A happy family and a career – can you really have it all? We’re always trying to find the correct mix when it comes to work and family but what is the right balance?

More interestingly is it the role of a wealth manager to tell us or hint at where the balance may be? For UBS (see later) this seems to be the case.

Deconstructing it down to a basic level, for most of us, it’s about trading off reward and satisfaction between two camps – material reward versus home-life emotional joy.

For example, do you put the hours in to push for that promotion and working as long as the boss or do you clock in and out/do the minimum and thereby have more home time with the family in the evenings?

It seems despite the proliferation of technology and predictions stretching back to the 1950’s that the future (today) would see us spoilt for choice as to what to do with all our free leisure time, most of us are working more hours than our parents and grandparents.

For those with children, this begs the question what makes a good parent?

Is it more bacon bringing? Or is it more quality time spent with the kids?

Most of us don’t know the answer to this tricky question. Is a good parent the one that’s always there for bedtime, the one that buys their child all the latest toys and gadgets, the one that turns up for every school play, or the one that feeds them well and makes sure they have a warm bed to sleep in at night? The list is endless and you could argue, it’s controversial – and surely no one has the correct answer?

But UBS hints it has the answer – it’s primarily about financial success. Or at least letting them take care of the financial side of things for you (for a fee), while you focus on the things that matter?!

In its latest ad campaign, the bank poses the question “am I a good father?” (It seems to ignore the mother, but we’ll take it that women are capable of translating this to make it relevant to them.)

Ex-F1 driver, David Coulthard is in on the act – telling potential clients that being a good dad is not about being at home all the time but about giving it 100% for when you are and having wealth management in place allows him to achieve this wonderful balance.

But is wealth management really the answer? Having a sound financial structure in place is vital to help make sure your family’s needs are met, but there are a hundreds of answers to “what makes a good parent” and we certainly wouldn’t want to narrow it down to just money.

Then again it is one of the primary reasons many marriages end in divorce.

– Around 42% of marriages are expected to end in divorce, with 118,140 divorces in the UK in 2014.
– The UK has the highest rate of divorce in the EU.
– The average age for divorce is 45 (men) and 42 (women).
– 48% of couples divorcing had at least one child aged under 16 living with the family.

The average age of divorce is coincidentally around the age most people become fully established in their careers, and one might ask if career success contributes to or breeds homelife failure or if in fact financial freedom actually allows people to reassess their personal situation and make changes they otherwise would not?

Hard to say, but if you think you have the magic answer – do let us know in the comments!