Dividend Policy: How Do Family Businesses Find the Right Balance Between Sharing Value and Preserving It for the Future?
Dividend policy is a sensitive yet central issue in a family business. It sits at the intersection of finance and family - between short-term needs and long-term goals. Still, it is often a topic discussed behind closed doors, even though the way value is distributed shapes both trust, cohesion, and the sustainability of the ownership group.
In the Dividends Policy Benchmarking Study 2025, the Family Business Council Gulf (FBCG), in collaboration with the Family Business Network (FBN), has examined how large, multi-generational family enterprises around the world approach dividend policy in practice. The study is based on in-depth interviews with family businesses in Europe, the Middle East, and North America.
The aim was to gain a realistic picture of how families today navigate the balance between shareholder expectations and the company’s need for growth, investment, and continuity. The result is a rich overview of practices, dilemmas, and lessons learned — and a clear signal that this topic deserves greater openness and knowledge-sharing among family business owners worldwide.
This study shows that a well-thought-out dividend policy can do more than distribute profits – it can strengthen trust, create predictability, and build bridges between generations.
At this webinar, we bring together owners for a conversation on what we can learn from the leading family businesses in the study, and how their practices can inspire Nordic families to find their own balance between growth, fairness, and togetherness.
Link to the webinar will be sent out the day before.
Program:
11:00-11:05 Welcome by FBN Norsk Familieeierskap
11:05-11:15 Present the findings from the report by Sara Mohammadi, CEO Family Business Council Gulf (FBCG)
11:15-11:25 Reflections from Rasha Al Darwish, SEDCO Holding Group
11:25-11:35 Reflections from Odd Gleditch dy, Jotun
11:35-11:45 Q&A from the audience