Good wealth management needs excellent accounting You can’t manage what you can’t count. Decision-makers in family offices require real-time, efficient, and detailed information for risk assessment and maximizing investment returns. Robust modern accounting systems are essential for tracking complex family investments, which can involve various structures like trusts and partnerships, given the strong connection between investments and accounting. Here’s how: An ideal family office investment and accounting system is one which integrates complex wealth into a single source of truth: Consolid ..read more

Empowering an Australian Family Office to make better investment decisions   Managing a family office’s global portfolio holdings can be a daunting task, especially when one has to deal with outdated tools that are not designed to provide a complete picture of the investments. With the rise of technology, manual support is no longer secure or accurate, and unforeseen issues like staffing shortages can affect a business’s operations. An Australian family office feels the heat A single-family office from NSW, Australia with global portfolio holdings was on the lookout to simplify their work ..read more

The importance of curated data for robust portfolio and risk management Only a few years ago, there was much hoopla in the global media around the term ‘big data’. Many people were led to believe that it had become possible to easily access and utilize massive amounts of data, resolving major challenges facing businesses and other institutions. Why then did this fanfare surrounding big data seem to almost suddenly disappear? One likely explanation is that people came to the realization that simply having access to large quantities of data, in and of itself, does not make decision-making any ea ..read more

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall,which Family Office has it all? “A family office must mirror the family”, says EY Private’s Family Office Leader Ismael Hajjar, “by faithfully reflecting its interests”. “This proverbial mirror can enhance what it sees by advancing the family’s priorities. Which is precisely what it will do, but only if it is professionalized”, adds Mr. Hajjar. Why professionalize a family office by hiring seasoned talent, installing proven processes, and deploying advanced technology? Simple: To protect and preserve the family through effective governance and succession planning. T ..read more

Bon Appetit! What is family-office governance? It’s command and control: a framework for who does what and when; and which processes to repeat, which to modify, and which to abandon. Paul Pratt, Commercial Director at PKF Funds, Family and Family Office, and a G2 family member himself, offers five ingredients for effective governance. The five ingredients of effective Family-Office Governance #1. Purpose: A distinctive, well-articulated vision and mission. #2. Governing board/investment committee: Both are indispensable given the transitions within families, increasing complexity on a global s ..read more

A year ago, family enterprises that wanted to automate governance processes had to buy tools from multiple vendors. Today, vendors assimilate adjacent functionality, turning their point products into full-stack governance platforms. As we enter year three of the global pandemic, a lot is changing in the family enterprise landscape, presenting a goldmine of opportunity for families to look digitally inward and move the technology needle. Trusted Family’s global community of over 160 family enterprises is at the brink of this opportunity. For them and many other family-owned enterprises across t ..read more

To run your family office as efficiently as you run your business, know your ‘known unknowns’ How? With true transparency: actionable views of all assets and liabilities The “Johari window,” a problem-solving model once used by the U.S. to assess the threat of a missile launch, has three “panes”: 1. Known knowns: things we should know and do 2. Known unknowns: things we should know but don’t 3. Unknown unknowns: things we can’t imagine having to know What are the known knowns of running a family office? They likely include: The intricacies of your partnerships, holding companies, and other in ..read more

To recognize capital gains, or not to recognize capital gains, that is the question. 2021 may be the exception to the standard practices of deferring long-term capital gains, holding assets until death triggers a stepped-up basis, or gifting real estate/business interests when beneficiaries attain a certain age. Why suddenly turn the page on these tenets of tax planning? Because if Congress doubles the tax rate from 20% to 39.6%, as many expect, or eliminates stepped-up in basis at death – thereby incurring gains the day before death – 2021 may be the time to recognize capital gains and pay th ..read more

HOW TO EQUIP BENEFICIARIES  FOR ACTIVE ROLES IN YOUR FAMILY LIMITED PARTNERSHIP? Consider “The Gatta Doctrine of Member Participation”; The better their views, the stronger their voices. With Family Limited Partnerships,  clear views make strong voices. Parents keen to involve their children in Family LPs owe them transparency; real-time views of contributions, investments, rates of return, liquidity, and liabilities – without which, members lack the means to get involved. It’s cause and effect: no view, no voice. Designed to preserve generational wealth, Family Limited Partnerships ..read more

Don’t let your clients get caught naked when the tide runs out. As the legendry chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet once said, “Only when the tide goes out, do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” What he meant is that rising tides float all boats and that even bad investments can rise in a good market. It is only when the market turns volatile, one starts getting exposed to the risks of fundamentally bad investments (if not in return performance, then in hidden and unfavorable liquidity clauses, exit fees, correlated performance, and much more). Wealth management is a tr ..read more