A new toolkit to help professionals tackle the growing desire of wealth and business-owning families to balance the creation and protection of assets, with the need to be responsible stewards of the planet and communities, has been launched by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
The Responsible Stewardship Toolkit has been designed to support professionals providing advice to wealth and business-owning families and encourage responsible stewardship of assets; recognising the concept ’embraces a broader concept of a family’s wealth, comprising qualitative and quantitative elements, including human, intellectual, social, spiritual and financial capital.’
“Responsible stewardship of wealth involves preserving and growing wealth and the recognition of its dependency on a healthy society and environment”
said Gina Pereira TEP, one of the architects of the toolkit and Chair of the STEP Responsible Stewardship of Wealth Working Group and Wealth Steward at Dāna Stewardship Advisory.
“Traditional wealth planning methods, while technically robust, have not always provided frameworks for addressing responsible stewardship needs. The Toolkit is designed to fill this gap by offering practical resources where few existed before”
added STEP who said the toolkit is designed to be dynamic and to evolve and expand as it is used by STEP members, families and others.
According to STEP’s Attitudes to Wealth research, while clients increasingly expect their advisors to help them integrate values and sustainability considerations into their planning, many practitioners feel they need more support and practical tools to guide these conversations with confidence.
The research also revealed that families often struggle to translate their personal values into concrete financial decisions, while also finding it difficult to facilitate meaningful discussions about purpose and legacy across different generations. The research, which surveyed 900 STEP members, also found that while there is an increasing awareness of social responsibility, especially among younger clients, it has yet to translate into meaningful action. Mark Walley, CEO of STEP, said:
“Our global Attitudes to Wealth research revealed that both practitioners and their clients are calling for a more values driven approach to wealth, but much-needed education and support is needed to help families plan more responsibly. The Toolkit is a direct response to that – providing a practical way for advisors to help families plan more responsibly and with greater purpose and guide conversations with clients about the role of wealth in their lives, families and communities.”
The toolkit includes ready-to-use frameworks to guide and open up conversations about stewardship. Questionnaires and templates have also been created, along with draft legal clauses for wills, trusts and powers of attorney to give practitioners the resources they need to customise responsible stewardship approaches for their clients, recognising all families are unique.
“Families today face numerous complex challenges, including economic instability, climate change and internal conflicts. The long-term wellbeing of families, society and the planet are deeply interconnected. Responsible stewardship calls for a holistic and integrative approach to wealth planning – one that considers both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of wealth, along with the influence of internal and external stakeholders. It involves understanding how today’s decisions create ripple effects that impact families, communities and the environment for generations to come.”
said Gina Pereira, adding
“This Toolkit bridges that gap by providing a clear framework for meaningful discussions and practical tools for advisors and families. It empowers families to build long-term resilience and aligns their wealth strategies with their values, ultimately enabling them to contribute positively to society and secure a lasting legacy.”
The Responsible Stewardship Toolkit is available now to STEP members, their clients and the wider industry at https://www.step.org/responsible-stewardship-toolkit where they will find:
- Questionnaires and guides to help families and their advisors
- Draft clauses and provisions for trusts, wills and powers of attorney
- Case studies demonstrating responsible stewardship in action.
