For more information contact: emailus@marcusevans.com Harriet Davies, Editor from Family Wealth Report shared their presentation titled "Plugging In: Best Practices And Emerging Family Office Governance Trends" at the Elite Summit 2011. Join the November 2014 Summit along with leading European family offices and global asset managers in an intimate environment for a focused discussion of key new drivers shaping wealth management strategies today. For more information contact: emailus@marcusevans.com

1. Harriet Davies, Editor, Family
Wealth Report
www.fwreport.com
Plugging In: Best Practices And
Emerging Family Office
Governance Trends

2. Moving to stand still
• The most critical effect of the financial
crisis may be a sea-change in attitudes
towards capitalism broadly, and financial
services providers more specifically.
• This is causing: regulatory overhaul of a
scale not seen in decades; higher client
expectations (more for less)

3. What is a family office?
• First legal definition for single-family
offices under Dodd-Frank;
• “Multi-family office” still doesn’t have strict
business model; some spillover expected
from definition of single-family offices;
• Questions being asked about
independence and fees in the MFO space.

5. The question of fees
Pressure on margins in a pure advice model
Some multi-family offices logging
hours to work out what it costs to
serve clients
Reviewing annually to compare cost of service and charges, and
explaining this to the family
Logical fee structure sustainable margins

6. Asset bases versus project
based fees
• Anecdotal evidence of a movement
towards project based/retainer fees;
• Some MFOs charging higher fees for first
year of service to reflect higher costs

7. New business models
• MFOs developing à la carte services so clients can
customize offering
• Dodd-Frank – still a lot of uncertainty among
single-family offices, with over half still unsure of
full impact, according to the latest Family Wealth
Alliance Single Family Office Survey (last summer )
• Concept of an equity family offices, brings
alignment of interest but also practical problems

8. Reframing the way we think
about wealth
• Goals-based planning movement: asks what is
the ultimate purpose of the wealth?
• Tries to align the investment risk, liquidity and
timeframe with the ultimate use of each “portion”
of wealth
• Should ensure the wealth supports a client’s
lifestyle, and help clients keep calm when they
turn on the news…so saving precious time

9. Family dynamics
• Communication breakdown cited as a primary
reason for unsuccessful wealth transfer among
families – Williams and Preisser, Preparing Heirs
• Older generation lacks trust in the younger
generation to manage the inheritance well,
especially in the UK, US – recent Barclays
Wealth Insights report
• Allaying some of these concerns can provide
value to clients…but how do you charge for this?

10. Technology requirements
• Family offices still waiting for full reporting
solution
• One of the largest complaints I hear is the
need for better reporting across multiple
asset managers, brokerage providers and
custodians – often in multi-currency
environments and across dozens of tax
entities

11. Wealth and philanthropy
• Private client demand for philanthropic services has
remained strong despite downturn (Reuters Wealth
Management Summit)
• Latest developments in venture philanthropy or
mission investing, which also looks to leverage
charitable foundations’ principal towards the charitable
mission, and align investment and distribution goals
• Can be used to enhance family ties, as well as an
example of how wealth can be used positively, to help
re-engage wider community