FOX Series

Businesses consistently cite the ability to attract and retain top talent as among the elements most critical to their success. This remains true today despite persistently high unemployment rates as many critical jobs go unfilled. But in many respects, hiring effectively is as much about bringing in the right cultural fit as it is about skill set. If you’re business’ growth is dependent on innovation, you’ll want to hire people comfortable with change and ambiguity. If you have a flat management structure, you’ll want to hire self-starters who don’t need a lot of direction to be success...

A majority (56%) of family offices have a governing board, according to the 2012 FOX Family Office benchmarking Board Report. Fifty-five percent of those with a governing board include external advisors, though outside advisors make up only 17% of all board members. Most family offices lack a strategic plan or risk management process, and less than half (44%) produce an annual report. Family office oversight and governance, however, show a marked increase in maturation and complexity once a family reaches the third generation. Infographic: Family Office Oversight and Governance

The job of advising the wealthy necessarily veers into the realms of the personal. Wealth advisors are as much family counselors as they are portfolio managers or financial planners. Issues like leadership succession or engaging the younger generations touch on such sensitive topics as aging, mortality, sibling rivalry, drug addiction, and divorce. That’s often where the true heavy lifting of being an advisor occurs, where the preservation of multigenerational wealth meets the lives of the family members. FOX President Alexandre Monnier recently led a panel discussion at our 2013 Wealth A...

Managing investments remains a primary reponsibility of family offices. According to our 2013 FOX Investment Survey, investment professionals comprise nearly a third of the average family office staff. Meanwhile, they draw on a number of different actors in the planning and decision making process with 67% utilizing an external consultant, 57% using a formal investment committee and 44% employing a chief invesment officer.Infographic: Investment Decision-Making and the Players by the Family Office Exchange

At every conference, there is a concept or word that stands out and becomes the catalyst of discussion at breaks and meals. Other speakers pick up on the term to demonstrate how their topic ties to this theme of interest.At the Family Office Exchange (FOX) Wealth Advisor Forum in Miami this year, the stand-out word was "courage." It was initially mentioned by Maria Elena Lagomasino, of WE Family Offices. She was discussing the advisor’s role in initiating the conversation about often sensitive subjects like transitioning family wealth to the next generation. These are difficult topics tha...

We are pleased to announce an improvement in the FOX Benchmarking Study for 2013.Since much of the data does not change from year to year, we are going to limit the study to those sections that do change annually and split it into smaller, single-topic modules that will be spaced throughout the year. Our intention is to make it easier for you to participate and coordinate data collection in your office. We have already concluded the first module, the 2013 Investment Survey. Soon we will be distributing instructions for a technology survey which will allow us to provide an updated view of ...

We are pleased to welcome Dan Schawbel as a keynote speaker at this year’s FOX Wealth Advisor Forum. Dan is the managing partner of Millennial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm that specializes in personal and corporate branding. He is the author of the bestselling Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future and the upcoming Promote Yourself: The New Art of Getting Ahead. He is also a frequent contributor to magazines such as TIME and Forbes. A prolific writer and speaker, Dan has spent much of his career discussing how the way we do business has changed and will continue to...

On Friday, April 19, we will be moving to the eighth floor within our current building into a more modern and cost-efficient office. Our office will officially close at noon that day to accomodate the movers. The servers will go offline in the afternoon, disrupting the following services until late Saturday or early Sunday:Listserv will be down. (No messages will be lost, but they will not be broadcast until after we’ve rebooted our servers.)The inter tech guide will be unavailable.Our fax lines will be down.We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.Our new Chicago mailing a...

We are pleased to welcome Howard Bragman as a keynote speaker at this year’s FOX Wealth Advisor Forum. Howard is the vice chairman of Reputation.com, an online reputation management organization, and founder of the public relations firm Fifteen Minutes. He is the author of Where's My Fifteen Minutes? Get Your Company, Your Cause, or Yourself the Recognition You Deserve, one of the seminal books on personal branding. He is also a consultant and frequent contributor to ABC News on issues related to reputation management.Howard’s keynote speech will address how to build and protect yo...

It is the fate of almost every fourth-to-sixth generation family: the wealth dissipates as the family grows, unless their culture goes beyond wealth preservation to encourage wealth creation. That means taking informed risks (emphasis on informed). If some portion of the diversified asset pool is directed toward entrepreneurial endeavors, experience and insight are as important as investment dollars if you want to ensure the family’s money is well spent.Families who understand the value of informed risk-taking and entrepreneurial pursuits often invest in a formal training process that teaches ...

Wealthy families, single family offices, and wealth advisors continue to live in the long shadows of economic and political uncertainty, as well as generational transitions. If economic uncertainty has been a persistent concern since at least 2008, other macro trends are more dynamic in nature. Political uncertainty—from the fiscal cliff, to taxes, to compliance, and to regulations—characterized much of 2012 and is unlikely to dissipate in 2013. Economic concerns, too, are similarly dynamic in nature. This year, the eyes of wealthy investors remain closely trained on Europe.What are the implic...

Amidst all the doom and gloom of European austerity and the general anxiety about the continent’s future, there is considerable evidence that Europe remains surprisingly well positioned to compete in the global market.For the past three decades, the World Economic Forum has performed a detailed annual assessment of the productive potential of nations. Its 2012/2013 report, covers 144 economies against more than 100 indicators, and serves as an antidote to the prevailing pessimism in Europe.Measured against “Twelve Pillars of Prosperity” (institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment,...

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action. -Peter DruckerIn the rush to wrap up 2012, taking time to stop and reflect on the office’s performance can feel like a luxury for which there is no time. Yet 44% of recent FOX Family Office Benchmarking™ participants tell us that they provide their governing board with an annual report of the value provided by the family office. Summarizing the varied and complex work accomplished by the average office staff on behalf of a multi-generational family enterprise is no small feat.How...

On November 29, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a No-Action letter exempting family offices from registration as Commodity Pool Operators. Family Offices that qualify under SEC definition of a family office will be eligible.The new CFTC rule does require that family offices submit a claim for exemption stating that they are in compliance with the SEC regulation § 275.202(a)(11)(G)-1. The due date for submitting a claim is December 31, 2012.The CFTC had been considering requiring registration under the Commodities Exchange Act for family offices that trade futures contract...

Family education is one of several building blocks that interlock to support the transfer of family legacy and sustain wealth across generations. When done well, family education results in responsible, engaged family members working together to achieve common goals. Perhaps equally important, it can help individual family members make sense of their lives and serve as productive members of society.Family Education as a KeystoneAs we look back and review the fortunes of the families FOX has worked with over the past 25+ years, we are struck by the fact that certain family enterprises have been...

In 2005, FOX established a Global Family Council (GFC) which meets semi-annually and brings together a group of sophisticated families from 13 countries around the world to discuss wealth management issues and key market trends. Our October 2-3 meeting in London focused largely on risk assessment and long-term strategic planning. That said, we began with a discussion of key market trends.Dr. David Young, founder and chairman of Oxford Analytica joined the meeting to discuss some of the mega trends reshaping our world. Contrary to received wisdom, Dr. Young pointed out that of the top 10 most i...

Last week we held the annual FOX Fall Forum in Chicago. Coming as it did in the run up to a U.S. presidential election and with a number of significant tax policy changes looming at the end of the year, a number of sessions dealt with near-term challenges. At the same time, a common theme throughout the three-day event was families taking a long-term view in running their enterprises and managing their wealth.The role of investmentThe Forum featured a number of sessions dedicated to investment, including one launching new capabilities for the FOX Deal Exchange Nework, a community for members i...

Ben Hunt is portfolio manager of the TIG Procella Fund, a long/short equity hedge fund focused on the political, legal, and regulatory events that influence security prices. He is also the author of two books on international politics, including one on the European coalition. We are delighted to have Ben speaking at the 2012 FOX Fall Forum about his area of specialization: How policy and global politics shape investment markets. Recently we discussed some key trends to watch out for in the near term. In the second of a two-part interview with FOX, Ben discusses the influenc...

Ben Hunt is portfolio manager of the TIG Procella Fund, a long/short equity hedge fund focused on the political, legal, and regulatory events that influence security prices. He is also the author of two books on international politics, including one on the European coalition. We are delighted to have Ben speaking at the 2012 FOX Fall Forum about his area of specialization: How global politics shape investment markets. Recently we discussed some key trends to watch out for in the near term. In this first of a two-part interview, Ben discusses the future of the world’s reserv...

Most ultra high net worth families rely on trusts, not only as key components of their wealth transfer strategy but also for the transfer of family continuity and legacy. And yet, our experience working with families and their advisors shows that more often than not, key players in the trust lack the understanding and education that is essential for carrying out their roles. Identifying the GapIn an article published in Trusts and Estates magazine’s Ultra High Net Worth Report last month, we zeroed in on the following issues:When grantors don’t fully understand the trustee role and the q...

FOX offers a number of learning events throughout the year. Some, like our webinars, are online, while others, like our annual FOX Fall Forum, are in person. Both have distinct advantages. Online learning is convenient and more readily available. It is easier to fit into your workday.In person events require more of an investment, but they are also generally more rewarding. They are more interactive, allowing attendees to better engage with the speakers and the learning materials. In fact, it’s often during the unplanned portion of a session that you gain the most perspective. Q&A sessions...

I will be conducting our Wealth Advisor Master Class next month with FOX Founder and CEO Sara Hamilton. Much of the program will focus on the sales and service models of elite wealth advisors serving the ultra-high-net-worth market, so I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how firms compete and differentiate themselves.FOX recently published an interesting study looking at key trends in the structure and operation of integrated wealth advisory businesses. The study found that while product offerings were similar from firm to firm, there was one final frontier in the realm of differentiation: c...

FOX is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard Haass back as a keynote speaker for this year’s Fall Forum.Dr. Haass is the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan organization promoting greater understanding of the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. From 2001-2003, he served as the former director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department. He is also the author or editor of 12 books, 11 on American foreign policy, including War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.Last year Dr. Haass provided our attendees with an illumina...

We are pleased to announce that Time Senior Political Correspondent Mark Halperin will be delivering a keynote address at this year’s FOX Fall Forum. Mark’s session will discuss “The Substance, Drama and Consequence of Modern Politics,” a subject he has developed an in-depth knowledge of during his more than 20 years of covering Washington. Coming just a couple weeks before Americans head once again to the polls, this timely address will look at some of the motivations for today’s divisive political environment and their policy implications. We hope you can join us for what is certain to ...

Family Office Exchange is known for pioneering initiatives that provide unique insights to wealth owners and wealth advisors. Our latest innovation is the Directory of Leading Wealth Advisors launched in June, after 20 years of research on the topic. This database, designed to help families with multi-generational wealth identify qualified integrated wealth advisors, provides a starting point for families pursuing an advisor selection process. FOX screened the wealth advisors for the Directory using 22 criteria established by FOX and vetted by leaders in the industry. These criteria are a...