As a number of sons and daughters prepare to take over the reins of family wealth, established by their parents, private banks have set up education programmes to help them learn about the challenges that accompany wealth.
Wealth education programmes offered by the private banking arms of JP Morgan and Citibank are designed to teach the sons and daughters of wealthy clients money management and the soft skills associated with being wealthy. Next generation programmes also help firms get in at the ground level of new growth stories.
"Our programme's primary theme is to prepare the next generation to handle the fiscal and social responsibility that is inherent to their situation," says Kwang Kam-shing, JP Morgan Private Bank Hong Kong market manager. "This includes teaching the sons and daughters of our wealthy clients about the fundamentals of finance such as a better understanding of the financial services industry, private banking, financial markets, and investment instruments," she says.
"Additionally, we want to work with them on enhancing soft skills such taking over a family business and enhancing the family's social capital through philanthropic channels."
JP Morgan's most recent programme involved about 120 participants mainly in their 20s who spent time learning through lectures from industry professionals, group projects, simulations, competitions and hands on activities.
Kwang says from a human resources perspective, the next generation programmes allow JP Morgan's investment and advisory professionals to work together while they present the capabilities of the firm's full suite of private banking services. Teamwork also creates opportunities for knowledge sharing and strengthening of core competencies.
Sam Tse, managing director and global market manager for Citi Private Bank in Hong Kong, says helping clients and their families transfer wealth from one generation to the next is a key part of their private banking service.
"Our `The Next Generation of Wealth' programmes are hugely popular with our clients because they not only cover the wide dynamics of wealth management, but help the offspring of well-off parents understand the physiological and emotional dimension of handling wealth," Tse says.
Citi draws on the know-how of its professional advisers to introduce participants to global diversification of investments, collective decision-making and conflict resolution.
"For the next generation of wealthy individuals, learning to manage their wealth early is an essential step towards a lifetime of successful investing and financial security," Tse says.
