CxO || UHNW Advisor || Intelligence

Celebrating my birthday with my wife Sarah in
Munich, Germany during Oktoberfest

Family Office Management

What is a Family Office?

A family office is a private wealth management advisory firm that serves high-net-worth individuals. The goal of a family office is to centralize the management of a family’s financial affairs and preserve their wealth across generations. Here are some key points about family offices:

Typical Services Offered:

  • Investment Management: Creating and managing investment portfolios.
  • Estate Planning: Ensuring the smooth transfer of wealth to future generations.
  • Tax Planning and Preparation: Optimizing tax strategies and handling tax filings.
  • Philanthropy: Managing charitable donations and setting up foundations or trusts.
  • Family Governance: Establishing structures and processes to manage family dynamics and business.
  • Lifestyle Management: Handling personal affairs such as travel, household management, and private staff.

Types of Family Offices:

  • Single-Family Office (SFO): Serves one affluent family.
  • Multi-Family Office (MFO): Provides services to multiple families, often to achieve economies of scale.

Advantages:

  • Customization: Tailored financial strategies to meet the specific needs of the family.
  • Control: Direct oversight and control over investments and financial decisions.
  • Confidentiality: High level of privacy for family affairs.

Establishment and Costs:

  • Family offices are typically established by families with significant wealth, often in the tens of millions or more. While there is no set definition when using the terms HNW (High Net Worth) or UNHW (Ultra High Net Worth), HNW families usually have investable liquid assets in the range of several hundred thousands to several million, and UHNW usually have tens of millions, or even billions.
  • The cost of running a family office can be substantial, including salaries for professional staff, office space, and operational expenses. At a minimum, expect to retain the best counsel from lawyers whom specialize in asset protect strategies, estate planning, and creating tax efficiencies. The same is true for finding the best accountants and CPA’s firms with a specialized Family Office practice.

Family offices are becoming increasingly popular as wealthy individuals seek comprehensive and personalized financial management solutions.

Our family belongs to an informal network of other family offices, including SFO’s and MFO’s, which provide a great environment to learn and grow. This network has greater resources and can direct us towards others teams of professionals with the proper skill set needed to succeed. This includes lawyers, accountants, and other professionals with a variety of skill sets. In addition, we belong to networks which source and vet potential investment opportunities for us to evaluate.

Celebrating Sarah’s birthday in Costa Rica

Where do I start?

Start with knowledge. There are consultants, like us, and firms that specialize in helping families set up and manage family offices. These consultants provide expertise in various areas essential to establishing and operating a family office. Their services typically include:

Initial Assessment and Planning:

  • Evaluating the family’s needs, goals, and existing financial situation.
  • Recommending the structure and scope of the family office.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance:

  • Assisting with the legal setup, including incorporation and regulatory filings.
  • Ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

Governance and Management:

  • Establishing governance structures, such as family councils and advisory boards.
  • Developing policies and procedures for decision-making and conflict resolution.

Staffing and Operations:

  • Recruiting and hiring experienced professionals to manage investments, taxes, and administrative tasks.
  • Setting up office infrastructure, including technology and security systems.

Investment Strategy and Portfolio Management:

  • Designing and implementing investment strategies tailored to the family’s objectives.
  • Providing ongoing investment management and performance monitoring.

Risk Management and Insurance:

  • Identifying potential risks and recommending appropriate insurance solutions.
  • Developing strategies to protect family assets and mitigate risks.

Philanthropy and Legacy Planning:

  • Assisting with the creation and management of charitable foundations or trusts.
  • Advising on strategies for legacy planning and wealth transfer to future generations.

Ongoing Support and Advisory Services:

  • Providing continuous support and advisory services to adapt to changing needs and circumstances.
  • Offering education and training for family members on financial literacy and wealth management.

Prominent firms and consultants in the family office space include:

  • Global Accounting and Consulting Firms: Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG have specialized divisions for family office services.
  • Boutique Advisory Firms: Companies like BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Rockefeller Capital Management, and multifamily office providers.
  • Independent Consultants: Professionals and smaller firms specializing in bespoke family office consulting.

These consultants help ensure that the family office is established correctly and operates efficiently to meet the family’s long-term financial and personal goals. You get what you pay for. As my German wife says, “The Best or Nothing!”. (Yes, thank you Mercedes Benz)

Join a networking group, expand your circle and pick up a new hobby! Another expression I use a lot is “…you are a reflection of the ten people you surround yourself with most!” If you want to make a change and take control of your life, start by looking at the people you surround yourself with! Do they Inspire you? Do you Aspire to be more like them? Your business and family office should be the same.

Living our best life is centered around eating clean and healthy, and always supporting each other

Consulting & Strategic Advisory Services – What Can I Offer You

Over the years I’ve developed a perspective on matters related to financial and business operations, as well as the intricacies of navigating global markets. I have experienced success and failure, learning lessons along the way. As such, I approach each situation with a clean slate, making no assumptions and relying solely upon the facts our team gathers throughout the process. Unbiased, authentic, and true assessments. In many instances, a client is approached by a trusted party with a deal that is Too Good to be True. That’s where we step in. Is the company real, are the products or service real, who are the principles, etc. For example, right now Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the buzz word. Every entrepreneur with a billion dollar idea is touting the latest and great AI DAP, product or development! Trust but verify.

In addition to providing clients with some of the above services, we also work as consultants to SFO’s and MFO’s, and even law firms to provide many tailored services. In some cases, our work is a simple as making a referral to the most capable parties we know. These could also include;

Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information to help clients make informed decisions and mitigate risks. This work can uncover issues related to making sound decisions or mistakes, and other activities that might negatively impact an investment or a company. Here are the key aspects of business intelligence through professional efforts:

Due Diligence:

  • Mergers and Acquisitions: Conducting thorough due diligence to evaluate the integrity, performance, and reputation of potential acquisition targets, as well as their executives, employees, and board members. We have conducted very high level assessments on individuals and corporations around the world, and we have even jumped in dumpsters to look through the trash (you would be surprised at what we’ve found, if you know where and how to look!)
  • Third-Party Relationships: Assessing the reliability and credibility of potential business partners, banks and investment banks, law firms and CPA’s, and suppliers or clients. Oftentimes this means traveling to visit, inspect, and evaluate these relationships first hand. This includes not just US firms, but around the world. We have established relationships in China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, India, and many places throughout Asia. I’ve travelled extensively throughout the Middle East including the UAE. We also have fantastic relationships in South America and very recently, started expanding throughout the Caribbean.

Compliance and Regulatory Investigations:

  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to laws and regulations, such as anti-bribery laws (e.g., FCPA, UK Bribery Act) and AML (anti-money laundering) regulations. Meeting with local experts in the jurisdictions where the client intends to operate or invest, ensuring our clients are in compliance. Ignorance of local laws and practices in never an excuse – we hold these professionals accountable.
  • Internal Policies: Investigating breaches of company policies and procedures, and determining if such breaches were intentional, accidental, or the result of external forces. Oftentimes this could include intentional negligence by a disgruntled employee or former employee.

Intellectual Property Protection:

  • IP Theft: Investigating cases of intellectual property theft, such as patent infringement, copyright violations, and trade secret misappropriation.
  • Brand Protection: Combatting counterfeit products and unauthorized use of trademarks, or proprietary practices and protocols.

Cybersecurity Investigations:

  • Data Breaches: Investigating incidents of data breaches and cyber-attacks to identify perpetrators and assess damage.
  • Cyber Threat Analysis: Analyzing cyber threats and vulnerabilities to strengthen defenses.

Market and Competitive Intelligence:

  • Competitive Analysis: Gathering information on competitors to understand their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses.
  • Market Trends: Analyzing market trends and dynamics to inform strategic decisions, investment decisions, and liquidity options.
  • Specialized Services: We offer outside the box solutions for complex scenarios requiring specialized skill sets.
Integritas Per Deum is a Latin term which means
Integrity with God

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded.