In the Lead Takeaways, Part 1

March 7, 2023

In the Lead stage in Laguna Beach

Our In the Lead event, in Laguna Beach, California, featured an inspiring lineup of visionaries, creators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and leaders who shared insights on how women can maximize their impact and propel each other further.

To learn more about any of the topics below, connect with your Goldman Sachs team or request an introduction.

Boldness, presence and love can fuel your purpose

From: Redefining Purpose
Dr. Jennifer Aaker, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Dr. Jennifer Aaker

In her behavioral science research, Dr. Jennifer Aaker has sought to understand what creates meaning and happiness in people’s lives. The short answer is purpose, but what does that mean for each of us?

Drawing on insights gleaned from the regrets of the dying, combined with cutting-edge behavioral research, she identifies three things that connect us with our purpose: boldness, presence and love.

Boldness isn’t about being fearless but rather being open to change. One exercise to try is to seek moments of awe.

“When we experience awe, that changes our frame, resets us and inspires us to take on greater challenges,” Jennifer shared. “Research has found that people who experience awe (versus happiness) were more open to change and reported greater life satisfaction.”
Presence means being more aware of small moments and being radically present.

“In one of our studies involving over 12 million people, we found that humans spend a majority of life worried about the future. But our future selves would like us to stay in the present. You know when you’re drinking a cup of coffee? You can smell it, feel the warmth of it…If you are worried about past or future events, you’ll look down and coffee will be gone. Your life is that coffee,” Jennifer said.
Love is experienced when we feel seen, valued and respected. And some form of it exists when we feel aligned with our teams working hard toward something beyond ourselves. We know people want to be valued members of a winning team on an inspired mission. Love creates those bonds. It’s created in small ways at work too. For example, instead of just saying “thanks,” try adding “I love your ideas.” Small semantic shifts can display care and human connection.

Purpose is elusive, dynamic and important. A lot of our current challenges can be linked to a crisis of purpose. But being bold, present and engaging in acts of love can help create more meaning in our lives.
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Avoid unnecessary lane changes and allow extra time to reach your destination

From: The Investment Outlook for 2023: Heavy Fog Ahead
Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Goldman Sachs

Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani

When the path for the economy is highly uncertain, which is the case today, investment opportunities still exist, but investors and entrepreneurs should avoid making dramatic changes to their customized portfolio asset allocation, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani said.

“We want to alert clients to be a little more cautious, not change lanes too quickly and realize it’s going to take a little bit longer to get to your destination,” Sharmin explained.

Given the pace of Fed tightening and its effect on markets, our Investment Strategy Group (ISG) forecasts a 45 to 55% probability of recession in the U.S. this year, which is their highest probability on record. ISG also expects a slowdown in global economic growth this year to below-trend levels.*

Despite this, along with heightened geopolitical risks, Sharmin emphasized that ISG’s two key investment themes remain valid: U.S. preeminence and staying invested.

“U.S. economic data remains strong, with a productive labor force, more innovation, better earnings per share growth and institutions that have remained resilient despite recent shocks,” she said.
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^{*Forecasts provided by ISG are estimated, based on assumptions, and are subject to significant revision and may change materially as economic and market conditions change.}

Commit to your mission and audience

From: In a World of Distrust, Creating a Brand Women Trust
Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm

Building a trustworthy brand starts with committing to a particular audience and growing with them, Carly Zakin said. For theSkimm, that demographic was millennial women. Carly and Danielle Weisberg have made it a point to fine tune the content as the audience reaches new milestones, like becoming a parent or owning a home.

“We know who we serve, and that commitment to her has really allowed us to have a focus that's maintained that connection and trust,” Carly added.

TheSkimm was able to grow an audience of 12 million subscribers across platforms by staying laser-focused on their mission: cover important news topics in an easy-to-read format and without bias. The daily newsletter is written in a casual tone — how someone would speak to a friend — and aims to present just the facts about important news of the day, without hot takes or opinions.

“Media organizations have built empires off of divisive politics,” Danielle added. “Outrage works but it doesn’t align with our mission. For us, the role of theSkimm is to make it easier for women to be informed, not get them to agree with a certain point of view.”

Stay invested, beware of fads and understand your limits

From: Investing: The Most Important Things to Know
Amal Alibair & Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Goldman Sachs

When it feels like the whole world is bullish on the latest market fad — from crypto to emerging market growth prospects — Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani insists on substance over being “hip.”

In terms of investing in something with substance, Sharmin and the Investment Strategy Group (ISG) maintain that a mixture of stocks and bonds (i.e., a 60/40 portfolio) is an effective starting point for a portfolio. The 60/40 portfolio has generated positive returns on a rolling 12-month basis 80% of the time since 1926.

Both Sharmin and Amal Alibair emphasized the importance of knowing your risk tolerance, determining portfolio allocations with an advisor on a case-by-case basis and being prepared to ride out market troughs.

“We actually think preparation is one of the most important action items with our clients,” Sharmin said.

Amal agreed, noting that if you panic and sell, you will incur a loss you may never recoup. After a downturn, it can be extremely difficult to find an optimal re-entry point, particularly if the market concludes its drop and begins to rally.

When it comes to estate planning, embrace flexibility

From: Estate Planning: Pitfalls & Practical Pointers
Julie Kwon, McDermott Will & Emery; Syida Long, Goldman Sachs

Estate planning can be overwhelming. There is often a lot of ground to cover and many decisions to make. But fears that come up during the process — that kids will be overly entitled or not responsible with finances — can lead families to draft plans that are too rigid. Life happens and rarely in perfect alignment with plans that try to control too many decisions too far in advance.

“The biggest regrets I hear are from people who are stuck with plans that automate wealth transfers for certain ages or life events,” Julie Kwon said. “Often, these plans cannot adapt to circumstances as they unfold.”

Julie encouraged people to be more flexible. One way to do that is to appoint trusted decisionmakers who can monitor how families and children evolve.

“I let the trusted decisionmakers see if children are developing the necessary aptitude and accountability to manage family wealth,” she added. “These decisionmakers can determine how to distribute money, whether a portion or all, and decide when children are ready to be appointed as additional or sole fiduciaries.”

Families can also miss out on some helpful tax incentives because they are too paralyzed to act. Syida Long encouraged clients to seek education on strategies such as efficiently utilizing their gift tax exemption, paying for healthcare and education (not considered a gift), and the benefits of Qualified Small Business Stock, which may eliminate taxes upon a sale.
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Humor and humanity drive authenticity and connection

From: Leading with Authenticity
Dr. Jennifer Aaker, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Dr. Jennifer Aaker says traditional models of leadership have shifted. It used to be that leaders needed to be revered; now they need to connect. One of the best ways for a leader to connect with others is by embracing authenticity. When we can lead with more authenticity, we are able to bring the full range of our humanity to our work, embrace our vulnerabilities and are better able to navigate change and uncertainty.

“Leading with authenticity can accelerate connection, foster trust and help leaders navigate change and uncertainty more successfully,” Jennifer explained.

Authenticity means embracing all aspects of your identity, including your vulnerabilities.

“We are our flaws,” she added. “Lean into the things that make you, you. Your flaws, your cracks, your challenges in life.”

Humor can also help leaders tap into authenticity. It accelerates trust, and boosts employee job satisfaction, creativity and work performance.* Three tips help move the needle in the workplace.

It’s not about being funny; it’s about understanding your humor style. Once you understand your humor style, using humor becomes more authentic.
Laughter springs from the unexpected. Effective humor isn’t about becoming a comedian. It’s about looking at the world in a different way. Our brains are wired to find what we choose to look for; be on the lookout for levity.
Don’t ask if it will be funny. Ask how it will make others feel. The best humor pinpoints what you can say in the moment to move the group forward. Humor isn't something you force into the moment, it's the tool that lets you respond to it. So much about being competent is knowing when humor is necessary.

“We can do serious things without taking ourselves too seriously. And often we can do them better,” Jennifer concluded.
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^{* Mesmer-Magnus, Glew, and Viwesvaran, “A Meta-analysis of Positive Humor in the Workplace,” Journal of Managerial Psychology (February 2012): 155.}

Collecting art? The most important aesthetic is yours.

From: Art Smartly: Building an Art Collection
Allison Berg, A&L Berg Foundation; Michael Govan, LACMA; Esther Kim Varet, Various Small Fires Gallery

Left to right: Michael Govan, Allison Berg, Esther Kim Varet

Building an art collection should be a deeply personal process. While you may notice certain trends or mediums gaining traction, don’t let anyone tell you what you should like, Michael Govan said.

“The world and markets have really opened up, so collectors don’t have to stick with one particular aesthetic.”

Developing your tastes can take time, but it’s also fun. You can find inspiration and cultivate your preferences at local museums, art fairs and galleries. The pieces you choose should be interesting, thought-provoking and beautiful to you.

“To discover what resonates with you, slow down. Take in the beauty but also question the ‘why’ and the ‘who’ below the surface,” Allison Berg said. “While art has become an asset class for many, experiencing art as an idea rather than exclusively as an object can be totally transformative.”

Being intentional and personal will show through in your collection, and these aspects can often separate striking, unique collections from ones that feel too curated. When people ask Esther Kim Varet to be their art advisor, she usually declines for this reason.

“I know what's resonating with them is how personal my collection is, and that’s something you can’t really recreate for someone,” she said.

Art advisors help you gain access to various pieces and institutions, and can assist you with building rapport with galleries and museums. Purchasing art for museums is another strategy for building a unique collection. Sometimes galleries give exclusive access to new or off-the-market pieces to collectors who fund art in that way.
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It's the long-term lens for alternative investments

From: The Alternatives Landscape & Implementation Techniques
Sara Naison-Tarajano & Kristin Olson, Goldman Sachs

Sara Naison-Tarajano, Kristin Olson

Alternative investments stand out as an increasingly vital part of family office portfolios, in part thanks to historically robust returns and performance that’s generally uncorrelated to public markets.

The growing interest in alternatives has transformed typical investment strategies. The one-off, opportunistic investing of 10 years ago has given way to more systematic and strategic long-term alternative approaches.

Sara Naison-Tarajano believes this shift has benefitted family office clients during the tumultuous past year. The deliberate focus on staying the course during 2022 allowed them to be, as she put it, “incredibly well-positioned for 2023.”

“You can’t avoid a bad cycle, but by being consistent in your commitments you won’t miss the great cycles, and over time, you should achieve the outperformance that alternatives can deliver,” she added.

Kristin Olson noted we’re at a crucial inflection point for alternatives given the market volatility and uncertainty that continue to dominate the investment landscape.

“In the past, steady economic growth led to relatively predictable outcomes,” she said. “With the moderation of multiple expansion and slowdown in public listings, manager experience in driving value and navigating market cycles will be crucial.”

In a playing field that relies, in large part, on access and track records, however, the alternative space is still a work in progress in terms of providing investment options led by women or people of color.

“We do have a lot more clients now that look at pitch books and point out the lack of diversity and/or women,” Kristin said. “It will take time to cultivate and increase that talent pool, but it’s a silver lining that people are aware of and acknowledging the gap."
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Open conversations help kids manage wealth

From: Children, Chats & Challenges: Next Gen Education
Carra Cote-Ackah, Goldman Sachs; Julie Kwon, McDermott Will & Emery

There may be any number of reasons why families delay having the full money talk with their kids. Some are waiting for their kids to reach a certain age and others may not know how to have proactive, impactful conversations. But getting started early and communicating often drives better outcomes of financially savvy, grounded kids.

Parents can educate their children about financial topics and help frame their understanding of wealth before they start getting money messages elsewhere (i.e., through peers, social media, etc.), said Carra Cote-Ackah.

Everyday conversations may include an opportunity to make money a visible part of your kids’ lives and help them develop their wealth mindset, experience your shared values and practice financial skills that will eventually help them manage money effectively and carry on the family’s legacy.

Parents should start by reflecting on their own upbringing and emotions related to money and consider whether to take a similar approach with their children.

Involving children in certain financial matters early and often can train them to become successful stewards of the family wealth. Julie Kwon explained the goal is to give kids the opportunity to engage with family wealth and governance to teach them prudence and accountability.

Carra added, “This can start with young kids in the grocery store and can continue with bigger decisions like car buying or vacation planning with older kids. Including them in your decision process around spending, saving, investing and more can build family unity — and prevent a sense of entitlement.”

Because excessive restriction and lack of transparency can often backfire, many families with older children use their private foundation or donor-advised fund to provide a narrower purview of the wealth while enabling kids to practice sound financial judgment and teach stewardship. Others select trusts to establish guardrails that allow children to interact with wealth within fixed parameters. A customized, adaptable approach is important to develop a healthy wealth mindset for kids of all ages.
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Making good wine is a labor of love and a lifelong commitment

From: The Intricate Business of Wine
Leslie Frank, Frank Family Vineyards; Amanda Harlan Maltas, Harlan Estate

When Amanda Harlan Maltas talks about plans for her family’s winery, her time horizon isn’t five or 10 years, it’s 200. She knows the ambition to create a wine that would “someday be at the table with the greatest wines of the world” takes that kind of time. Her parents, who’ve been in the business for nearly 40 years, gave her a sense of how much patience and commitment is needed when she asked to join the family business after working a few different jobs after college.

“It wasn’t like ‘great, we’ve been waiting,’” she noted. They encouraged her to explore other avenues first because they wanted her to be sure.

“Is this your life calling?” they wanted to know. “Is this where your natural-born gifts are coming together with your purpose?” Anything less, they understood, wouldn’t be a good fit.

Leslie Frank, of Frank Family Vineyards, also realized winemaking was too all-consuming to be a hobby or a second job. She left her career as a TV reporter so she and her husband could both concentrate on their winery full-time.

The skill she brought with her was storytelling.

“As a journalist, I spent 26 years telling other people’s stories. And today I tell the story of Frank Family Vineyards,” she said.

In a crowded market — Napa Valley alone is home to more than 450 wineries — stories like Amanda’s family’s deep, long-term commitment to what they’re doing, or Leslie and her husband’s decision to treat visitors as “guests” rather than customers, make a difference.

A final ingredient is hospitality. For Amanda, growing up on a vineyard meant she had a learned affinity for food, wine and people that shaped her career. For Leslie, the payoff of making wine accessible and unpretentious was obvious, and one of the keys to building a loyal customer base over nearly 30 years.
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Tap your expertise to create something new and different

From: Building an Eyebrow Empire
Anastasia Soare, Anastasia Beverly Hills

Anastasia Soare

Anastasia Soare channeled her art and technical design knowledge to pioneer a method that helped her build a beauty empire. Art and design often apply the Golden Ratio (also known as the Divine Proportion) to ensure balance and a composition ratio that’s pleasing to the eye.

Anastasia took this concept and applied it to eyebrows to create the Golden Ratio Eyebrow Shaping Technique, which uses an individual’s bone structure to shape their eyebrows in a flattering way.

“Beauty is about individual balance and proportion, not perfection,” she said. “This approach of individuality was a welcome change in a time when the beauty world was hyper-focused on formulaic standards.”

The idea is now patented and widely known throughout the beauty industry, but Anastasia emphasized the journey there was paved with rejection and required endless determination and resilience.

She advised new entrepreneurs to get used to rejection and remember that “no” doesn’t always mean the conversation is over. When she was opening her first store, Anastasia spent hours convincing a potential landlord she could make rent every month with her cosmetic business.

“Whatever you put your mind to, you can do it. Just have the confidence that you can do it and never give up,” she said.

View Day 2

Investment Strategy Group (“ISG”). The Investment Strategy Group, part of the Asset & Wealth Management business (“AWM”) of GS, focuses on asset allocation strategy formation and market analysis for GS Wealth Management. Any information that references ISG, including their model portfolios, represents the views of ISG, is not financial research and is not a product of GS Global Investment Research and may vary significantly from views expressed by individual portfolio management teams within AWM, or other groups at GS.

This material is intended for educational purposes only and is provided solely on the basis that it will not constitute investment advice and will not form a primary basis for any personal or plan’s investment decisions. While it is based on information believed to be reliable, no warranty is given as to its accuracy or completeness and it should not be relied upon as such. Goldman Sachs is not a fiduciary with respect to any person or plan by reason of providing the material herein, information and opinions expressed by individuals other than Goldman Sachs employees do not necessarily reflect the view of Goldman Sachs. This material may not, without Goldman Sachs’ prior written consent, be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form, by any means, or (ii) distributed to any person that is not an employee, officer, director, or authorized agent of the recipient. This material is not an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security in any jurisdiction. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of money invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Neither asset diversification or investment in a continuous or periodic investment plan guarantees a profit or protects against a loss. Information and opinions provided herein are as of the date of this material only and are subject to change without notice.

^{Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”).}

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