The Client

Our client is a well-established multi-generational family office based in Atlanta, Georgia.  The family has a long and rich history and created an enduring American enterprise that has achieved substantial business and financial success while remaining true to family values instilled through the generations. The family continues to own controlling interests in numerous public and private operating companies, a significant investment portfolio, extensive real estate holdings and two private trust companies.  The family has a complex structure of entities through which assets are held.  The family office provides accounting, investment, legal, tax, real estate, administration and family education services to four generations of family members and related trusts, foundations and other entities. 

The Chief Investment Officer (CIO) will report to the President of the family office. The primary responsibility of the CIO is to lead the investment team and oversee the family’s multi-billion-dollar portfolio of fixed income, public equities and alternative investments to enable the family to successfully achieve their long-term goals and objectives. The CIO will serve as a trusted advisor to the family and will provide them with services and counsel to assist them in making informed decisions which will preserve and grow their wealth.

The Opportunity

This position offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced investment professional with family office/wealth management and strong investment/asset management and advisory experience across a broad range of asset classes to build and lead an institutional quality investment platform.  The CIO will be responsible for the oversight of a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of assets, comprised of fixed income, public equities and alternative investments which includes buyout, growth equity, private credit and venture capital.  The CIO will also be responsible for deploying a significant amount of new capital and will work in partnership with the family office President to implement and oversee the investment strategy on a go forward basis.  The ideal candidate will have strong investment, financial and business acumen combined with the leadership and relationship management skills to effectively lead the investment team and instill the confidence and credibility needed to become a senior trusted advisor to family clients, including rising generations.

The Position

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will be an experienced investment professional with strong multi-asset class experience across fixed income, public equity and alternative investments. The individual will have a proven track record of success in overseeing the management of family and fiduciary client investment portfolios. The individual will also have the intellectual capacity, communication skills, interpersonal/advisory skills and professional integrity and leadership ability to oversee the investment team and platform and to represent the family positively with all internal and external constituencies. The ideal background will include:

• Undergraduate degree required; advanced degrees and/or professional certifications preferred (MBA, CFA);
• Minimum of 15 years of relevant investment experience; experience should include all aspects of the investment process, including investment strategy and policy, asset allocation, due diligence, multi-asset class manager/strategy selection, portfolio construction, ongoing portfolio monitoring, management and performance analytics for individuals, partnerships, trusts, foundations and other entities;
• Broad knowledge across all traditional and alternative asset classes, public and private, with an in-depth knowledge of buyouts, private credit, growth equity, private equity and venture capital; strong quantitative and analytical skills; able to quickly grasp and evaluate complex investment strategies; strategic and tactical thinker who anticipates issues, such as changing economic and market trends and recommends actions/solutions on a proactive basis;
• Prior experience working with/advising multigenerational family office clients; understands and can relate well to family office clients and their unique needs; highly proactive approach to anticipating and serving client needs; service heart;
• Demonstrated track record of successful investment performance across market cycles, including success in creating and executing investment strategies that are in alignment with and successfully meet long-term client and portfolio objectives;
• Working knowledge about all areas of wealth management (i.e., investments, finance/accounting, tax, trust, estate planning, etc.); knowledge of diverse technical issues that affect taxable investors (i.e., tax efficient investing and tax loss harvesting, etc.);
• Strong investment acumen and understanding of sophisticated investment concepts and strategies, including opportunistic and tax efficient strategies;
• Proficiency in building, enhancing and managing comprehensive, institutional quality investment platform processes and operations; effective in coordinating internal and external resources (accounting, legal, investigative, custodian, consultant, etc.);
• Experienced with comprehensive quantitative and qualitative process approach to multi-asset class manager research, sourcing, due diligence, selection, monitoring and reporting;
• Strong leadership and management skills; ability to develop, motivate, mentor, coach and effectively lead a high-performance team and a culture of excellence, collaboration, respect, transparency and continuous learning and improvement;
• In-depth understanding of financial and investment reporting; knowledgeable about legal, accounting and tax considerations related to investments; strong quantitative and analytical skills; adept in financial modeling;
• Strong investment advisory skills; adept in addressing “what if” scenarios and questions effectively; provides the information, advice and counsel needed to enable family members to understand options and ramifications of choices in order to make informed decisions;
• Intellectually curious and idea-driven individual; ability to consistently produce investment content and ideas that are value added;
• Proactive and flexible leader with a “roll-up-your-sleeves” approach and mentality; can effectively work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment; team player; works in a collaborative and transparent manner to achieve objectives;

• Exceptional interpersonal skills; engaging, personable and approachable; high EQ combined with high IQ; effectively builds rapport and trusted relationships with family members, colleagues and external consultants/advisors; balance of confidence, conviction and humility;
• Strong relationship management skills with a consultative approach and excellent listening skills; can effectively “read the room”; understands differences in communication styles and preferences and has the ability to adapt and communicate effectively with all constituencies;
• Proactive client-service mentality; flexible, adaptable and responsive to client needs; highly motivated, accountable and results-oriented individual with a strong work ethic; works collaboratively with multiple constituencies to accomplish objectives; demonstrated effectiveness in building trusted advisor relationships with clients and in quickly and effectively earning trust, confidence, credibility and respect with multiple generations of family clients, family office colleagues and external advisors; diplomatic, tactful and pragmatic in all interactions;

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; strong presentation skills; articulate in all interactions; succinct and clear in presenting investment viewpoints and recommendations without industry jargon; can effectively synthesize and communicate complex concepts and strategies in a concise, straightforward and easy to understand manner, utilizing a consultative approach, to audiences with differing levels of investment knowledge/experience; effectively serves as a value-added sounding board and strategic thinking partner;

• Strategic and tactical thinker who anticipates issues, such as changing economic and market trends, and recommends actions/solutions on a proactive basis; intellectually curious; creative and innovative;
• Strong common sense and judgment; independent thinker who is able to see multiple sides of an issue and consider all relevant opinions; engages in interactive discussion and provides objective recommendations with conviction and data to support decisions;
• Proven track record of success in managing multiple staff members and projects serving a large client base; strong problem-solving skills;
• Organized, efficient; strong work ethic; ability to effectively prioritize and delegate; detail oriented to ensure accuracy combined with the ability to consistently see the “big picture”;
• Trustworthy, high integrity, honesty and discretion; maintains confidentiality; highest level of loyalty; demonstrated maturity; even-keeled; patient; calm in crisis; positive attitude; sense of humor; and
• Exhibits strong presence, polish and professionalism to represent the family/family office effectively in all interactions.