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Key Observations
Family offices expanding apace in Asia
The family office is thriving across the globe, and nowhere more so than in the Asia Pacific region, where private
wealth continues to expand at a remarkable pace.
The professionalisation of Asia’s wealth
Family offices are being adopted by Asia's high net worth families and the ultra-wealthy families as they embrace the
institutionalisation of that wealth.
Single-family andmulti-family offices abound
Asia's UHNW families are choosing both SFOs, or independent, external MFOs, or even the family office services
offered by the private banks.
Amatter of scale
As a rule of thumb, SFOs tend to be for those families with USD100 million or more of assets under management
(AUM), the use of MFOs for those with USD15 million-plus of such wealth, and the private bank and wealth
management family services offerings for those with USD15 million or less of AUM.
Regulations a core driver
The dramatic proliferation of global regulations and inter-governmental cooperation, as well as the associated
compliance burdens, have helped create an environment wherein families with significant wealth want to centralise
and professionalise the management and reporting of this wealth.
Newer objective, newer practices
The survey indicates that almost two-thirds of family offices in Asia are created at the initiative of the second
generations, who are increasingly focused on emulating the standards and practices prevalent in the US and Europe.
Many of the second generation and most of the third generations of Asia's UHNW families are Western-educated and
keen to bring selected benchmarks to Asia.
Estate and legacy planning another core driver
With a well-managed family office, the coordination of estate planning and organisation of wealth transmission is
easier, and the evidence is clear that Asia's UHNW families are increasingly focused on this area, which as the founder
generations age, is ever more vital.
Family governance crucial
There is a rapidly rising prominence of family governance across Asia's UHNW landscape, as families realise that to
manage and sustain wealth across generations, they must engage with, and institutionalise, family governance practices.
The future is binary
Family offices will mirror the trends in the wider wealth management community and become increasingly digital in
terms of internal process, reporting, data gathering/management and solutions.