Built for Generations
In the world of immense wealth and family legacies, the decisions made today echo through generations, creating a profound impact on the family's future.
However, managing this financial empire can be a daunting task, with challenges ranging from the reliance on advisors to the lack of transparency and incomplete information. This article delves into the concept of creating a digital memory for family wealth that stands the test of time.
Families of significant wealth operate on a time horizon that can often be difficult to comprehend. The decisions made today can have far-reaching consequences on generations yet to come, and the duty to be a responsible custodian of great wealth weighs heavily on the minds of all family members.
In my recent article, Opportunity Lost, I highlighted how a lack of control and oversight can mean that the promise of great wealth is never fully realized. That is a real challenge today but extrapolated over generations, the cost to families - both financially and emotionally - can be immense.
According to an ancient Greek proverb, a society grows great when “old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” The same can be said of family wealth; today's actions can deliver immediate benefits, but the long-term impact is often even more significant.
To provide future generations with clarity and control over family affairs is the most incredible legacy that a family of today can leave. It removes some of the challenges I have discussed in previous articles: an over-reliance on advisers, a lack of transparency or incomplete sets of information, and - at the human level - the risk of grievances or family breakdown.
To provide this clarity and control in the future, families need two things today. Firstly, it is an intuitive way to organize and chronicle data, creating a digital memory of the family business. Secondly, a safe and secure method of maintaining and storing that same digital memory so that it can exist in perpetuity. It’s the family equivalent of the National Archive held within Fort Knox.
Until recently, providing this level of clarity and control to future generations wasn’t practically possible. Paper records can be damaged, destroyed, or lost, while digital records can be manipulated, stolen, or misplaced. Even the use of external partners could not fully overcome the issue as data held by vendors is not governed by property laws and is held to a lower privacy standard. There is no duty placed on the vendor if the data is lost, stolen, or corrupted.
The emergence of blockchain technology is helping to change that. Information stored on the blockchain is immutable; it can’t be changed. This means that it can provide a permanent record - or archive - of family business, showing each and every decision that has been taken and by whom. When decisions over family wealth span generations and sometimes centuries, the value of this kind of approach becomes apparent.
Yet blockchain technology in itself isn’t enough. Families need a way to capture, categorize, and chronicle information so that all parties involved in managing family wealth can continue to collaborate. They also need this to be housed in a safe and secure environment to protect the family’s digital memory.
iPaladin was built with these concerns in mind. Within our operating system, any type of data can be normalized, categorized, and then recorded, creating a single source of truth from which the family can make decisions about how their wealth is managed. Our blockchain technology creates a living digital memory for the family, chronicling every decision in real time for the benefit of today’s generation and those yet to come. And our “one way in, one way out” architecture ensures that all of this information is protected by military-grade security.
We built the platform recognizing that if the family's need for a solution of this kind was great today, it would be even greater tomorrow. We want to give families the opportunity to create shade for their descendants, but also the opportunity to enjoy it for themselves today. iPaladin is the digital equivalent of the family’s national archive held within Fort Knox, and it’s built for generations.
Credit - Jill Creager - President & CEO iPaladin
