Photo by Danilo Capece on Unsplash
When you think of the super-rich and hear the phrase ‘Family Office’, no one can blame you for thinking of the Roy family from Succession. But even while watching the show, did you ever wonder how Logan Roy, for example, hired his personal assistants, financial advisors, and, generally, the people who surrounded him every working minute, ready to provide the latest statistics, information, and high-powered gossip? Obviously, those who weren’t family members! The short answer is that the family would almost certainly have made use of a firm of executive recruiters who specialize in finding precisely the right candidate for these exacting positions: recruiters like Cora Partners family office recruitment agency. Let’s take a look in more detail.
What is a Family Office?
A family office is not, as the name implies, a large shared home office. Instead, it is a private wealth management advisory firm that helps wealthy families and business people make the best investment decisions to grow and maintain their fortunes. A Family Office representative might do everything from offering investment advice and making sure that Wall Street’s best big thing is explained clearly to the wealthy individuals, but he or she will also advise on charitable donations (good for tax relief as well as giving a certain amount of social cachet); budgeting, both personal and business; insurances of various sorts; tax advice; and even information on how to best transfer wealth and power from one generation to the next without causing friction and the attendant share drops that can accompany such turmoil. Family Offices are also useful in acting as a buffer between the strict, old-school patriarchs of a family and the younger generation who might be inclined to dismiss their parent or grandparent’s advice due to family grievances or simply through the contempt borne of familiarity.
How Do Family Offices Make a Difference?
With all the activities mentioned above, it is easy to see how Family Offices more than earn their not ungenerous salaries! But Family Offices can also cut through family dynamics – for example, if Junior is known for being the family joker, his or her advice to invest in this new innovation or that medical development could be dismissed as not being worthy of the time and attention. Having that advice come from the Family Office instead, could be a way for Junior to prove that he or she has grown up a bit, settled down, and is, in fact, taking a keen interest in the business world. Family Office representatives also do a lot of the ‘grunt work’ when it comes to investment portfolios and recommendations. They can investigate appeals for charitable donations, investigate the veracity of start-up claims, and even find the next ‘unicorn’ before venture capitalists snap up the opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Their work is often invaluable in keeping the family’s business and/ or wealth (they are often interchangeable) in good shape and legally compliant with the various financial regulatory authorities.
What are the Trends for 2024?
With a handful of the world’s countries becoming what can only be described as ‘tetchy’ with each other, in 2024 Family Offices are looking to geopolitics when they are sketching out the future of the companies and families that they work for. With over 50 countries – affecting more than half the world’s population – due to have potentially turbulent elections this year, one thing is certain. The delivery of raw materials and finished goods alike might become disrupted. The global uncertainty will almost certainly result in investors spreading their money broadly. Rather than investing a lot of money into one or two projects, they will invest a host of small amounts very widely, to mitigate the risk of losses.
This story originally appeared on Upscalelivingmag
