Nearly 150 women gathered last month in Charleston, South Carolina for the 13th annual Women’s Retreat hosted by GenSpring Family Offices, a leading wealth management firm for ultra-high net worth families. The weekend symposium brought together multi-generations of female clients ranging in age from 17 to 87. The group convened around topics dedicated to preparing them for decisions about the management of their wealth and the impact it will have on their lives and those of family members. Five themes emerged as participants from 23 different states representing over $2 billion of collective wealth discussed both the emotional and financial aspects of a woman’s life.
Five areas of interest emerged as key themes for discussion:
1. The importance of effective family communication
2. Enabling versus providing opportunity to next generation family members
3. The implications of equal versus unequal inheritance
4. Best practices for communicating wealth transfer intentions
5. The impact money has on relationships
As a family office, GenSpring recognizes the importance for all family members to live an informed and fulfilled life with wealth. Since the firm’s founding 25 years ago, learning programs designed just for women have been an integral part of the overall service offering. In more recent years, GenSpring’s focus on women has been organized into a dedicated effort known as the Women & Wealth Initiative which is co-chaired by GenSpring executives Patricia Soldano and Carolann Grieve.
“I am thrilled with the level of engagement and enthusiasm participants demonstrated throughout this year’s Women’s Retreat,” said Ms. Soldano. “Given the statistics that women will control 2/3 of the consumer wealth in the U.S. within the next 10 years, financial education tailored specifically to women is a critical component of our role as a family office to prepare family members for the responsibilities and challenges that come with a life of wealth.”
“The work we conduct with women centers around helping them to discover their voice – empowering them to find a comfort level within their personal situation and then teaching them how they can thrive within those circumstances,” added Ms. Grieve. “The Women’s Retreat provides an opportunity for us to focus on those challenges that resonate with them. If you are going to connect with women, you have to speak their language. They relate to the world differently than men and have different perspectives, concerns and priorities.”
Today, the Women & Wealth Initiative uses GenSpring’s collective expertise and experience serving women clients to create meaningful and relevant learning programs, which are offered to women on both a small and large scale to encourage the sharing of information, networking and problem solving. The purpose is to create a welcoming environment emphasizing a holistic approach to financial stability, which in turn enables women to live an informed and responsible life with wealth, to feel fulfilled and empowered to achieve their goals.