Humans instictively seek flourishing. Whenever we do something, we do it with an aim towards some idea of happiness. The gap between our efforts and the results often comes from our being mistaken about what flourishing truly is or how to attain it.
Family Office
Unique Assets: A Family Office Guide
A Family Office Private Client Services Team Perspective Family offices, which manage the wealth of ultra-high-net-worth individuals or families, often deal with a variety of unqiue assets that can be challenging to administer and value. This challenge arises from the fact that the asset is one-of-a-kind or lacks a liquid market. The Private Client Services (“PCS”) […]
A Reading List for Every Family Office
This family office reading list addresses the unique ecosystem of the family office. Any discussion of family office administration has to consider the complex relationships between elder and rising generations, trustees and beneficiaries, advisors and family members. The following family office books are not the only books on the subject, nor are they ranked in […]
Using Probability in Family Office Decision-Making
Family Offices face complex decisions every day. These involve not just financial matters, but also multi-generational family relationships. The family office is responsible for thinking decades into the future to allocate resources and manage dynamics. These decisions can have multi-generational consequences. For any of these decisions, a simple binary is not the most effective way […]
Family Office Best Practices for Fine Art
Wealthy patrons and admirers have been collecting art for millennia. The ancient Greeks and Romans eagerly collected not only art from contemporary artists, but also statues and paintings from even more ancient cultures. The motivations for collecting range from wanting to protect and preserve important cultural artifacts, to appreciating aesthetic beauty for its own sake. […]
How to Evaluate an Advisor
There are many excellent advisors in the Family Wealth Industry. We have been honored to compete or collaborate with many of them in providing excellent services to client families. We also have received clients who previously had subpar advisors. Their estate plan revealed poorly drafted trusts and sub-par legal planning. How does a family know […]
How to Ask the Right Questions
Questions Build Rapport Meaningful relationships with others are an important ingredient of success and happiness in life. Knowing how to ask the right questions can help build meaningful relationships. It’s rare when great achievements come about solely because of independent intelligence or efforts. Relationships are the foundation of what James Hughes has called “social capital”—one […]
4 Family Office Best Practices
A New Era of Wealth For many decades, family offices were private and unique to each family served. In the era of Wealth 3.0, we are seeing a broadening of services, an expanding professionalism, and proliferation of options for High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth families. Best practices for family offices have emerged. These 4 family office best […]
The Family Foundation: Mission, Vision & Beyond
The previous article on philanthropy focused on the reasons for giving and the importance of giving well. In this part, we’ll look at how to construct and implement a strategy for intentional philanthropy. We focus on the family foundation mission and vision statements, as well as best practices to implement a giving strategy. Family Foundation Values […]
Five Principles for Building a Family Office
Role of the Family Office Some family offices are simple, consisting of a registered investment advisor and a few ad hoc services. Others are complex, involving multiple non-family advisors and external service providers. No matter the size or structure, the dynamics of a family office are always multifaceted. The role of the family office is […]