In response to growing demand from the super wealthy, family offices have proliferated during the past decade. According to EY, as of 2024, there are now up to 10,000 single family offices globally — ten times as many as in 2008. While you are likely aware that the purpose of a family office is to manage familial wealth, there is no single definition of what doing so entails. This article explores the nature of the modern family office, the top reasons to have one, and some high-level recommendations for your first steps toward forming one.
Securing diversified wealth is a never-ending process. In this process, market and economic forces are among the most widely discussed and analysed factors when it comes to future-proofing portfolios.
On 3 February 2025, US President Trump signed an executive order to formulate a plan for creating a federal-level sovereign wealth fund (SWF). This initiative will obviously have implications for global markets, but it also invites UHNWIs to consider what can be learned through observing these massive state-owned investment vehicles in general. In many ways, SWFs' objectives mirror those of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families - both are focused on growing and preserving wealth across generations while balancing risk and opportunity. Starting with this piece on SWF governance, over the coming weeks we will explore the striking parallels between sovereign
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) often prefer to keep a low profile. Yet in today’s digital era, discretion alone no longer suffices. Cybercriminals now target family offices—the specialized entities managing the wealth and affairs of the world’s wealthiest families.
Cyberattacks on financial institutions are hardly rare these days, yet few entities shoulder as much risk as family offices tasked with safeguarding ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) clients. IBM Security’s “Cost of a Data Breach” report places the global average expense of a breach at $4.45 million, noting that incursions into financial services typically run almost 10 percent higher than those in other sectors.
To successfully help high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) preserve and grow their wealth, a family office (FO) requires more than expert asset management and financial planning skills. It also needs comprehensive visibility into all the family’s assets—both those the FO manages and those it does not. Open banking is here to help. This article explains how.
To boost the efficiency of the Swiss wealth management business and to strengthen Switzerland as a financial and innovation center are two main goals of the OpenWealth Association. The community of banks, wealth, and wealth managers was established in 2021 in Zurich to develop, define, maintain, and operationalize the Open API standard for the wealth management community.
Whether you’re looking for a net-new wealth management platform, or looking to make a change, customer satisfaction should always be a top priority. It’s important to make sure your wealth management platform provider can deliver both the technology and the service that you need.
If you’re using Excel spreadsheets for wealth management, you may have wondered about the value of a wealth management platform, and at what point it makes sense to investigate the options.
As a wealth manager, do your clients take your advice entirely at face value? If not, they probably have good reasons. After all, they most likely became wealthy by thinking analytically. You should not expect them to stop that analysis just because you are providing the answers. Fortunately, their difficult questions can hold immense value for both you and them. A sophisticated digital wealth platform can help you extract and unlock that value.
In today’s increasingly digitalised financial landscape, all forward-thinking wealth professionals face a shared set of challenges in consolidating, analysing, and visualising data as they monitor investments. For family officers in particular, these challenges involve three specific challenges. Here we suggest how you can successfully address them.
To keep up with constantly shifting traditional markets like real estate and equities as well as emerging asset classes like NFTs and cryptocurrencies, many family offices have recognised the importance of investing in their people’s targeted education. In this article, we list some of the best business school offerings designed to help family office executives skill up.
Philanthropy has always played a crucial role in shaping communities and driving positive change. As time rolls on, each generation’s philanthropic priorities and approach to giving evolve. Understanding these differences and bridging the gap between older and younger generations is crucial for nonprofits to grow their supporter base and drive meaningful change.
When wealth owners achieve financial success with their family office, they may seek additional support from it in improving other aspects of their personal lives. Here we explain why some wealth owners make such requests and provide two recommendations for family officers considering meeting them.
Projections of the value of the personal assets set to change hands during the so-called Great Wealth Transfer have risen from US $129 trillion from $72 trillion. More significantly, or perhaps alarmingly, are expectations that up to 88% of heirs to this wealth will fire or replace their parents’ financial advisors. How can you position yourself to keep serving the next generation of their clients? Read on for our top three recommendations.
Wealthy families and their advisors face the challenge of handling complex information from diverse sources, including investment managers, lawyers, and accountants. Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful ally, aiding in extracting valuable insights from this information overload and facilitating clear communication within family offices. Below we outline the top four family office use cases for AI and what to remember when embracing them.
Return on investment (ROI) is the profit earned on an investment divided by the cost of that investment. Although this calculation fails to directly account for the time value of money – an important consideration as some investments take longer to return profits than others – it offers a quick, useful way to estimate the future success of a given project. How can you apply this concept when evaluating potential investments into new technology? What factors should you bear in mind? Here we outline our suggestions.
We think you might like
Securing diversified wealth is a never-ending process. In this process, market and economic forces are among the most widely discussed and analysed factors when it comes to future-proofing portfolios.
On 3 February 2025, US President Trump signed an executive order to formulate a plan for creating a federal-level sovereign wealth fund (SWF). This initiative will obviously have implications for global markets, but it also invites UHNWIs to consider what can be learned through observing these massive state-owned investment vehicles in general. In many ways, SWFs' objectives mirror those of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families - both are focused on growing and preserving wealth across generations while balancing risk and opportunity. Starting with this piece on SWF governance, over the coming weeks we will explore the striking parallels between sovereign
Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) often prefer to keep a low profile. Yet in today’s digital era, discretion alone no longer suffices. Cybercriminals now target family offices—the specialized entities managing the wealth and affairs of the world’s wealthiest families.
In case you missed it
Securing diversified wealth is a never-ending process. In this process, market and economic forces are among the most widely discussed and analysed factors when it comes to future-proofing portfolios.
