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In an uncertain economic environment, what can family offices do to bridge M&A valuation gaps with sellers? In this 10-minute interview with Brian Lucareli, Director of Foley Private Client Services (PCS) and Arthur Vorbrodt, Co-chair of the Family Offices group, learn about the pros and cons of utilizing rollover equity, earnout payments, and/or a combination thereof, and how a family office may utilize these contingent consideration mechanics, as tools to bridge M&A transaction valuation gaps with sellers.

Although private equity (PE) has been grappling with high interest rates, PE funds and their portfolio companies are marching forward. With inflation moderating and expectations for a rate cut, there is growing cautious optimism for improved PE M&A activity. This Private Equity Survey by BDO polled 484 U.S. PE fund managers and operating partners and 208 CFOs of U.S. portfolio companies to uncover their strategies, concerns, and overall pulse.

Private credit investments have experienced a rapid evolution over the past decade. Market conditions have helped to shape what may be a particularly auspicious cycle for the asset class. Higher interest rates and changing credit market dynamics have created attractive opportunities for private investors and wealthy families—but proper due diligence and implementation is essential. Allocations to private credit can be additive to overall portfolio positioning.

For business owners and their advisors, it’s probably not surprising that buying another company or other assets requires moving with speed and diligence. But gaining an edge—and winning—on the buy side is a bit more complicated. Effective companies tend to deploy a series of purposeful tactics and avoid common mistakes when pursuing acquisitions. This article by William Blair & Company outlines five tactics to implement and five mistakes to avoid for any company considering an acquisition.

In this 10-minute interview, attorney Bryan House of Foley & Lardner joins Brian Lucareli to discuss the SEC enforcement for family offices. During the interview, Bryan explained who is subject to the Investment Advisers Act, and provided a real-life example of the SEC getting involved with a family office.

Consistently revisiting potential liquidity risk is important work for family investors, as many of these risks can lay silent for prolonged periods and become easy to overlook. In fact, unexpected liquidity demands can undo a lot of hard work and, in a worst-case scenario, force a fire sale of assets.

While there are predictions of a recession amid a looming economic downturn, there are opportunities for investors to acquire distressed assets as part of their direct investing or mergers and acquisitions plan. In this 10-minute interview, attorney Tom Scannell highlights some of the issues potential buyers may face as they look at financially-distressed target companies, as well as the available legal tools and structures to facilitate an acquisition while decreasing risk. Tom also shares insights on other key considerations, including the importance of conducting due diligence.

While April may be the official month of financial literacy, investors should commit to staying informed all year round. Whether dealing with terms like meme stocks (stocks that typically trade on hype instead of fundamentals) or older ones like tracking error, there can be plenty of confusion around the language of investing. For both new and experienced investors, knowing the language can make a world of difference to the success of a long-term investment plan.

Families are often overwhelmed by the complexity and sense of burden that comes with managing all the component parts of wealth across generations. More concerning, though, is the lost opportunities and the loss of capital that results from not getting it right. But owning and managing significant wealth does not have to be difficult, and learning from the ten most common mistakes that a family office investor makes can help the process become easier.