Today's Family Office At A Glance
by Chris Beringer and Linda Postorivo
Every family has unique challenges and obstacles that they face. The Family Office Industry has developed a tag line, “When you've seen one family office, you've seen one family office”. The level of customization is incredible in supporting high net worth individuals. That said, there are some commonalities among families.
Minimizing family conflict. This is at the core of what a successful family office should be trying to achieve. This can be achieved through transparency and governing documents on the objectives of family wealth, which can often times be incorporated in a Family Mission Statement.
Reporting on the assets. This is often complex and laborious as assets tend to be held at multiple custodians and were often purchased outside of the parameters of the Investment Policy Statement. When including illiquid assets, such as art, homes, private businesses, boats and airplanes, it can often times be quite challenging to develop a simple balance sheet.
Utilizing continuing strategies to limit taxes. There are many strategies available to minimize capital gains and estate taxes, but the family needs to have a full understanding of where they want the money to go, whether it be their children or charity. Additionally, this planning process is continuous and over time can create many new entities (trusts, GRATS, etc.), which adds to the complexity of point 2.
There are many other common links among families, but here, at The Beringer Group, we strive to come up with customized solutions that fit each family’s goals and objectives, whether virtual solutions or brick-and-mortar.Thank You For Taking A Moment To Read.
About the Authors
Christopher Beringer
Chris has extensive experience advising high net worth families establishing family offices and/or family investment companies, in regard to feasibility, design, staffing, transitioning and IT operations.
Linda Postorivo
Linda joined the Mid-Atlantic Companies, Ltd., in 1980. She has extensive experience in the middle-market, closely-held business sector with over twenty years devoted to the financial planning needs of business owners and their families.