You and your family have worked hard to build your business and your wealth – your legacy. But how do you shape future aspirations while mitigating the risks and complexities of tomorrow? For some, the solution may involve a family office.
No two families are the same, the same goes for family offices. Some are run by the family, some are staffed almost exclusively by investment managers and financial advisers, while others employ experts in yachts or bloodstock. Some prioritise liquidity; others look to direct investments to complement the family’s existing operating businesses.
Whatever your single or multi-family office looks like, there can come a time when it needs some external support.
We can help at every step of your journey
Establish
We can help your family office to design and implement the appropriate structures to enable you and your family achieve desired objectives, while considering the necessary policies, controls and processes to assist in compliance and risk mitigation.
Operate
We can assist management and boards receive robust, timely data to help them make decisions on current and future operational needs and states. We work with you to support the efficient operation of your family office.
Grow
Growth cannot come at any cost – we can help your family office grow in a way that is sustainable and compliant. As the family which the family office supports grows, we can help support next generation engagement and education programs.
Preserve
We can help family offices preserve and protect their assets and legacy, and prepare for future plans, whatever they may look like.
Testimonials
Setting up a charity with intent
After recently selling their main operating business, we worked with the family to understand that they wanted to remain unified now that the business, which had given them a common purpose, was gone. Their aim was to pool their wealth to acquire financial and real estate investments, and to undertake philanthropic activities together. They concluded that establishing a family office could help them.
We helped this family to establish their priorities and determine what they should bring in-house and what to outsource. We then advised on the best structure for their investment pool to manage it on a long-term basis. We continue to help this family to develop their investment strategies and reporting regimes, and to create governance arrangements to define the roles and responsibilities of each family member who is taking an active role in the family’s joint venture.
Considering all generations
A large international family needed assistance in restructuring their family office operations. The family office was originally embedded within the principal’s main business, supported by the CFO and staff. However, the family came to realise that when the principal is no longer involved in the business, the next generation’s needs and aims will change and may not be served by the existing structure.
We helped re-start previously deadlocked conversations between generations and create new family office operation from the ground up. We are also helping to build a future generations-focused financial model which will enable them to assess potential impacts of events such as divorce, interest rate changes or tax increases.
Proper process
An established multi-generational family office was concerned that over time the family had become too distant from the family office’s operations. They were concerned that they did not have clear oversight of the costs, were unsure about whether their risks were being managed, and even about who the key decision-makers were.
We undertook a thorough review of the family office’s procedures, processes and controls, focusing on how investment decisions were made and uncovered what the family was happy with, and what they wanted to change.
We helped design a new investment process which cut costs and made the in-house operations more robust. We also established a new reporting regime which meant that key stakeholders – both family members and family office management – received the right amount of information as required by their roles.
