> PART 1| Join the movement of health, wealth and legacy
Over time, relationships that are built on transparent communication, trust, ongoing education and interaction tend to outlast any given stock or bond market anomaly. Building your network is important, for mental well-being and business purposes.
One way to focus on an entity’s investments while doing so is smart targeting of relevant investment conferences that focus on one’s balance of health, wealth and legacy needs. Apex Invest — whose events are led by Lana Callahan, managing director of investor relations; and Patrick Clark, managing director of asset managers and sponsorships — has taken a proactive and pioneering approach to embracing this movement, having worked with Lindsey to curate an inaugural event focusing not on manager or vendor promotion but on the movement itself.
The reception was so positive that it has become a requested and ongoing series where great LP connections have been made with Dr. Greg Bailey in Abu Dhabi and with Dr. Kyle Daigle speaking in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The power of the currency of relationships prescribes the need of the industry, and there is a strong and growing cry for a combined focus on health, wealth and legacy.
Investors (LPs) want to connect with other LPs about what matters, including increasingly forming a view on what the core tenets of legacy are and the investment pillars to achieve one’s version of legacy.
Individual: Institutional and family office communications | Jane Hanson, former NBC anchor, on media and presentations
The resulting conversations from such paradigm shifts can lead to some intense boardroom conversations and messy family dinners. How to communicate around such thorny topics?
“Communication is verbal but also, importantly, nonverbal. I have found in my experience for this to be especially true around complicated and emotional topics at the intersection of health and wealth: aging parents, wealth transfer, illness, divorce, mental health concerns. Whether you are the CEO of a trillion-dollar unicorn or the failure-to-launch next gen, sometimes a combination of what you say and what you convey through eye contact, even body positioning, makes the difference between a yes or no in a big board meeting or family conversation.”
—Jane Hanson, Former NBC anchor; media and presentation coach
Jane Hanson, a communications coach who has worked with multiple high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), institutions and their advisers, says it does not have to be so complicated or messy. She notes that unfortunately for most families, such multilayered and complicated conversations are not only tough but avoided. And in many cases, Jane finds that it is almost a generational response.
In her work as a communication coach with many HNWIs and their advisers as clients, she finds certain older family members, the ones who still control the wealth — baby boomers — are often averse to contemplating what can happen. Sometimes, the next generation might bring up generational changes to wealth management and health and legacy. But it turns into a misguided conversation, with fears that power might be taken away from the parents.
Jane notes, half jesting, “Add millennials and Gen Z … and the conversations get ugly.” Fear can reign.
For Jane and her successful practice, here are some tips into the secret sauce of what has worked:
- First it starts with respect: Respect is an optimal, practical solution to protect the legacy and solvency of a business or family.
Respect for the family legacy. Everyone — member and employee — deserves respect, even the failures to launch.
Regarding the all-important dilemma of "failure to launch," Jane notes that accountability is key on all sides of the relationship. “Is it failure to launch or failure to let them launch?” she asks.
- Next is counseling: First talking individually with key members, understanding concerns, asking them what really matters. Also relaying stories of situations that played out poorly and successfully — a chance to set aside individual biases and look at the institutional long-term situation as a whole.
- Finally, role playing (not that kind): Here, Jane sets up practical scenarios and tackles key questions and body language. How can the situation be handled? What could be possible? And truly getting to an understanding of why failing to do this could leave them vulnerable.
Part of this is not only the words we use but our nonverbal communication. Are we truly listening? How’s our eye contact? Crossed arms means we are barricaded from accepting the conversation. Do we make it a real conversation or simple lip service? Get engaged.
How legacies happen | A case study of Lavinia Errico, co-founder of Equinox Gyms
“Having co-founded Equinox Gyms and then sold it, I am often asked about both health and wealth. So often we look for external answers for our problems, when the real search starts internally. Health and well-being lead to longevity and enjoyment of not only the journey of wealth creation but of creating the legacy and the philanthropy — the aspect of not just accruing wealth but having the health to enjoy managing wealth for the future.”
— Lavinia Errico, co-founder, Equinox Gyms; founder, MoveJoy
Being the co-founder of a gym nearly everyone belongs to or knows someone who belongs to, health and wellness was always a part of Lavinia Errico’s story, having danced at a young age, embarked on a journey of personal growth and development in her teens, started her first fitness group at USC and become a Rockette in New York City. Lavinia left no stone unturned when it came to having a healthy mind, body and spirit.
As a young entrepreneur, she and her two brothers became early disrupters in the fitness industry, founding Equinox Gyms. Much of its success was built on a series of firsts in one-of-a-kind offerings in holistic healing modalities, amenities, an accredited personal training institute and program, and understanding customers’ needs unlike anyone else.
Upon a successful exit, Lavinia created a series of programs under her brand, The Inside/Out Movement, curating conversations focused on women and the challenges they faced as professionals, spouses, parents and caregivers. She avidly works to help scale and build brands to launch under her investment company, First Point Partners, and continues to mentor young entrepreneurs.
Lavinia’s latest and exciting new venture — MoveJoy, an empowering online movement and wellness platform for women 45-plus — is quickly gaining traction. MoveJoy is on a mission to change how women age — helping them feel strong, vibrant and dignified in every stage of life, embracing the power of movement as a tool to heal the mind, body and spirit through a combination of movement classes, meditation and breath work, community engagement and workshops. Shocking statistics show that nearly 45% of the adult population is deconditioned and overweight, leading to a nearly 30% risk of heart disease and stroke, a more than 50% risk of dementia and a more than 60% risk of mature death — all which can dramatically be decreased with movement. MoveJoy is inspiring and empowering women to take their health back together.
How can you get involved at the institutional, investment and individual levels?
Entities need to cross-pollinate and share information. Advisers, pensions and family offices alike need to share best practices and hear grievances of what is not working and alert one another of new and upcoming issues so that one can rely on the proper services provided for the needed expertise as they change. By democratizing such information previously held close to the vest, we have an opportunity to improve our industry by sharing best ideas, practices and a cooperative opportunity for innovation.
Ensuring a lasting legacy should now include building a strong health care foundation: the right doctors, comprehensive health insurance, an emergency plan and long-term medical care. It also requires a well-mapped strategy that accounts for associated costs and aligns seamlessly with other advisers.
Sichel Rubinstein has some practical go-tos she adheres to that help promote engagement on all levels.
- Make a meeting/take a meeting: Expand your network in a diverse manner, and if you are reached out to as a mentor or for feedback, take the meeting and share your view. Both sides have only upside in communication and connection.
- Don’t be afraid to expand the known boundaries: Challenge the status quo. An example is when we saw some backlash on current movements in the press and from large institutions and allocators — that means, the movement exists and is causing clamor and change. Not all change is good and comfortable, especially if ill-planned, shortsighted or narrowly focused. Health, wealth and legacy has received the opposite — well-defined (and not an acronym), it resonates with a realness the industry has not realized it has needed for connecting the dots between the dynamic shift from reactivity to proactivity and innovation in health and wealth to create and maintain a legacy. AI will only augment and improve the speed of change.
- Use your voice — or the equivalent of what that is for you/your role within your company: Use your strengths to catalyze change. If it's statistics, use statistics; if it is your leadership ability, lead in a way that embraces your strength. Some of the newest and greatest ideas have come from timid voices needing encouragement. The health, wealth and legacy movement benefits from this type of novelty.
In summary, the health, wealth and legacy movement represents a comprehensive, customizable, proactive and holistic approach to longevity. These overarching themes are integral for institutional investors, who stand to benefit from the tailwinds of wealth transition, wealth creation and the growing demand for advisers or internal teams to guide investments — both in health and wealth — to build a lasting legacy.
Going back to Sichel Rubinstein and Samuel’s lunch, much enlightenment came from that dull March day when leaders in adjacent industries not only realized but actualized upon synergies to innovate a more comprehensive solution. Transforming accumulated wealth to meet evolving family and corporate wellness needs requires a forward-looking, integrative wealthspan. This approach ensures institutional longevity, supports familial generations, and addresses health and well-being while preserving wealth and building for the future.
Health, wealth and legacy: Join the Movement.
> PART 1| Join the movement of health, wealth and legacy