Responsibility in Wealth - New research from Scorpio Partnership demonstrates that many wealthy individuals have a strong sense of social responsibility and intend to give back to society across a number of touch points including philanthropy, engagement in civil society and being environmentally responsible. This report, which assesses the wealth practices of 250 high-net-worth individuals across 4 core markets, also reveals that this group seek positive engagement with the major driving forces of global change as a way of creating wealth.

1. Responsibility
in Wealth
The Kaiser Partner Special Report Series
Issue #1/June 2012

2. With great
wealth comes great
responsibility.

3. Introduction
At Kaiser Partner, we understand
that the world is changing faster
and more fundamentally than at
any time in history, and therefore
we believe that we must change
the way that wealth is managed
and created.
The Special Report Series, which
gathers the findings from our
research centre and wealth owners’
forum, is a publication designed
to help wealth owners to navigate
on the right side of change, by
sharing insights into the threats
and opportunities that they face
in a fast moving environment.
Kaiser Partner Privatbank AG
Geschäftsbericht 2011
These assessments help us to constantly adapt
our strategies for wealth preservation, growth
and succession.
For this paper, we asked the views of 250
multi-millionaires in four of the world’s greatest
wealth creating economies: Russia, USA,
Germany and the UK, and have contrasted their
views with those of a number of wealth experts
and advisors.
In this first report we explore the importance
of sustainability and responsibility because, as
it is often said, ‘With great wealth comes great
responsibility’. In fact, versions of this concept
have reverberated through history, from Homer
to Hollywood. And, like all great aphorisms, its
beauty lies in its simplicity. The potential for
social harmony is captured in six simple words.
But, as with any doctrine – social or otherwise
– it is the practice that is fraught with difficulty.
And, in today’s interconnected world, the
practice of responsibility in wealth is certainly
no simple matter.
There is the primary responsibility to self and
family, then to community and civil society,
as well as to humankind and the ecosystems
that support us. Rarely are these responsibilities
in alignment and all too often, they clash.
In this paper we seek to unravel some of
that complexity, and to explore the best
approach to taking responsibility in a time
of great uncertainty.
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4. Executive Summary
W
hen it comes to matters of wealth creation and wealth
management, advisors make the assumption that “family
comes first”. Their priority is to tailor for the individual client
and they tend to consider social responsibility from the
perspective of self and family first. Sadly, they may well be
missing the whole person in front of them.
In this research, 250 multi-millionaires, with average wealth
of USD3.5 million, show that they are proactively engaged
in responsible wealth creation through their businesses,
their investments and their philanthropic activity.* They
give almost equal weighting to family, to civic duty and to
wider social issues in their approach to wealth creation.
And, crucially, they want to do more to be more effective
responsible wealth creators.
“Men of genius are
admired, men of
wealth are envied,
men of power are
feared; but only
men of character
are trusted.”
Richard Dawkins, a British evolutionary biologist famously
wrote a book called The Selfish Gene in the latter part of last
century. The book crystallised the debate about altruism
in the context of family and society from an evolutionary
perspective. Almost four decades later altruism remains
a troublesome topic to biologists, sociologists and
philosophers alike.
Yet, the common experience of humankind is the primal
need to protect family first coupled with the desire to see
wider society thrive. And, while we may not be able to
explain it completely, it seems to be something hardwired
into our DNA.
So, perhaps it comes as no surprise that when we gave our
sample of 250 wealth creators a series of options that could
be regarded as factors in responsible wealth creation and
asked how important each was to them, a clear pattern of
altruism emerged.
* The survey research and analysis for the Special Report Series was undertaken by Scorpio Partnership
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5. It is an insult to creation if we
fail to live with our fellow man
Family comes first, naturally, followed closely by civic duty
to obey laws and regulations. But, on an almost equal footing
is the desire to engage in activities that give something back
to society – through environmental responsibility, ethical
investment, engagement in civil society and charity.
It is interesting then to contrast these views with traditional
wealth advisors. When asked a similar question, they
overestimate the importance of securing the family’s
financial future and significantly underestimate the urge
of wealth creators toward wider altruism. [Figure 1]
Figure 1: Dimensions of responsible wealth creation
Importance to clients
Importance to advisors
Average importance
Individuals put similar weight on different aspects of responsible
wealth creation, whereas advisors see a hierarchy in the factors
that contribute to responsible wealth creation.
10
9
8
8.51
7.83
7
7.19
7.17
6
7.04
6.79
5.64
5
5.57
5.56
5.56
Charitable activity
Environmental
responsibility
Investing ethically
Engaging in
civil society
Paying taxes
Obeying industry
regulations
Conducting
business fairly
Operating within the
international law
Ensuring children
share family values
Securing �inancial
security for the family
4
1.
Question: When considering wealth creation, how important are the following factors to you / your clients?
2.
Client responses from 250 HNWs in USA, Russia, Germany and the UK, February 2012 (average wealth USD3.5 million).
3.
Advisor responses from 60 UK-based lawyers and accountants, November 2011.
Kaiser Partner Privatbank AG
Geschäftsbericht 2011
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6. Society
Figure 2: Achieving potential as a responsible wealth creator
Individuals see the most room for growth to achieve their potential
as responsible wealth creators on wider issues such as charity,
ethical investing, environmental responsibility and engagement
in civil society.
Current
Growth
Civic duty
Current
Growth
Family
Current
Growth
Charity
40%
Charity
47%
Taxes
59%
Taxes
19%
Environment
58%
Regulations
62%
Family
security
28%
Fair business
24%
Civil society
36%
Family
values
65%
Regulations
26%
Environment
37%
Family
security
76%
Fair business
69%
Civil society
56%
Family
values
26%
International
law
24%
International
law
63%
Ethical
investing
57%
Ethical
investing
38%
1.
Question: How important these factors are to you when considering
your wealth creation now, and in which areas do you feel you could do
more to achieve your potential?
6
2.
Responses from 250 HNWs in USA, Russia, Germany and the UK, February
2012 (average wealth USD3.5 million).

7. This paradox between self-interest and the interests of
society presents a fundamental challenge for the traditional
wealth management industry. Their tendency is to tailor
for the individual client and only engage with social
responsibility from the perspective of the self and family first.
And yet, not only do wealth creators put more emphasis on
wider altruism than their traditional advisors acknowledge,
their consideration for family and their fellow man extends
much further than that. When asked what they would do
to achieve their full potential as a wealth creator, it is in the
realm of wider social engagement that they feel they have
most room to grow. [Figure 2]
Figure 3: Responsible wealth creation
The actions individuals would take to achieve their potential as
responsible wealth creators involve making an effort to identify
their options, then balancing business and investment with wider
social actions.
In other words, responsible wealth – in the eyes of wealth
creators – is as much about engaging with society at large
as it is about protecting one’s own interests. Indeed, it would
seem there are three spheres of responsible wealth: self and
family, civic duty, and engagement with wider society. In each
sphere, the wealth creators who took part in our research
highlighted specific actions they would take to achieve their
full potential. Their responses point to a desire to do good
while making money. [Figure 3]
1.
Question: Are there specific actions you are taking to improve your
performance as a responsible wealth creator?
2.
Responses from 250 HNWs in USA, Russia, Germany and the UK,
February 2012 (average wealth USD3.5 million).
Kaiser Partner Privatbank AG
Geschäftsbericht 2011
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8. It is because these wider values are so intimately connected
to motivation and, indeed, to identity that we put
responsibility at the centre of what we do at Kaiser Partner.
Wealth creators are investors, but they are simultaneously
children, partners, parents, citizens, owners, workers, leaders,
humans – and take profound responsibilities in each of
these roles.
And, if responsibility is the corollary of success, as the history
of civilization teaches us, then it follows that our clients
inevitably juggle deeply conflicting obligations. From the
work-life balance to questions of tax equity and the role of
capitalism in society, success brings with it complex choices.
When any individual makes these choices there will be an
inexorable trade-off between being good, being good
enough and being right. These are the tensions at the heart
of responsible wealth.
It is not the strongest
of the species that
survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the
one most responsive
to change
So, it follows that responsible wealth management means
capturing what matters most to our clients, distilling it and
reflecting it back in each of the services we deliver.
To do this, we use a simple guiding principle. We call it
navigating on the right side of change. As our clients’ lives
change, their roles change, society changes and the world
changes, our aim is to focus on the right outcomes and on
good practice.
If you want to understand the
big picture, look first at the detail
Ten drivers of global change
1. Science and technology
2. Communications revolution
3. Changing energy sources
4. Food sustainability
5. Globalisation
6. Population growth
7. Environmental change
8. Lack of long-term leadership
8
9. Pandemics
10. War and terrorism

9. Responsible wealth also means walking the talk. To navigate
on the right side of change ourselves we too try to look at the
big picture.
Interestingly, when we asked the 250 wealth creators who
took part in our research about these 10 drivers, we found
that they are thinking along similar lines.
In 2005, with the help of Al Gore, the Nobel Prize winner and
former vice president of the US, we distilled from the myriad
of forces driving the world just 10 themes. We call these the
10 drivers of global change. In everything we do, our aim is to
influence and benefit from positive change in these areas for
ourselves and for our clients.
In fact, two thirds were positive that the drivers of change
present long-term opportunities. They are far less focused
on the threats. [Figure 4]
Figure 4: Responding to the drivers of global change
Major threat
On balance, wealth creators see the driving forces in social and
economic change as opportunities for wealth creation rather
than threats.
Threat
13%
6%
Changing
energy sources
13% 12%
Globalisation
11% 16%
Population
growth
War and
terrorism
13%
11%
13%
15%
29%
22%
33%
18%
23%
28%
26%
17% 11% 16%
28%
16%
22%
16%
18%
19%
1.
Question: To what extent do you regard the following global factors as
opportunities or threats for your wealth creation?
Kaiser Partner Privatbank AG
Geschäftsbericht 2011
37%
21%
18%
24%
25%
36%
38%
11% 10% 17%
Food
sustainability
Pandemics
Major opportunity
4%
Communications
revolution
Lack of long-term
leadership
Opportunity
Minor threat
Scienti�ic and
technology revolutions
Environment
change
Minor opportunity
13%
13% 13%
24%
23%
21%
14%
27%
24%
11%
19% 10%
13% 8% 17%
14%
2.
Responses from 250 HNWs in USA, Russia, Germany and the UK,
February 2012 (average wealth USD3.5 million).
9
9

10. Indeed, more than that, when we asked if they are already
engaged with these themes, we found our wealth creators are
actively and positively influencing the change they see in the
world around them.
This is good news for us, but it is significantly better news for
the planet. If those in the driving seat of wealth creation are
optimistic about change – and are engaging in positive change
themselves – then we all have less to fear for the future.
Around 21% of them are proactively leveraging the
opportunities through their businesses and through
investment. And, just over 5% are seeking to counter the
potential threats to the world from these forces through
business, investment and their charitable giving. [Figure 5]
Figure 5: Leveraging opportunities and countering threats
Through my business
A significant proportion of wealth creators are proactively leveraging
the opportunities that are being created by the drivers of change
through business and investment. Many are also actively countering
the threats through their business investment and social activity.
Through my investments
Through a charity
Leveraging opportunities
31%
29%
3%
1%
Population
growth
Communications
revolution
2%
2%
1%
War and
terrorism
7%
6%
8%
4%
3%
1%
3%
5%
8%
5%
Pandemics
9%
1%
4%
Lack of long-term
leadership
4%
6%
Globalisation
9%
6%
5%
Food
sustainability
34%
Scienti�ic and
technology revolution
30%
Environmental
change
23%
Scienti�ic and
technology revolution
20%
9%
5%
11%
6%
4%
Changing
energy sources
12%
1.
Questions: how are you involved in taking advantage of the drivers of
change which you consider opportunities or safeguarding against the
drivers of change which you consider threats?
10
36%
Communications
revolution
18%
Environmental
change
Pandemics
16%
29%
Globalisation
21%
21%
Food
sustainability
14%
Lack of long-term
leadership
13%
War and
terrorism
10%
14%
Population
growth
9%
8%
21%
Changing
energy sources
13%
Countering threats
2.
Responses from 250 HNWs in USA, Russia, Germany and the UK,
February 2012.

11. So, in conclusion, it is exciting
to find that those in positions
of wealth and influence are
already widely engaged in acts
of responsible wealth creation.
Although, perhaps it should
not be so surprising.
It could be argued that there
is a genetic imperative to act
in the world in ways that
are cognizant, ethical and
transformational. And so,
if we as wealth managers
fail to put the values of
responsible wealth at the
centre of our relationships,
then there is a real danger
that we will miss the whole
person in front of us.
Kaiser Partner Privatbank AG
Geschäftsbericht 2011
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12. Kaiser Partner
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