Clearstead has experience working with private clients family foundations that serve various roles in communities and mission. In some cases we have found that long-standing family foundations have difficulty engaging the next generation of family members in the day-to-day operations of the foundation. The next generation can lack a financial background or deep understanding of the complex facets involved in such an enterprise and can be ill prepared to continue its mission if anything happened to the family patriarch. Clearstead has experience working with family foundations and helping next generations understand a sense of responsibility to a foundation’s mission and stewardship.

Once a family agrees on a policy, we develop an asset allocation to meet the foundation’s goals. Clearstead can help foundations recommend investments to help set appropriate and realistic return expectations to meet the long timeframe of this type of portfolio. We are able to illustrate how the right asset allocation could balance risks and returns, and grow at a rate in excess of inflation.

The next step in Clearstead’s process is to determine what investment strategies would make up a foundation’s portfolio. Our approach is typically a blend of active and passive investment managers to deliver optimal returns in the lowest cost manner.  Clearstead can also educate the foundation trustees on the potential advantages of alternative investments and introduce them into the portfolio. 

Clearstead can also design and implement a cash flow planning process, creating a schedule that meets a foundation’s quarterly needs, and communicating with trustees in advance of these needs to avoid surprises. This can free up time for foundation trustees who are otherwise occupied by their own professions and daily lives. 

Our goal is for family members to become more actively involved and develop a clear strategy for succession planning.