Hunting The 100-Year Share

As the annual Sunday Times Rich List regularly reminds us, a good number of Britain's wealthiest families are the custodians of a shareholding passed from generation to generation.

Consider the Warburton family, for instance, who own Bolton-based bread manufacturers Warburtons, valued by the Sunday Times at £500 million. Or the Bamford family, owners of £3.1 billion excavator manufacturer JCB. Or the Clark family, owners of -- you guessed it -- shoe manufacturer and retailer Clark's.

Nor does a family have to own the whole business. Consider the Sainsbury family, whose 9% stake in eponymous supermarket giant Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) is worth £520 million. Or the Cayzer family, with a 33% stake in investment trust Caledonia Investments (LSE: CLDN), worth £487 million.

Wealth transfer

In each case, the logic is simple. Build a stake in a solid and sustainable business, look after it and pass it on to the next generation -- while enjoying a decent stream of dividends in the process.

While there are obvious questions of inheritance tax to consider, there's nothing to stop any of us building up a stake in a decent business, and passing that shareholding on.

And note, here, that I'm talking 'business' -- and not businesses. Pass on a portfolio, and there will inevitably be trading decisions to be made, as and when companies are acquired or merge. Trading decisions that your heirs might get wrong.

Instead, I'm talking about companies with the muscle and clout to be the one that is doing the acquiring, or instigating the merger. Prosperous survivors, in short, that can grow and throw off dividends over the long term.

Growing longevity

And be under no illusion: we are talking about the long term, here. The very long term.

As I've written several times before, longevity is increasing sharply. A growing number of people will live to see a hundred, for instance. And even for those that don't, current estimates of mortality see many of us reaching our late eighties and early nineties.

So, at the very least, it seems reasonable to assume that a share chosen for its inter-generational sturdiness needs to have decent prospects of prospering solidly for a hundred years.

Track record

Madness, you might think. How can any business survive and prosper for that length of time -- especially in today's turbulent world, with its fast-changing technologies?

The Sainsbury family stake, for instance, is in a business dating back to 1869. The Warburton family is the fifth generation of the family to own to own the business, which dates from 1876. The Cayzer family's stake in Caledonia Investments dates back to C. W. Cayzer & Company, established in 1877. And so on.

Long-term winners

So which of today's businesses look set to stand the test of time? One obvious avenue to consider is Britain's rich seam of investment trusts.

Several are themselves well over a hundred years old: Alliance Trust (LSE: ATST) and Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust (LSE: FRCL), for instance, date back to 1888 and 1868 respectively. Monks (LSE: MNKS) dates back to 1929. Scottish Mortgage (LSE: SMT) has been riding out uncertain economic conditions since 1909.

And what about businesses well placed to benefit from big geo-political trends?

Emerging markets, for instance. Here, I'd consider another investment trust, Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust (LSE: TEMIT). Another pick is Unilever (LSE: ULVR), which has a clutch of durable brands, and is growing far faster overseas than it is back at home. The two businesses that became Unilever in 1930 date back to 1872 and 1885 respectively, and look set to continue in business for another hundred years.

Defence is another strong bet. BAE Systems (LSE: BA), for instance, can trace its history back to 1560 when the Royal Powder Factory was established at Waltham Abbey in Essex. Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR), too, is another strong contender.