Martin Wong: «What We Can Learn From Successful Asian Families»
For wealthy families in Asia Pacific, the stakes of legacy planning could not be higher: by 2030, an estimated $5.8 trillion in wealth will change hands across the region, making this one of the largest intergenerational transfers in history, Martin Wong, Regional CEO at Grandtag Financial Consultancy, writes in his guest contribution to finews.asia.
Yet the task of preparing the next generation is complicated by the world they inherit. From trade wars to geopolitical flashpoints, today’s global economy is defined by unpredictability. Families must grapple not only with fluctuating portfolios but also with succession structures stretched by currency volatility, shifting trade alliances, and cross-border complexities.
While the instinct in such conditions is often to react—by rebalancing, reallocating, or restructuring—constant manoeuvres risk obscuring a more fundamental question: Is the family’s wealth strategy designed to outlast the noise?
Short-Term Adjustments Undermining Long-Term Stability
In periods of heightened volatility, tactical adjustments can offer temporary reassurance. Families may switch fund managers, chase defensive assets, or shift allocations quarter by quarter in search of stability. While such moves do create a sense of control, they often address symptoms rather than causes.
The greater risk lies in what can be called strategic drift—the slow erosion of long-term goals as short-term market fluctuations consume attention. A well-performing portfolio means little if succession plans are unclear or if cross-border structures cannot withstand regulatory and tax challenges. Without an overarching legacy strategy, even the most carefully balanced allocations risk being undermined by unprepared heirs or fragmented governance.
For Asia’s wealthy families, the imperative is clear. Short-term adjustments may ease immediate pressures, but they cannot substitute for the resilience offered by long-term, legacy-led planning.
Cross-Border Complexities
In our work with entrepreneurs and family offices across Asia, a recurring theme emerges: those who thrive across generations treat legacy as a discipline, not a reaction. Consider families with global portfolios and heirs living overseas.
Faced with cross-border complexities, the most successful have taken deliberate steps to optimise shareholdings for liquidity while introducing long-dated legacy income solutions.
These structures have proven their worth in turbulent times. As non-correlated assets, they provided steady appreciation even during downturns; through the pandemic, they preserved value and continuity when traditional asset classes faltered.
It is evident, then, that families with a legacy mindset anticipate volatility, prepare for it, and build structures that endure across generations—turning disruption into resilience.
Three-Generation Stress Test
The «three-generation curse» is a familiar warning: the first builds, the second preserves, and the third erodes. In today’s climate, volatility only accelerates this cycle. Poorly structured transfers can expose families to tax inefficiencies, trigger disputes among heirs, and leave younger generations struggling to make decisions in moments of crisis.
However, durable legacy plans address this risk on three fronts. They are structurally resilient, able to withstand market shocks, regulatory changes, and liquidity pressures without unravelling. They cultivate generational preparedness, ensuring heirs are guided by governance principles and equipped to take stewardship seriously. Also, they are adaptable, designed to remain relevant as economies evolve, political alliances shift, and new societal expectations emerge.
The most successful families recognise that volatility need not be a threat; it can instead serve as the ultimate stress test of their planning. Families who measure their wealth strategies against these dimensions move beyond preserving assets. They create legacies that carry not just capital, but confidence and cohesion, across generations.
From Reaction to Resilience
In Asia, legacy has always meant more than inheritance. It reflects a deep cultural commitment to honouring one’s ancestors, providing for one’s descendants, and safeguarding not just financial security but also family reputation and values. This intergenerational view of wealth is what distinguishes resilience from reaction.
By embracing legacy-led strategies, Asia’s HNW families are not merely protecting their wealth. They are shaping narratives that transcend generations—stories of continuity, responsibility, and foresight. In doing so, they turn uncertainty into opportunity and ensure that prosperity endures in ways that reflect both financial discipline and cultural tradition.
Martin Wong is the Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grandtag Financial Consultancy (GFC), a financial advisory firm specializing in wealth, health, and legacy planning for high net worth individuals and families across Asia-Pacific. Since early 2022, he has been leading GFC's business growth in Asia, focusing on ASEAN and North Asia. Before that, he worked for Charles Monat Associates and Jardine Lloyd Thompson. Beyond his professional endeavors, he is an accomplished athlete. In his 50s, he won numerous medals at Masters Athletics pursuits.
