Family Office Navigator

While there is an abundance of literature designed for professionals, there is limited material that has been specifically designed for enterprising families, that is both accessible and practical in nature. We therefore aim to bridge the knowledge gap as more and more families look to create or strengthen their own family offices. The Family Office Navigator builds on decades of experience working with and teaching families from across the globe, combined with our global study on the purpose and evolution of family offices. With this knowledge base, we demystify the world of family offices and break it down into simple steps so that anyone in your family can understand and contribute to it. Whether a family is early in its exploration of creating a family office or is experienced at running one, the Family Office Navigator provides guidance for all stages of the family office life cycle. The initial phase is of critical importance as it marks the beginning of a new era as you and your family enter unknown territories; it is therefore key that you and your family take sufficient time to reflect on some key questions surrounding the purpose and overarching aspirational goals to lay the foundation for your future family office. Families that already have a family office, whether formal or informal, also need to regularly think about whether it is still set up in the most effective and efficient way to meet their family’s changing needs. Tools for every stage are found within this guidebook.

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We are glad that you are here to empower yourself – in whatever stage your family office lies.

An ecosystem perspective – keeping your house in order

Before going further, it is important to offer key definitions and conceptual frameworks that we will refer to throughout the book, namely:

• Family enterprise ecosystem • The health of your family enterprise ecosystem • Total family wealth

These frameworks and concepts are inter-related. They look at the big picture of what you are trying to build in your family office endeavors from different perspectives. Throughout the book, we will use these frameworks and recommend that you apply them in your family discussions as well.