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John Jennings Publishes First Book: The Uncertainty Solution

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Forbes
Investment Management

How Investors Can Brace For Election Uncertainty

As the U.S. heads into another presidential election, concerns are growing about potential delays in results and the risk of unrest, especially given the heightened polarization in recent years. After...
John M. Jennings, JD
John M. Jennings, JDPresident and Chief Strategist of St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Forbes
Investment Management

How To Manage Private Equity Capital Calls

Years ago, my colleagues and I were asked to evaluate the investment portfolio of a prospective client family. The portfolio was invested in a mix of traditional assets like muni...
John M. Jennings, JD
John M. Jennings, JDPresident and Chief Strategist of St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Investment Management

Five Steps to Align Your Portfolio with Your Values

When considering how to live a more authentic, meaningful life, most people think of things like spending more time with family, doing volunteer work, or giving money to charity. But...
Anna Sears, CFA®
Anna Sears, CFA®Principal
Forbes
Family Office

What Planning Should You Do Prior To Selling Your Company?

Congratulations! You’ve beaten the odds, built an enduring, valuable company, and are looking to sell it. If you’re like most business owners, you’re primarily focused on working with your investment...
John M. Jennings, JD
John M. Jennings, JDPresident and Chief Strategist of St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Office

Considerations for Shared Ownership of Family Property

Looking back, Sam, Jane and Nick’s childhood seemed almost perfect. They grew up in a loving extended family, played sports year-round and traveled. A highlight for the three siblings was their summers spent at Manor Grove, their family estate on the Outer Banks bought by their grandparents in the early 1900’s. When their grandparents died, the estate passed to their father, James, and his sister, Clara...
John M. Jennings, JD
John M. Jennings, JDPresident and Chief Strategist of St. Louis Trust & Family Office

IFOD - Interesting Fact of the Day

John Jennings, President of St. Louis Trust & Family Office, shares thoughtful, interesting and insightful nuggets of information in this daily blog.

November 18, 2024
The High School That Produced Two of the Most Infamous Experiments in History

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A Friday fast take on topical subjects from the market and economy.

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Essential Reading

We love reading. Our company Book Club gathers quarterly to discuss select books, podcasts, and more. Here's a list of what we've enjoyed.

St. Louis Trust & Family Office Bookshelf

From the Archive

Browse a selection of our posts from past years sorted by category, or enter specific search terms.

Author Archives: Spencer B. Burke

Family Business

“Only Morons Pay the Estate Tax”

In 2017, Gary Cohn, former Goldman Sachs partner and chief economic advisor to President Trump, proclaimed “only morons pay the estate tax” when asked about the importance of the estate tax to the U.S. Treasury. He quickly restated that what he meant to say was “only rich people with really bad planning” pay the estate tax.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Office, Family Business

I Loved My Family Reunion

Who knew that a family reunion could be so much fun? I sure didn’t when my extended family – numbering 33 strong – descended on a boutique ranch outside of Sonoma, California earlier this summer for a three-day family gathering. Initially, I was skeptical, but the experience turned out to be fantastic, and we are all looking forward to doing it again.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

The Quest for Longevity: What Can We Learn From Family Businesses About Long-Term Survival?

Being a multi-gen family business is no easy task. The “death rate” (either through merger, sale or other means) is so high that this may mean that there are no general rules for survival, only exceptions. The principle of Survivorship Bias also applies—is multi-gen survival in the family business context just a random phenomenon or the result of the adoption of best practices?
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

What Do Sumner Redstone and Many NFL Owners Have in Common?

The answer to this question came to me last week as I was reading about the latest development in the Redstone family feud and the very sad tale of the current owner of the Denver Broncos, Pat Bowlen. For entirely different reasons, they both have gone to elaborate lengths to set up arrangements whereby the successor CEO of their family businesses will be designated by third parties (not family members) after they are declared incapacitated or die. Rather than address the succession issue head on, they have essentially punted and thrown their families into chaos. Let me elaborate.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

The Controlling Owner Concept

There is no ambiguity in a founder-led company as to who is in charge and “where the buck stops.” As time passes, the founder may cede control to the next generation marking the initial evolution of a family business. As this evolution continues, and the company becomes truly multi-generational, leadership ambiguity may creep in and can lead to the break-up of an otherwise successful family business. How can this risk be mitigated?
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Office, Family Business

How Does a Family Office Benefit Your Family?

There is lot of conversation about the features and attributes of family offices. Wealthy families are justifiably a bit confused by all the rhetoric and boasting, especially since almost everyone in the financial services industry claims today to be a “family office”—such terms or statements as “being independent”, absence of propriety products, staff to client ratios, “sitting on your side of the table”, “client first” and being there “just for you” are standard fare in presentations on this subject. They are not particularly meaningful.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Office, Family Business

Selecting a Family Office for Your Family

The selection of a Family Office for your family requires a clear understanding of your objectives and a detailed knowledge of the service offerings of the firms you are considering. Family Offices come in all shapes and sizes and with a wide range of capabilities—differentiation among firms is particularly important today since many people and organizations claim to be Family Offices. It is most useful to begin the selection process by writing down in detail what your family needs and what has led you to the decision to investigate Family Offices.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

HBO Series Succession: Giving Family Business a Bad Name?

The first season of HBO’s series Succession appears to be a big hit. It tells the story of the family of Logan Roy, the CEO and founder of Waystar Royco, a publicly traded media and entertainment conglomerate, and the battle for control of his business empire. It is a real pot boiler with both tragic and comic dimensions among a gaggle of relatives, all eager to share in the spoils of Logan’s financially successful business career.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

The Quest for Permanence: The Non-Esop Employee-Owned Firm

There is a lot of promotional writing about employee ownership of private businesses through the use of the Employee Stock Ownership (“ESOP”) structure. This form of ownership succession has a lot to recommend itself to closely held or family businesses—it is a highly tax incented structure allowing the existing owners to sell their stock, effectively, to company employees and defer capital gains on the sale.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

Life Cycle Trends Pose Challenges to Family Business Sustainability

Sustaining a family business over multiple generations has never been easy and several mega-trends are making it even harder...
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Investment Management

Investing in Private Companies – A Perspective

We are frequently asked to look at private equity and venture capital investment opportunities on behalf of our clients and offer our advice on whether a particular investment is appropriate. More often than not, the so-called “opportunity” comes from a good friend or a trusted professional, and saying no is not the most comfortable or...
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
Family Business

The Dewitt Family and Its Baseball DNA

It is a sad commentary that it is rare for the St. Louis Post Dispatch to publish something positive about a leading St. Louis business. But last Sunday, March 20th, the SLPD did just that! The title of the article is “Dewitt Era is 20—And Going Strong” and was sub-titled “Family Business is Baseball”. It appeared on the front page of the paper, not the sports page, above the fold. If you haven’t read it, you should—baseball fan or not—it is really inspiring.
Spencer B. Burke
Spencer B. BurkeSenior Counsel at St. Louis Trust & Family Office
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