One of the most important aspects of the family office today is delivering value through a trusted advisor ecosystem and advancing your partnerships. Here we explore three examples of how partnership is key to the success of the family office:

Family Learning

One family office worked with their advisors to create a learning event for the purpose of increasing shared understanding and also to have a fun time together. The family had the opportunity to meet their actual advisors, learn what the advisors do for the family, and also to increase understanding around the overall family business. A dinner event was held the evening before to build relationships.

In this particular family office, the educational event well received and there is a desire to do this more frequently, and right now via virtual meetings if necessary. Younger members should attend to, and become familiar with the family office setting, and even help set the culture of asking questions.

Direct Investing
In this example, a family had very high interest in direct investing. Interestingly, even with all of the interest, not everyone is equipped to do direct investing. So this family sought the right experts, but also wanted to find the best partnership possible. Partnerships in direct investing are typically outside resources that are required to make deals happen.

When looking to build a trusting partnership, start with self-assessment, and know where your gaps are internally. Ask, what sort of expertise are we looking for? And what are the long-term investment objectives? What is the desired family experience?

Multi-Family Office

Our final example explores the partnership between a multi-family office and the family. This is based on a family who started as a single family office 70 years ago, and has since grown to six generations of passing wealth and 50 family members. About 20 years ago they converted into a multi-family office and now work with about 75 total families.

One interesting example of partnership came about last year after a family office annual shareholder meeting. Some women family members wanted increased learning opportunities and to do something fun and engaging as a collective group. Out of that came their “2020 Women’s Fund.” This group included women family members ages 25-75 and spanning three generations. Working with their advisor, they put together a plan, the terms of the deal, and they all had equal buy in and an equal voice with an equal vote.

Never underestimate the power of partnerships. Build relationships with each individual family member. And then help them build relationships with each other. The expertise is a given, and you’ve got to spend the time with individuals, so they trust you and know you have their best interests in mind.

David Toth is a managing director at FOX. In his role, he constructs actionable insights and strategic analyses for family offices and wealth management advisor members. He developed a pathway of initiatives that assist family offices and wealth advisors in building pricing strategies, elevating client experience, talent management strategies and optimizing team structure, and achieving profitable growth. David has authored a number of reports including our recently published study on the “Transformation of the Ultra-Wealth Business.” David serves as co-moderator of FOX’s Multi-Family Office (MFO), Integrated Wealth Advisor (IWAC) Councils, and the Strategic CIO Council (SCIOC). Areas of Expertise: Industry Trends, Advisor Strategies Read More →