Introduction to Family Offices

Using a simple definition, a family office is a private wealth management advisory firm that serve high-net-worth families and individuals. This is commonly provided by offering a fully outsourced solution to managing their investments and finances.

There is no one size fits all approach. There are many kinds of family offices, ranging from the provision of basic administrative support to the full management and oversight of all daily affairs.

Why choose a family office

Increasing complexity, more public scrutiny and new regulations are just some of the reasons why many are turning to family offices.

Over the years, family offices have taken many forms. From a simple one-person operation – often a bookkeeper, lawyer or appointed family member, to a multi-staff set-up with a mix of internal and third-party advisors at their disposal.

Types of Family office

  1. The personal assistant: This is best suited when the family requires someone to help them with their daily needs. This ranges from email administration to arranging logistics and travel.
  2. The concierge/lifestyle manager: When a more proactive and complex service is required, this method becomes more prevalent. This includes dealing with household staff management, attending, and representing the family in important meetings, etc. This is usually managed by someone that has deep experience in a professional services or concierge firm.
  3. The financial office: The family generally requires someone who can manage their day-to-day financial affairs. This includes payment of bills, salaries and other expenses, as well as managing day to day cash needs.  
  4. The family business office: Families sometimes require a trusted individual to act as the eyes and ears for the family. By acting as the “head office”, they are able to monitor all business affairs and ensure that the businesses are not unnecessarily competing with each other. This also fosters good Corporate governance.
  5. The administrative family office: The more complex ownership structures will require more administrative work. The burden of managing those structures sometimes creates the need to have a full-time, dedicated team. Their main purpose is to ensure that all entities within the structure are being managed effectively.
  6. The family investment office: Usually managed by investment professionals. Their role is to ensure that assets are being invested appropriately and effectively by ensuring a good return.
  7. The trusted advisor family office: This type of office requires a deep and trusted relationship with the family. The advisor has full visibility of all financial and personal situations. This allows assistance in the areas of wealth and tax planning, liquidity forecasting, asset allocation and transmission of wealth between generations.
  8. The full service family office: This practically does all of the above. This means that it is necessary to have a very deep and broad set of skills. 

How can we help?

TAG Consultancy can help choose the family office that best works for you, tailored to suit your family’s needs. We will work together with you to bring out the most efficient structure. This will seamlessly improve the efficiency and the quality of management information. Our in-house management and staff, coupled together with our strong third party relationships, allow us to provide a full and complete package tailored to your needs. For the full list of our individual services, click here.

Our transparent process will foster trust, reduce complexity and increase the family’s confidence in their personal affairs.

We also have a Facebook page and Linkedin Page where we provide regular updates.

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