Some time ago, the International Monetary Fund predicted that the global economic growth rate in 2023 will be 3.0% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024 in the latest World Economic Outlook report.
To be honest, this is not an optimistic forecast, as it is well below the historical average of 3.8%.
At the same time, various emerging fields and technologies, led by ChatGpt, have set off a storm that has swept the industry this year.
On the one hand, it is difficult to continue to expand the market cake, and on the other hand, there is an industrial pattern that may be subverted at any time. The whereabouts of personal wealth are a proposition that everyone can't get around, especially for high-net-worth individuals.
According to the "2023 China Private Wealth Report" released by China Merchants Bank, 3.16 million people in China had personal assets exceeding 10 million yuan last year.
Although it has been generally difficult in recent years, the number of high-net-worth individuals has been steadily increasing.
Looking back on their trajectories along the way, you will find that wealth has long been endowed with more attributes of the times for them.
In addition to planning for their children and grandchildren, realizing social values and inheriting spiritual concepts are what they need in this century of unseen changes.
01 Heirloom, what is it that is passed on?
Some time ago, I watched a short film "Heirloom" by the Beijing branch of China Merchants Bank, and I was deeply moved.
The generation in the film was originally skilled workers in a state-owned factory in the 90s, holding an iron rice bowl that was envied by people at that time.
But seeing that the efficiency of the factory was getting worse and worse, he resolutely gave up his stable job and went to the sea to do business in the face of the wave of reform and opening up.
As a self-made generation, even the first start-up capital has to rely on bank loans. However, it was with this courage that he completed the original accumulation of family assets through foreign trade business.
On the basis of one generation, the second generation seized the opportunity of the "Belt and Road" era to plant grapes and open wineries in the Ningxia desert, where he was once a soldier.
It not only allows red wine to be exported overseas, realizes the upgrading of the family industry, but also improves the arid and barren natural environment of Ningxia, and drives local farmers to get rich together.
But when three generations returned to China after completing their studies, they questioned his father's investment in red wine, believing that it was irresponsible to the family and the company.
In his opinion, his father and his successors, should do a good job in the family business passed down from his grandfather's generation, instead of investing money in areas that he doesn't understand.
It wasn't until he went deep into the field and saw that the barren desert was now green, and the dilapidated board house had become an office building signed with customers, that he understood his father's good intentions.
After returning to the company, he proposed digital solutions for the wine business, injecting new blood into the family business.
In just 8 minutes, behind it is the inheritance of three generations for nearly 40 years, as well as the changes in demand in the process of inheritance.
The changing needs are:
First of all, it is necessary to transform the pure profit-seeking in the early stage of entrepreneurship to the truth and goodness, and realize the long-term inheritance of family wealth through the pursuit of more general social value;
Secondly, it is necessary for the three generations born with the golden key and the three generations after to understand and inherit the experience and spirit accumulated by the previous generations in the arduous entrepreneurship, and truly assume the responsibility of the family business.
You will find that the more wealth you have, the more you think about inheritance rather than the wealth itself.
The wealth allocated to a person by society is always directly proportional to the responsibility assigned to that person.
Therefore, in many cases, it is not only the family business that is passed on, but also the spirit of the blue thread of the road, as well as the concept of leading the common prosperity of the society.
02 In the era of good economy, a new proposition of wealth inheritance
What touched me the most in the short film was what the second generation said when he went to the Ningxia Desert to plant grapes with doubts:
"Our family used to catch up with the good times, and now that we have this opportunity, we finally know what we can do here. ”
It is a chivalrous spirit to fight for the fate of individuals and families, and to give back to the society with the mind of helping the world is a kind of national mind.
From the barren land under the feet of the predecessors to the surging oasis in front of the descendants of the descendants, it reflects the arc light of wealth for good.
In March this year, China Merchants Bank and the China Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University jointly released the "2023 China High-net-worth Individuals Philanthropy Survey Report".
As the first survey of the same type in China with a sample size of more than 1,000 over two years, this report objectively reflects the general understanding and practice of charity among high-net-worth individuals:
It can be seen that more than 80% of the respondents have participated in charity activities, and more than 90% of them donate and help strangers.
When a person's wealth accumulates to a certain extent, whether it can sustain the growth of wealth depends on how many people want it to continue to make money.
Just like Kazuo Inamori, the saint of management, once said: "The ultimate altruism is the best self-interest." ”
Adhering to the heart of kindness and sharing their development dividends with more people is the foundation for the stable and long-term development of high-net-worth individuals, and it is also an indispensable part of wealth inheritance.
reminds me of Lu Guanqiu, the founder of Wanxiang Group, who is known as the "Godfather of Zhejiang Merchants".
After he established the "Lu Guanqiu Sannong Fuzhi" fund, he let the second-generation Lu Weiding serve as the chairman of the fund, and let the third-generation Lu Zepu serve as the fund supervisor.
At the same time, he also clarified the social responsibility of future generations in the family trust, so that they can inherit their own values of "wealth is scattered, wealth is gathered, and wealth is scattered".
After his death, Lu Weiding inherited his philosophy and donated 4.96 billion yuan in 2019, becoming China's first philanthropist that year.
Wang Zhenyao, chairman of the Institute of Public Welfare of Beijing Normal University, put forward the concept of "good economic era".
The biggest feature of the era of good economy lies in the change of the internal logic of wealth, and the economic value is determined by social value.
No matter how much wealth there is, it is also a phase, and if you want to endure for a long time, you must make the direction of wealth inheritance consistent with the direction of social development.
Otherwise, no matter how much wealth is accumulated now, it will inevitably fall into the inheritance circle of "no more than three generations".
Giving back to the society and improving people's livelihood is the great pattern of "the great business, for the country and the people", and it is also the great wisdom that makes the family endless.
03Private banking, a new idea for high-net-worth individuals to pass on their families
There is a good saying: the legacy is the bottom, the legacy is the middle, and the legacy is the top.
The first thing that a truly smart person thinks about is not how much money he can leave for future generations after his life's struggle.
It is how to let future generations inherit their own personality and have the ability and character to match their wealth, so as to create more wealth for individuals, families and even society.
This is why more and more high-net-worth individuals have begun to change their value trend from individuals, families to society.
Banks that can understand this change in demand and provide corresponding services are also becoming more and more popular among high-net-worth individuals.
As early as 2013, China Merchants Bank captured the demand of high-net-worth individuals for wealth inheritance with a very forward-looking vision, and landed the first family trust in China, opening up a new path for family wealth management.
By 2021, China Merchants Bank Private Bank will take the lead in devoting itself to the "people-family-enterprise-community" comprehensive integrated service of "individual, family, enterprise and society", covering many aspects of the customer's enterprise side such as investment banking, commercial banking, technology, and employees, and accompanying the customer's family with professional consulting services.
What does that mean? It means that private banks are serving the "first generation" and "second generation" now, and will bring the same service to the "third generation" of their successors in the future, and to each subsequent generation.
In addition, the main reason for restricting the participation of charities at present is that high-net-worth individuals lack trusted channels and do not have a deep understanding of charitable trusts.
In response to such pain points, China Merchants Bank Private Bank and its subordinate family offices are their first choice for planning family charity.
It can be said that we have truly spared no effort every time the customer needs it, and the customer's family business is evergreen as its own business.
Today, as a private bank selected as one of the world's 25 largest private banks, China Merchants Bank Private Bank has customer assets of more than 4 trillion yuan, far ahead of other private banks in China.
Behind the remarkable achievements are the strong service advantages that have evolved with the times and because of customers. The steadfastness and peace of mind brought by the advantages also explain the market's favor for China Merchants Bank's private bank.
Write at the end
The "Heirloom" of China Merchants Bank Beijing Branch is a hymn to the times for generations of entrepreneurs to move forward, and it is also the epitome of the continuous growth of China Merchants Bank itself after its germination.
From its establishment in Shekou, Shenzhen in 1987 to provide financing support for the first batch of entrepreneurs in China, to the establishment of a family trust in 2013 to escort the second generation of family wealth, and to the current family office and enterprise integration model to serve the successor of the third generation......
The four words "China Merchants Bank" have not only become a footnote of the times, but also accompanied the entrepreneurship, success and inheritance of generations of people.
According to the 2022 Hurun Wealth Report, the total amount of wealth inheritance between generations in China will be 19 trillion yuan in the next 10 years and 51 trillion yuan in the next 20 years.
And if you stretch the timeline to the next 30 years, the amount is 98 trillion.
Whether such a huge wealth can be successfully passed on is related to the happiness and future of individuals and families, as well as the prosperity and stability of enterprises and society.
In the face of such a proposition of the times, China Merchants Bank Private Bank, which adheres to the comprehensive service concept of "people-family-enterprise-society", takes into account the small love of "planning for children" and the great love of "serving the country and the people".