Customer Reviews

Wealthy and Wise: Secrets About Money

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Preserve the assets you have and keep them growing in value. Make sure your wealth adds to your happines and fulfillment in life. Don't allow your wealth to overwhelm you emotionally and psychologically. This book will assist you in keeping your money a positive factor in your and your family's lives.

I'm a big reader of business and personal finance books. Wealthy & Wise fills a niche that no other one book I've seen does. It covers a lot but in a way that's not overwhelming. I liked the idea that each section is written by a specialist in that field since no one can be an expert on all these subjects.

A few of the chapter subjects were beyond my means (though voyeuristically I enjoyed reading some of the advice for the super rich), but the overarching message is advice we should all take to heart - Manage your wealth; don't let it manage you. This isn't a book of corny aphorisms, it's full of practical, useful advice to make your money make you happier and let it add to, not get in the way of, your relationships.

While literally hundreds of wealth management books already grace the market, this 288-page guide offers some of the best advice to come down the investment pike in years. The volume may help those still accumulating their first million dollars, but will best serve investors firmly established (most commonly through hard work, as opposed to inheritance) in the ranks of the wealthy.

Unlike most investment or wealth-management books, offering run-of-the-mill suggestions on how to allocate their assets and invest, this book takes three separate tacks on the subject of money. The first, to which the editors devoted 98 pages, broadly covers the emotional issues surrounding money. That may seem odd. Money is not a touchy-feely thing. But as explained by family business CEO Susan Remmer Ryzewic, who is also a director of her family's foundation, wealth is a two-edged sword providing the freedom to pursue dreams, but can also create discomfort and take control of life.

Judith Stern Peck, Director of the family wealthy and life project for the Ackerman Institute for the Family, notes in the second chapter how to overcome the significant challenges of parenting a wealthy family. Similarly, New York City attorney Robert Stephan Cohen shows that marriages have a much better chance of survival when couples create the same degree of financial protection for them as they do for business partnerships--by signing pre-nuptial agreements before they marry.

Next, Neuberger Berman co-founder Roy Neuberger provides a lively chapter on the importance of working past retirement age. Mindful of two friends who had long planned their retirements--only to die at 65--Neuberger never retired. At 99, he's still working. Similarly, executive recruiter Janice Reals Ellig notes that those who succeed in a first career can often also succeed in a second. The book's first section concludes with chapters on strategic philanthropy, conflict resolution in family enterprise, and advice for holding successful family meetings.

In the second eight-chapter section, readers get a fix on several important asset management strategies. Charlotte Beyer, CEO of the Institute for Private Investors, notes that for many wealthy investors, appointing a team is often the sanest way to manage their wealth. To choose from 20,000 registered investment advisors and 60,000 stock brokers in the U.S., she recommends sticking to common sense dictated by investment fundamentals and to clearly spell out goals and risk tolerance, and to interact with advisors. Tax attorney Charles Lowenhaupt similarly stresses the need to build a team of expert wealth counselors, committed to working collaboratively--and lead by a mediator and coordinator to unscramble technical matters. Investors willing to talk openly with them, he writes, will learn to value their common sense as much as their stock picks and tax recommendations.

Sophisticates and novice investors alike can learn from the next two chapters on asset allocation and real estate investment options, by family officer executive Jonathan Spencer and securitized real estate specialist Richard Adler. The first stresses the need to construct objective financial profiles, set investment goals, realistic time horizons and risk tolerance levels and choose asset classes and benchmarks by which to measure their performance. The second outlines real estate's low correlation to other asset groups and outlines the many types of real estate assets and securities.

Neuberger Berman Trust Co. Chairman Albert Bellas and Managing Director Diane Lederman inform readers about the use of trusts to preserve wealth across generations. Spiced with some scary statistics (gift and estate taxes can run as high as 55%) and real-life examples, these experienced trust officers show why trusts are both flexible and necessary. Ralph Sinsheimer, another NB trust official, discussed family foundations and their need to implement a "prudent investor" policy and standards outlining investment objectives, time horizon, required return, sensitivity to annual volatility, current and desired future charitable donations, and expected real growth in assets.

Ellen Perry, the founder of a consulting firm on family offices, discusses the multiple chores required to manage great wealth. Success in this increasingly complex task, she advises, usually requires families to enlist a team of skilled and experienced professionals. She notes significant benefits and disadvantages of both multi-family and single-family offices and the increasing popularity of large trust companies, major banks and financial institutions. Likewise, famed trust attorney John Duncan explains how to find the right trust officers.

The book's final, 35-page section offers readers four fine chapters on how to enjoy their wealth. This is hardly a treatise on how to be self-centered. There are two chapters on art collecting, one by Neuberger Berman art curator Michael Danoff, who was director and chief curator at the Des Moines Art Center for seven years. The clear implication is that the wealthy can also become benefactors, as shown by the example of Ralph Esmerian, who after becoming a great collector of American folk art and president of the American Folk Art Museum, in 2001 donated 400 of his pieces to it. The final two chapters explain how to use wealth to fulfill dreams (again, not a wholly self-centered enterprise), and how to remain secure at home and while traveling.

This fine collection of original essays offers something to nearly everyone interested in how to manage their wealth. I cannot think of a better place to find the understanding needed to balance a good and fulfilling life with the just rewards of a lifetime of hard work.

As a single woman in my 30s with the responsibility of supporting myself financially, I find Heidi Steiger's book to be an invaluable resource. The chapter titled, "A Better Career the Second Time Around" by Janis Reals Ellig was particularly helpful to me given that I recently made a major career change. I had grown accustomed to a stable income, a 401k plan, and health benefits as part of a full-time job in an established company. After leaving that career to pursue a new one, I was worried about how I'd manage my finances, particularly since I had decided to return to graduate school. Although I had some money saved, I needed to find a way to make it last and to prudently manage my finances with higher expenses and a much lower income. Janice Reals Ellig does a wonderful job of persuading readers to put our financial fears aside, pursue our dreams, and be confident that we'll be fully capable of taking control of our new financial situation. The book also provides excellent guidance (even understandable to me - a novice investor) on how to set financial goals, determine risk tolerance, seek professional advice, as well as other essential investment counsel. "Wealthy & Wise" has given me confidence that I'll be able to manage my money intelligently and effectively as I continue my education and enter into a new field.

Unlike many "how to" books this offers practical advice. And, though clearly directed to the very affluent, people like me, who have aspirations, can take advantage of the expertise - and wisdom. It covers everything from investing for the long range to how to handle those delicate - and difficult - family conversations.
I wish this book had been written earlier; it would have positively affected the family relationships of a number of my friends.
Go buy it. And underline the relevant parts so you can refer to them and take action.

I've lost a lot of money in the stock market. If I had been able to read this book I would be better off today! The section on money management is absolutely the best I have seen. Here is advice that is valuable to anyone who is concerned with both the practical as well as the psychological aspects of dealing with wealth and being comfortable with the decisions one makes concerning it. Being retired, I especially found the chapter on retirement and second careers interesting and motivating. The advice in this chapter given by Mr. Neuberger, who at 98 continues to work in his career, is priceless. The "Word to the Wise" at the end of each chapter is a useful touch. Heidi Steiger has covered all the interesting and important aspects of personal wealth management in this book.

I found Heidi's book excellent. All the chapters were informative and gave outstanding advice. Accumulating wealth is half the battle - having wealth help you to live a happy and contented life is the other half. I will definitely be using the advice within the book and will recommend this book to all my friends.

You really get a sense that Heidi Steiger understands all the ins and outs of money. Although I'm not rich, I related to all the discussions about the psychological aspects of money and how it plays into relationships. The anecdotal openings to each chapter keep the book entertaining. Also because the chapter titles are so descriptive, each reader will know immediately where they'll want to spend the the most time.

I'm going to take the advice in the chapter on charitable giving because it turns giving into a real commitment by the whole family, not just a check dashed off by someone with a checkbook. Because I have children, I particularly related to this chapter as well as others on parenting. This book was really good -- practical advice -- but sensitive to differences.

Heidi has compiled a masterpiece. While I have led a very successful career, I often had questions regarding my wealth and how to use it responsibly. This book gives very clear, concise advice on how life should be lived and I will make sure my two sons will read this book before they graduate from school. Thank you Heidi.

This book contains some interesting articles about wealth management, but it's nothing I haven't read in magazines and newspapers. Also, a lot of the advice in the book is more relevant to high net worth individuals (people who are likely to be Neuberger Berman's clients) than for ordinary Joes like myself. Try to borrow it from the library - this is definitely not a keeper.