Pitcairn and The Corporate Greenhouse have co-written a case study that validates why talent planning and business planning are equally important and interdependent. The case study discusses how Pitcairn’s CEO is transforming a 90-year-old family business into a high-performing multi‑family office with increased profitability, streamlined processes, and happier employees.
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Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting midmarket companies and startups in hopes of easy access. The cost to a business can be high, ranging from financial loss to reputational damage.
Simplifying Securities Regulation of M&A Brokers
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Business brokerage services are critically important to the liquidity of small business ownership, business growth, and related jobs preservation and creation. Baby boomers are faced with the prospects of either selling or closing their businesses to retire. Small business owners need and rely upon the professional services of merger and acquisition intermediaries, advisors, and business brokers (together, “M&A brokers”) to advise about and assist with the sale of privately owned businesses.
Results from the 2014 FOX SFO Benchmarking Study
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Please join FOX senior managers Jane Flanagan and Mariann Mihailidis to learn about the key findings from the 2014 FOX Benchmarking Study with highlights from the following best practice areas: Oversight and Governance, Complexity and Cost, Wealth Sustainability, Owner Engagement and Education, Client and Staff Satisfaction. FOX has conducted a peer-based survey to explore the total cost of wealth management and industry compensation and benefits data for most family office positions.
Julio Cazorla will share some of the leading practices implemented by the family, including the Critical Controls Checklist that his management team uses to manage key projects in the family office.We will review their Human Resources process for Performance Management and Performance Measurement and Julio will discuss how firm-wide metrics are developed for the managers of the office.
Members of the US Executive Council will lead a session that describes how a group of 30 leading family office executives worked together to develop and later to refine a Family Office Communications Plan at their two meetings this year. The plan provides a compilation of the best thinking of the Peer Council members, using the 20+ years of experience that each participant brought to the discussion. There are action steps for the Family Board, the Family Council, the Investment Committee, the External Advisors, and the staff relations with both family members and other staff members.
Trust and Estates - Managing Family Offices
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Family offices are complicated because of the scope of services they deliver, the high number and complexity of entities they oversee and the staff they must manage. These complexities can open the door to liability. Employing consistent policies and procedures, establishing an annual entity review process, maximizing protection provided by indemnification and buying insurance are all tools to help manage the risks associated with management and professional liability.
One of the things we’ve learned is that a family contract can be a valuable tool to help families build trust and avoid conflicts. We’ve also found that for a contract to work well, everyone who signs the contract should have a say in how the contract is written. That doesn’t mean you will get everything you want and, as you probably expect, your parents still have the final say on family rules.
Office IT Security
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Information security in the family office context needs to a collaborative effort between the family, the office, and any intertwined vendors. This article from Plante Moran’s IT security consulting group discusses key factors in improving the security of the family office’s confidential information.
Thinking Bigger Picture - When to Sacrifice the Benefits of Arbitration in Favor of Litigation
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Many business managers include arbitration provisions in their companies’ contracts. The prevailing philosophy being that arbitration is preferable to traditional litigation via the court system because it’s private, speedier and less expensive. Under certain circumstances, however, a party may prefer to litigate a particular dispute in court even though it previously included an arbitration provision in the relevant contract. Smart Business spoke with Liebman about choosing traditional litigation despite the existence of an arbitration provision.