Chairman's Message: The indispensability of trust—a fragile but essential resource

In all the 40-plus years I have spent advising wealthy families and managing their affairs, I have found one principle that consistently separates flourishing families from struggling ones: trust.

Trust is the invisible currency that underpins every decision, every relationship and every legacy. Without it, even the most carefully constructed structures—legal entities, investment strategies, governance frameworks—can collapse under their own weight.

Trust is not abstract. It plays out in concrete ways: the fiduciary duty of an advisor acting in a client’s best interest, the role of a trustee holding responsibility for assets across generations, the choice of partners in business and philanthropy, the credibility of leaders and institutions in society, even the foundations of democracy itself. Each depends on the same fragile, vital substance: our willingness to believe in the reliability, integrity and intent of others.

For wealthy families and the professionals who serve them, trust is not optional. It is the foundation upon which wealth preservation, governance and well-being are built. Trust is not merely a pleasant byproduct of good relationships; it is the central operating system.

The word itself: where trust comes from

The English word trust traces back to Old Norse traust, meaning “confidence, help, protection.” It shares roots with the Proto-Germanic traustam, connoting “firmness, steadfastness, reliability.” The word carried dual senses: the comfort of reliance and the obligation of responsibility.

In Old English, treowe (related to “true”) emphasized loyalty and faithfulness. To be “true” was to be trustworthy, and to trust was to anchor oneself in that fidelity. Over time, trust evolved to denote both the reliance placed in someone and the duty to honour that reliance.

That duality—belief and obligation—is central to how we think about trust today. It is not just a passive hope that someone will behave well. It is also an active commitment to act in ways that justify the confidence others place in us.

Trust in wealth and fiduciary duty

Trust shows up everywhere once you start to look for it. For families of significant wealth, trust is institutionalized in fiduciary duty. The very idea of a fiduciary relationship is that one party holds power or discretion not for their own benefit, but for the best interest of another. It is perhaps the clearest professional embodiment of trust in modern law and finance.

When clients place their assets under the care of an advisor or a family office, they are not merely outsourcing tasks—they are extending trust. They are relying on the professional’s integrity, competence and judgment. If that trust is betrayed—through negligence, conflicts of interest or self-dealing—the consequences reverberate far beyond balance sheets. They can fracture families, erode reputations and even corrode the next generation’s confidence in stewardship.

This is why fiduciary standards matter so profoundly.

Trustees and the weight of responsibility

Few roles embody trust more heavily than that of a trustee. As a trustee of multiple trusts myself, I feel that duty of care intensely. To be a trustee is to hold legal title to assets that are not your own, with a duty to manage them solely for the benefit of others. The role requires integrity, competence, impartiality and prudence.

In my own career, I have found that the best professional relationships are those where trust eliminates the need for exhaustive oversight.

But it also requires something more elusive: judgment. A trustee must interpret both the letter of the trust deed and the spirit of the settlor’s intent, while balancing the competing needs of beneficiaries across generations. The task demands not only legal acumen, but also moral clarity and emotional intelligence.

Families often discover that the choice of trustee is among the most consequential decisions they make. A well-chosen trustee can safeguard harmony and stewardship; a poorly chosen one can breed suspicion, resentment and endless litigation.

Trust in business partnerships

In business, trust accelerates progress. When partners know they share the same values and goals, decisions happen quickly. They don’t need to parse every word of a contract or second-guess every move. Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, once said that “nothing is as fast as the speed of trust.” I have witnessed this in countless boardrooms and family meetings.

Covey also observed that trust is a “performance multiplier.” Low-trust environments are bogged down by bureaucracy, monitoring and suspicion; high-trust environments flow with energy, speed and innovation.

In my own career, I have found that the best professional relationships are those where trust eliminates the need for exhaustive oversight. Yes, contracts are necessary, but they become safety nets rather than cages. The real work is propelled by mutual understanding and confidence.

Trust in society and institutions

Zooming out, trust is also the glue of society. We rely on trust when we deposit money in a bank, when we send our children to school, when we board an airplane, or when we obey traffic lights. We operate with the assumption that institutions and systems will function as promised.

And yet, public trust in institutions—governments, corporations, media, even the professions—has eroded dramatically in recent decades. Surveys consistently show declining confidence, particularly among younger generations. The implications are serious: when trust in institutions falters, cynicism rises, social cohesion weakens, and polarization hardens.

For wealthy families, this erosion of societal trust adds layers of complexity. They must consider not only how to maintain trust within the family, but also how to act in ways that build trust with the communities and societies around them.

Democracy and dictatorship: trust versus fear

At the broadest level, democracy itself rests on trust. Citizens must trust that votes will be counted fairly, that laws will be applied consistently and that leaders will honour the will of the people. Democracy requires faith in systems and in one another.

Dictatorship, by contrast, thrives not on trust but on fear. Citizens comply because they are coerced, not because they believe. Such systems may endure for a time, but they are brittle. Fear breeds silence, not loyalty. When pressure mounts, the absence of trust becomes the system’s undoing.

The lesson for families and advisors is clear: lasting governance—whether of nations or of family enterprises—cannot be built on coercion. It must be built on trust.

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This article was reprinted with permission from Canadian Family Offices.