Family Office Navigator

Setting up or repurposing a family office is, typically, a once-in-a-generation event (though any long-lasting organization reinvents itself as often as conditions call for it). The creation of a family office is often triggered by a capital inflow, whether from a liquidity event which pushes the family to organize its assets so they do not lose out on financial opportunities, or a profitable operating company paying out dividends that the owners want to deploy into other investments. Regardless of the triggering event, going through this initial design phase in haste, without proper internal reflection and alignment about the purpose and focus of the family office, and without the right outside partners, can prove costly. It is the responsibility of the family owners to select competent advisors who put the family’s interests at the heart of their endeavors, and who instil in the family and family office the capabilities they need to become self-sustaining when the time is right. The Family Office Navigator starts by guiding families through this initial reflection and design phase of their family office journey. Let’s face it, fulfilling many of the responsibilities of family offices requires specialized knowledge that is challenging to gain without direct experience. For this reason, families must have capable specialists overseeing, for example, their asset allocation, compliance with financial regulations, the quality of their legal agreements, and the functioning of their family governance. Assembling the right team of internal and external experts is paramount. Advisors can be extremely useful to help families navigate liquidity events, set up family offices or formalize services that have, until now, been handled by family members. However, it can be tempting to parcel out this work completely, delegating it to external advisors (to a private banker, attorney or family governance advisor, for instance). Yet no family should delegate this work to a provider without having a point of view or without being able to provide high-level goals, and even direction, to guide the outcomes. We know that taking a passive role and relying too heavily on outsiders, without giving them the necessary guidance and direction from the family, can lead to sub-optimal outcomes and a lack of cohesion across your family enterprise ecosystem. Far too many family offices and external advisors do not add the value they could to the family they are serving, in part because the family does not provide a sufficiently clear owners’ vision and strategy. It is paramount that families clearly define their overarching goals and aspirations as guidance for the family office. Through the Family Office Navigator , we want to empower you and your family, and provide you with the necessary knowledge and tools to lead the stakeholders on your family office journey.

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