Staying Sharp
Your DI analyst went back to school
This month, after over 40 years on Wall Street, I went back into the classroom through a Wharton executive education program, Family Wealth Management: Advanced Financial Strategies. I loved it - no surprise there.
This program went well beyond traditional public markets, the core focus of my work at Disclosure Insight.
We learned what families are allocating into and, notably, where they are growing more cautious. This included considerable time on -
Private equity;
Private credit;
Real estate;
Other alternatives; and,
How risk is being managed across increasingly complex structures.
It was interesting to hear what is now happening at the exit stage, where friction is starting to show up in ways unexpected. From the reactions of fellow students and instructors, I get the sense there’s growing nervousness around alternative assets. Watch this space.
We also spent time on governance and how it differs between families, private companies, and institutions - and where it tends to break down for high net worth families.
One theme came up repeatedly: Sustaining wealth across generations is more fragile than most assume. Those patterns are remarkably consistent across regions and cultures - but they can be mitigated with the right structures.
This new learning should help with my work at Disclosure Insight and also with my board work outside of DI.
As many of you know, in recent years I have pursued formal board training, including becoming Director Certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors in early 2025 (the NACD.DC you now see after my name). I am also a member of the Private Directors Association.
I have served on nonprofit boards and currently serve on advisory boards at my college and a private cybersecurity company.
My time at Wharton builds on all of this, particularly for private company boards and family office investment committees.
Thanks for taking a moment out of your busy earnings season for this personal update. Back to the research grind now …
As always, I thank you for your ongoing support — John
John P. Gavin, CFA, NACD.DC