The ability for a family to select the services they want to have is a huge advantage of having a Family Office. A dedicated team and tailoring services to one’s needs allows for an integrated, personalized client experience. Family offices can have assets ranging from 保險信託 to Billionaires, and they offer a wide variety of services. The number of members that are served by family offices also varies from a handful to hundreds.
If you have seen only one family business, then you know what it’s like. Who is best suited to join an existing multi-family firm that focuses on high-net worth clients? Skills required to manage wealth for a family are different than entrepreneurial skills necessary to create wealth. Many families delegate their financial management to wealth managers and accountants.
Family businesses often do not realize that, while these professionals are very good at managing financial capital, they also need to have access to global best practices and specialist resources to ensure sustainability. Setting up a single family office offers unique benefits, similar to outsourcing your business affairs or utilizing a multifamily office. You can independently run your family business and set up strong guidelines based on your values, governance, and goals. These factors will be vital to the long-term survival of your wealth and your family.
The business is the glue that holds a dispersed, growing family together. While legal shareholders and emotionally attached family members may want to maintain the closeness and identity of their business, they risk missing out on opportunities to grow, develop or sell. This problem can be solved by setting up a Family Office, however it is expensive. A business, as a general rule, should have between $50 and $100 million in capital to cover the cost of launching a new family office.
According to EY there are currently at least 3000 family offices worldwide, and more than half were established in the past 15 years. The 2016 Global Family Office Report shows that the number of offices pursuing growth strategies has increased by 7% in 2016. The cost to set up a new family office is high, and finding the right staff to manage it is a major challenge.
Most family offices are adept at managing investments and administration, but they fail to take into account how the office can help develop the human capital of the family and engage the younger generation. The set-up and management of your family’s office should be based on global experience. This will allow you to reap the rewards of having a well-resourced and competent office, without investing in and taking the risk of “reinventing” the wheel.
A well-run office for the family can also do more than just evaluate financial assets. It can assist you in adopting a global view of your best practices and facilitate family communication. When you are considering alternative investment models, you need to find an expert who can help you determine the best model.