Reprioritizing the family office

For more than 25 years, our leadership team at Brownlie & Braden Advisors has worked closely with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families nationwide. Common among many of wealthy families: an established family office.

There are an estimated 10,000 family offices across the globe, including thousands here in the United States. Most family offices are small and run by one or two key people – often a lawyer, investment officer or accountant – to help the family patriarch or matriarch manage and protect their significant wealth for future generations.

Therein lies the primary challenge for many family offices as they advise on family governance issues and address wealth transfer to the next generation. They are small operations that were started by the principal, so it’s another business to run and staff.

Read more to learn about the benefits of outsourcing your family office.

Common issues wealthy families face

In addition to their size, most family offices will face retirement of the key principal or hired staff. Sudden deaths, divorces and other life events may also trigger changes within the family office dynamic, creating a need to designate specific functions to a multifamily office that supports dozens of client families.

In some cases, children and grandchildren may be prepared to take on leading the family office but having an outside firm could become necessary as family priorities change. Traditional family offices entering their second or third generation may find they lack the expertise in certain areas needed to protect or grow the family’s assets.

Multifamily offices can help guide investment strategies or select fund managers, assist with tax and estate planning issues, or facilitate family meetings and manage the issues associated with significant wealth accumulation and inheritance.

Why outsource your family office?

Hiring staff to manage your family office in-house also takes those professionals out of circulation and focused on one entity, less attuned with industry or global trends. The multifamily office structure can create cost efficiencies of sharing professional resources with other families.

These outside providers, like Brownlie & Braden Advisors, have experienced accounting professionals and investment advisors who have deep relationships and access to other best-in-class providers for private market investment opportunities (venture capital and private equity) and specialized asset allocation and research analysts for specific industries. Additionally, they have connections with other service providers that can deliver customized solutions for complex financial and non-financial issues for multiple families, including philanthropic initiatives and estate planning strategies.

We believe this rent-to-own approach of outsourcing the family office is the most cost effective and time efficient approach for wealthy families and principals who have spent their lives building and managing companies. Why run another company focused on your wealth preservation?

We can apply best practices and utilize several highly specialized third-party resources to deliver piece of mind for our clients. Outsourcing to an experienced external provider like Brownlie & Braden Advisors that understands the needs of the family and goals of the family office also helps ensure there is a better balance between corporate governance and due diligence needs while maintaining high levels of confidentiality.

To learn more about our approach to family office oversight, contact Brownlie & Braden Advisors today.