Family offices are typically private companies or special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that manage the wealth of high, and ultra-high-net-worth families. Today, family offices offer more than just investment and money management to their principals.
They can often oversee philanthropic and charitable activities and lifestyle management – that’s the management of private jets, yachts, residential properties, travel arrangements, and staff.
However, the primary focus of the family office is still managing the family money, not only preserving the capital but growing it for future generations.
Find A Prime Broker For Your Family Office
Family Office Prime Brokers For High-Net-Worth Individuals
For HNWIs looking for a prime broker a good choice would be a provider that also offers retail and professional accounts like IG, where platform liquidity can often be better than the underlying exchange, according to June Felix, the CEO when we interviewed her.
We are currently in the midst of one of the greatest transfers of wealth we have ever seen, as the baby boomer and silent generations pass on an estimated $84.40 trillion of accumulated wealth to their heirs.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch highlights a trend that it calls “giving while living” where wealthy individuals pass on their assets to their children and or good causes before they die.
These newly enfranchised heirs have different outlooks and attitudes towards investment than their older peers.
According to research by Bank of America, those aged between 21 and 42 have a greater preference for alternative asset classes, such as private debt, private equity, direct investment or loans, than those wealthy investors aged 43 or older.
Differing expectations mean that this affluent younger cohort expects more from their family office and not just in terms of product coverage.
Historically family offices have been closely aligned with private banks however things are changing
Chris Few a specialist consultant in prime brokerage and fund creation at Linear Investments says that:
“Typically family offices have been inclined to buy and hold listed products, which tend to be Bonds, Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds. Historically, they haven’t made use of leverage”
Mr Few adds
“This is where the Prime Brokerage offering provides a more competitive leverage offering as well as access to the emerging manager space, where the returns enhance their investment strategy. This younger generation is better informed and has a risk appetite, as long as it’s diversified.”
Services that a traditional private bank just doesn’t offer.
With over 35 years of finance experience, Darren is a highly respected and knowledgeable industry expert. With an extensive career covering trading, sales, analytics and research, he has a vast knowledge covering every aspect of the financial markets.
During his career, Darren has acted for and advised major hedge funds and investment banks such as GLG, Thames River, Ruby Capital and CQS, Dresdner Kleinwort and HSBC.
In addition to the financial analysis and commentary he provides as an editor at GoodMoneyGuide.com, his work has been featured in publications including Fool.co.uk.
As well as extensive experience of writing financial commentary, he previously worked as a Market Research & Client Relationships Manager at Admiral Markets UK Ltd, before providing expert insights as a market analyst at Pepperstone.
Darren is an expert in areas like currency, CFDs, equities and derivatives and has authored over 260 guides on GoodMoneyGuide.com.
He has an aptitude for explaining trading concepts in a way that newcomers can understand, such as this guide to day trading Forex at Pepperstone.com
Darren has done interviews and analysis for companies like Queso, including an interview on technical trading levels.
A well known authority in the industry, he has provided interviews on Bloomberg (UK), CNBC (UK) Reuters (UK), Tiptv (UK), BNN (Canada) and Asharq Bloomberg Arabia.
