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we need to be broad-based, have the experience and
confidence to deal with a successful family. And we
need critical mass - I strongly believe that a family
needs a provider which is large enough to be able to
provide what the family needs, and to have sufficient
manpower to service the family."
Education and training and industry-wide cooperation
are all seen as vital. Industry forums, platforms where
families feel comfortable to share ideas and concepts
of best practices among each other (away from
service providers), and the arrival of associations
for stakeholders of the sector to raise voices to
authorities are all considered valuable steps in the
future. "We should aim to enhance the ecosystem of
collaboration across the entire spectrum relating to
family offices," one expert remarked.
"We should also encourage an environment
where millennial professionals take over from the
Do clients undertake a realistic budgeting
exercise in considering the establishment of
a family office and do they fully understand
the costs involved?
older professionals," said another expert. "The
industry desperately needs the millennials to open
communication with the younger generations of
family leaders in order to invoke change."
"The role and the impact of women within family
offices are both growing and will influence the way
SFOs are managed," came another opinion. There
should also be enhanced dialogue between the
family office, family members and their external
advisers, taking into account the different cultural
nuances within the several generations of a complex
family. With this in mind, there is a very considerable
opportunity for fiduciary firms and law firms to create
segregated teams designed to assist more broadly in
the ongoing holistic management of family offices.
"As a professional adviser," one expert replied, "it is
imperative to relate to the family members, to listen
between the lines when there is a meeting, and to
understand where they are coming from." And then
when time moves on, and the needs and priorities
evolve, it is vital to maintain a balance of what the
situation is currently and what was intended, which
he said requires deep understanding and plentiful
honest discussion.
The clear consensus here is that families are often
not sufficiently prepared for the costs of a full family
office operation. For MFOs, an expert noted that
Asian clients prefer to see capped fees, and often
do not sufficiently accrue for the range of ad-hoc
assistance on a whole variety of matters that will
generally arise.
As most UHNW families in Asia and their family
offices require a great deal of support and general
nurturing and education, professionals we surveyed
see a huge opportunity, as trusted partners, to
provide this as a service.
77%
23%
No
Yes
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