be a tie to the family’s legacy and a powerful tool for passing on values and traditions.
Most importantly, a well-maintained and peaceful home can significantly contribute to a higher standard of living for all family members — and conversely, a chaotic home can cause daily stress. By providing estate management support, family offices have an opportunity to alleviate some of their clients’ most pressing frustrations.
A blueprint for effective estate management:
Step 1: Treat properties as investments
Unfortunately, many wealthy families make the mistake of managing their homes and household staff too casually. This leads to chaos and unmanageability. One important thing to remember is that properties are investments and should be treated as such. Wealthy homeowners may view their properties as mere living spaces. However, there are many intricacies involved in running a luxury home, from maintaining commercial-grade home systems to managing human resources for household staff.
Bringing a professional and purposeful mindset to household management is crucial to avoid risk and disappointment.
Step 2: Manage household staff professionally
If household staff are not managed properly, it can lead to inefficiencies, frustration and significant liabilities. This is a common issue in families hiring for the first time. Many start the hiring process by hiring a personal assistant, multiple nannies, and personal chefs, without a clear structure and chain of command.
These families find themselves in a wealth spiral. The goal of hiring private service professionals is to simplify life at home. But as they bring on more people and start more projects, everything becomes more complex. The hired team lacks harmony, and the principal may get bogged down with managerial tasks such as scheduling work shifts, managing payroll, and running what feels like a small business within their home, which defeats the original purpose.
Household staff need structure, including clear job descriptions, regular feedback, professional development opportunities, and guidance from their principals. Every household is unique, and staff must clearly understand their principals’ priorities and expectations to avoid failure and disappointment. Rebecca Maguire, founder of EFO Advisory Services, recommends five steps to overcoming unmanageability and streamlining a chaotic high-net-worth household.
The role of family offices in holistic wealth management:
Family offices can bridge the gap between financial and non-financial aspects of wealth management with the help of focused service providers. Nines, a trusted family office service provider, offers an estate management system designed specifically for modern households. The platform provides an easy way to manage properties and everything related to them. It offers a centralised location for managing tasks, property information, and staff communications. Nines also provides industry-standard house manual templates so clients do not have to waste time creating their own estate management system using a variety of different tools like email, text messages, Excel spreadsheets, and generic project management tools. Beyond its technology platform, Nines provides training, support and community to help private service professionals thrive in their roles.
To sum it up
Holistic wealth management involves taking into account non-financial factors that can enhance the well-being of a family. Supporting families with the tools and structure they need to manage residences, staff, and ongoing projects has the potential to alleviate stress and enjoy the lifestyle they have achieved. Family offices can get customised solutions that meet their client’s specific needs and objectives by working with experienced service providers like Nines, a household management platform.
About Nines
Nines is an estate management platform built with security and ease of use in mind, backed by VCP Ventures (Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez). Discerning families and family offices use Nines as a centralised household manual and operating system to simplify managing properties, assets, vendors, staff, projects, and more. Plus, Nines offers in-house estate management support, workshops and consulting. Nines is headquartered in New York City, with clients all across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Dubai and Australia.
