A Family Office operates with the purpose of effectively and efficiently managing a family’s investments, trusts, real estate, taxes, accounting, payroll, legal affairs and other miscellaneous non-financial matters. The cost of running a Family Office can be quite expensive, which is one reason this type of organization is typically reserved for families that earn several millions of dollars a year or more. In essence, a Family Office is usually set aside for ultra-wealthy families that require a staff to oversee their wealth management duties. A Family Office serves many roles and may assist a family with several tasks that would be nearly impossible for the family to handle on its own.
A Family Office is an essential tool for highly successful and ultra-affluent families. In some cases, a Family Office will work solely with one family, but in other situations a Family Office will serve more than one family. The decision of which type of Family Office requires careful consideration. While some wealthy families have been involved with a Family Office for decades, others are relatively new to the concept of what a Family Office does. Cambridge Consulting Services is able to provide invaluable advice and guidance to families new to the concept of a Family Office as well as to families thinking about moving from one Family Office to another.
How is a Family Office different from a wealth management company or a financial advisor?
A Family Office works solely with wealthy families that are looking for assistance beyond investment advice and financial planning. By partnering with a Family Office, the family can be assured that they will be provided with extremely experienced professionals who will assist with a wide range services that go far beyond the finances. For example, a Family Office often helps with organizing philanthropic events, managing of household staff, travel planning and coordinating other miscellaneous family matters.
How Can a Family Office Benefit My Family?
The overall goal of a Family Office is to provide guidance and offer management services to a family that would not otherwise have the time to handle such tasks on its own. Experienced Family Offices understand that the needs of each individual family are unique and the duties required of the Family Office will vary slightly from one family to another. An experienced Family Office also understands that every family has a unique financial situation and also has distinctive goals. A Family Office is wholeheartedly dedicated to the family it serves and always advocates for the family’s best interests.
How Will I Know When it’s Time to Hire a Family Business Office?
There are a few tell-tale signs when deciding it’s the right time to hire a Family Office. When a family feels that it can no longer handle manage assets and investments, manage and oversee their estate, household duties such as hiring staff and paying bills and planning and coordinating travel, enlisting the help of a Family Office is often advisable.
Does Your Family Business Need Help?
Cambridge Consulting Services has extensive experience assisting family businesses in determining if hiring of a Family Office is the right decision. With many decades of experience, we understand the wide variety of challenges that families face as they work together to build, grow and sustain a thriving family business generation after generation. Through conferences, continuing education programs, family business retreats, speaking engagements and private family business consulting services, Cambridge Consulting Services has assisted more than 230 family-owned businesses around the world chart their way through family business issues of all shapes and sizes.