10 July, 2009. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis and the loss of private fortunes, many individuals and families are being forced to re-examine how they could better manage their money and avoid similar mistakes made. While economists have primarily pointed to the banking structure and greed as the main causes for the crisis, many have failed to examine its root causes. Mr. Chandran Nair, GIFT’s CEO and founder, attempted to go beyond these conventional assumptions in his evening talk delivered before an exclusive group of high-wealth business families gathered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In his talk, Nair painted a broad canvas outlining the underlining flaws in the development and wealth creation which has created most of the challenges of our times ranging from social inequalities to environmental destruction. He also discussed the concept of sustainable development and urged the audience to think beyond naïve notions of “going green.”

Nair also argued that the financial crisis was part of a larger problem of under-pricing externalities, inequality and unsustainable development which has been fueled largely by greed and over-consumption. Mr. Nair delivered a sobering conclusion by stating that without proper government intervention and regulations, the consequences of our actions, particularly the destruction of the planet’s resources, would be irreversible.

To the second generation of the families there, Nair outlined opportunities for them to get involved in the inclusion of the future which he said would include those that tackled the problems of food security and safety, improving rural livelihoods, health care and technologies which did more with less.

The event, Managing Financial and Family Capital – Opportunity in Crisis”, was organized by Barclays Wealth from 9 to 12 July, 2009.