Ambassador to Young, Successful Professionals
Matthew Cohen comes from a family where from an early age he was taught to think about more than himself and his own life.
“I was taught that it is important to set aside time, effort, and energy to somehow, in some way, make a difference in the world and in the lives of others, in essence, to live a life larger than himself” he said.
Cohen is a principal with the investment firm Prodos Capital in West Palm Beach.
Matthew Cohen, Principal at Prodos Capital Management LLC
At 39 years old, Cohen has taken steps through planned giving, an estate plan and a donor advised fund with the Community Foundation to lay the foundation of a legacy that his future children and family can be proud of.
It’s a conversation that can be difficult for professional advisors to have with affluent young entrepreneurs, he said.
“Rarely is someone at my age even contemplating what legacy truly means,” he said.
Many of his peers are focused on their careers, their families, children, and vacation plans among other things. He said he has friends who are far more successful than he is, have three children, but do not even have a will.
Beyond his philanthropy, Cohen hopes to spread the word among his peers about legacy, estate planning and working with the foundation.
“Aside from resources, what I can do, which I think is much more valuable than even the amount of resources I can spread within our community, is to be this ambassador,” he said.
He wants to help others his age to think about how to share their success in a way that reaches beyond their daily lives.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for me and for the Community Foundation team to have impact, and ultimately to bring more people to the table to start thinking and planning around these types of ideas,” he said about his peers.
Cohen knows that for him and others his age, philanthropy and legacy planning are about the long term. The conversations can start with small steps with the Community Foundation, he said.
“Taking that first step, having that first conversation, doesn’t need to result in a sort of tectonic movement on all of these concepts and plans and investments,” he said.
Getting used to talking about what happens when they’re no longer here can be a difficult concept for people his age to internalize and get comfortable with. It takes time, he said.
“It’s very much something you can wade your way into and let it take you on a journey — maybe it’s not the journey you ever thought you might go on,” Cohen said. “You might find yourself somewhere much different than you thought. That’s happened to me in some of my work and it’s been the source of great joy in my life.”
