Family Office Navigator

The combination of these different types of capital can contribute to the overall wealth and success of a family.

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For many families, of course, the family office is primarily a vehicle to manage financial capital (for example, after a liquidity event). However, we believe that family offices function best – and deliver the greatest positive impact to the long-term health of the family enterprise ecosystem – when all forms of family wealth are considered and addressed in planning and decision-making. Looking at family financial returns alone, without considering the bigger picture, such as the family’s overall purpose, its needs and wants and the legal or tax implications of a given strategy on a multi-generational timescale, might lead to unwanted surprises and an unhealthy ecosystem. Focusing exclusively on building wealth while ignoring the importance of developing human and social capital for the future can lead to wealth destruction in the next generation, perhaps because of growing conflicts and tensions, or inadequate family talent to set direction and oversee activities, or a lack of a collective value creation mindset. In contrast, looking at all aspects of your family’s wealth as an inter connected system is the best approach to ensure multi-generational success and unity. This holistic mindset will ultimately help you design the most effective and efficient family office that delivers on your goals. A family office can be whatever you want it to be, and it can play different roles at different stages. Within a cohesive family enterprise ecosystem, where families seek to align all their activities as part of their common goals, the family office plays a vital, coordinating role. It can be the platform that houses, supports and connects all the different activities and interests within the family ecosystem. As we move through the Family Office Navigator , we encourage you to think of the family office as a custodian tasked with managing your Total Family Wealth and ensuring that your constantly evolving Family Enterprise Ecosystem is in good health.