Charles Osezua, Chairman of Cordros Capital has looked at why some family businesses collapse a few years after the demise of the founders and linked the challenge to the failure of the founders to transfer the values of his or her success to their heirs.
Osezua, who spoke at a trans-generational wealth transfer summit in Lagos recently, according to a statement noted that a lot of people who are creating wealth spend less time with their family and fail to transfer the values that made them succeed in their businesses to their respective family members.
“Yes, we have built a comfortable home environment, and we have created an inheritance but because some of us failed to transfer values to our family, it is discovered that our vision gets jettisoned and then you see families in court trying to find a way forward after the wealth creator is no more, and in the process, a legacy that the wealth creator built over the years is destroyed,” he said.
While speaking on managing family wealth and legacy, the chairman pointed out that, achieving a family vision is more than a water-tight financial structure. He stated that managing family wealth requires the deliberate application of principles, just like managing a business.
According to him, it is only by applying those principles that people can achieve their financial vision and build a legacy.
While proffering a solution on how to sustain family business, he stressed to overcome this challenge of family business failure “ I want to emphasize that we need a principle-centered approach in management and transfer of wealth.
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“ At times, doing that can be very challenging, indeed, it can be messy. I have been there. You need to have a vision and make it known to members of your family. This is simply because the sooner you let your family members know, the better it becomes for you.”
While speaking on the future of wealth, a panellist, Ifeoma Udom, Managing Director, Cordros Trustees said, “In most cases, wealth creators give birth to wealth dissipators while wealth dissipators give birth to wealth creators, adding that, wealth creators have to be deliberate about their plan of wealth transfer by teaching their children the value of their business.”
According to her, the family governance structure is important, one can achieve that by having a family office but, if you can’t have a family office, you can have a family council that will be the representation of every generation of the family that will interface with the directors.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Managing Director of Cordros Asset Management, Adegbolahan Aina said that the event is about knowledge sharing on wealth management and family legacy.
The summit according to a statement brought together ultra-high-net-worth investors, industry leaders, and stakeholders to engage in insightful discussions, collaborate on groundbreaking strategies, and explore cutting-edge innovations that shape the landscape of wealth management and investment in the country.
