Patricia Angus

Founder and CEO, Angus Advisory Group LLC

Patricia M. Angus, JD, MIA, TEP, is Founder and CEO of Angus Advisory Group LLC, an Adjunct Professor, founding Managing Director of the Global Family Enterprise Program, and Faculty Director of Enterprising Families Executive Education at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. A recognized thought leader in the field, she has provided legal and strategic advice to global families and firms with multi-generational businesses, trusts, and philanthropy, for over two decades. She is prolific author, with publications including the highly acclaimed The Beneficiary Primer: A Guide for Beneficiaries of Family Trusts and The Trustee Primer: A Guide for Personal Trustees.

Ms. Angus practiced law at trusts and estates boutique Hughes and Whitaker (now Day Pitney) and Coudert Brothers international law firm (now Baker & McKenzie). She was Principal and Chief Wealth Advisory Officer of Shelterwood Financial Services LLC and Family Wealth Advisor at GenSpring and JP Morgan Private Bank. She has developed and launched two graduate level courses at Columbia University Graduate School of Business focused on family enterprise and wealth, including a global immersion trip for MBAs. Ms. Angus has also launched Columbia University’s Executive Education Program for family enterprises.

Ms. Angus has served on the board of directors of global single family offices, and has advised many others. She serves on Advisory Boards of Trusts & Estates and the Carter Center. She is a fellow of and faculty member for the Family Firm Institute (FFI), where she served on the editorial advisory board of The FFI Practitioner and holds an Advanced Certificate in Family Wealth Advising and a Certificate in Family Business Advising from FFI. She is also a member of the Society of Trusts & Estates Practitioners (STEP), and in the past was chair of the governing board of the Collaboration for Family Flourishing and a member of the advisory Board of the NYC Family Enterprise Center. She has written numerous articles on topics including family wealth, businesses, trusts, estate planning, philanthropy, and women’s issues, and frequently speaks at industry and family events.

Ms. Angus has been named one of the Top 50 Women in Wealth Management by Wealth Manager; a Rising Star by Private Asset Management; and Top 50 CEOs in Private Client, Power Women, and Top 100 North American Wealth Advisers by Citywealth. In 2015, Angus Advisory Group LLC was a finalist for Family Business Advisor of the year by UK-based STEP. In 2019, Ms. Angus received a Family Firm Institute Achievement Award in the Field of Family Enterprise, the Interdisciplinary Award.

She received a B.A. cum laude from Amherst College, a Masters in International Affairs with a concentration in International Law and Organizations from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School.

Contributions

Voices from the Field

The Purpose and Power of Family Governance

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Patricia Angus

Courtesy of Tiger Lily from Pexels This blog post is excerpted from the upcoming Passages Issue Brief: Enhancing Your Family Philanthropy with The Family Governance Pyramid. For more information about family governance, please register for our Effective Governance: Principles, Policies, and Practices webinar on April 8, 2021. Over the past few decades, practitioners and academics from various disciplines have been… Read More

Effective Governance: Principles, Policies, and Practices

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Virginia M. Esposito, Patricia Angus

board room, board meeting
Preview the conversation with “The Purpose and Power of Family Governance” by Patricia Angus. Family philanthropy is rooted in the act of collective decision making—one that is often codified in a formal governance structure. But what is governance and how can a family adopt its framework to effectively guide their philanthropy? Governance consists of three elements—principles, policies, and practices—that define… Read More
Ask NCFP

What is a family council and when should a family consider establishing one?

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Patricia Angus

What is a family council and when should a family considering establishing one? Many families with multiple branches may elect to set up a Family Council. While the particular roles and responsibilities of Family Councils vary across families, they typically function as an oversight committee that consists of a small group of family members elected or selected out of the… Read More

Family Governance Meets Family Dynamics: Strategies for Successful Joint Philanthropy

Posted on October 28, 2007 by Fredda Herz Brown, Patricia Angus

This Passages issue paper explores the interplay of family dynamics and family governance in family philanthropies, concluding families who think about their governance systems, including how decisions will be made, are less likely to be encumbered by family dynamics than families who begin their philanthropies informally, progressing to formality over time. In addition, families who openly address their underlying internal… Read More

Family Governance: a Primer for Families

Posted on June 8, 2005 by Patricia Angus

Many families working together in philanthropy find that managing the work that must be accomplished as a group can be as complex as the grantmaking itself. Typically, a family’s philanthropy, whether formal or less structured, is only one of a number of ways in which family members interact with one another. In this session, Patricia Angus of Asset Management Advisors… Read More

Family Governance: A Primer for Philanthropic Families

Posted on June 4, 2004 by Patricia Angus

This Passages Issue Brief focuses on the principles, practices, and policies of family governance. Typically, a family’s philanthropy, whether formal or less structured, is only one of a number of ways in which family members interact with one another. This article aims to help philanthropic families understand the theory and practice of effective family governance… Read More