Family Offices Are Not Fashionable

The term Family Office was first coined by the family of J.P Morgan in 1838. It was then adopted by the Rockefellers some four decades on and popularised during the economic crash of 2008, almost two centuries later.

A growing disenchantment with banks led to an explosion in the number of Family Offices with an army of 1,000 by the end of 2008, 7,000 in 2019 and now, figures sitting anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000. Bloomberg went as far as suggesting that 263,500 Family Offices could exist by 2025 and while there is no definitive way of categorising a Family Office or therefore counting them, they are certainly growing and they are growing fast.

14 years on from the economic crash and Family Offices have evolved from offering financial services management to an elite number of wealthy families to becoming the backbone of the global economy, arguably the most fluid investors to exist today.

You will find a Family Office behind many prominent leaders, the household brands you see today and most importantly, behind the scenes of innovative technology start-ups, charitable foundations and early-stage science ventures. In fact, we recently reported that behind both the BioNTech/ Pfizer Vaccination and the Moderna Vaccination sat two Family Offices making an equally as monumental social impact and financial return.

Family Offices are fascinating and working for them offers a unique, incomparable and rewarding experience but as the experts we can firmly say, Family Offices are not fashionable.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘fashionable’ is a characteristic of, influenced by, or representing of a current popular style. It represents a trend, a fad and ultimately, a temporary home for popularity.

Family Offices make headlines today but they have been making headlines every day for more than a decade and will continue to do so for a lifetime. They are not influenced by or representing of a current popular style, they are not a trend, fad or ultimately, a temporary solution. Family Offices are professionalised entities that exist primarily to preserve a family’s wealth over a long period of time. Some might say, that is the complete opposite of fashionable in its literary form.

That is not to say that Family Offices are not attractive places to work.

Family Offices offer a completely different working lifestyle to professionals who take on the challenge. There are few rules and little regulation meaning it is completely incomparable to any corporate setting you might be imagining.

Compensation is high and bonuses are frequent, investment professionals have the ability to manage unlimited liquidity while being granted access to the most lucrative of opportunity, not just to invest the Principal’s wealth but their own too.

Long-Term Incentive Plans or LTIP
TIP
s are an increasingly common incentive awarded to Family Office Executives which offers the likes of co-investing opportunities to keep employees retained and engaged. There are other benefits too.

Aside from working with some of the world’s most brilliant minds, you have access to a lifestyle unimaginable to an unexposed professional. From being awarded access to family-owned cars, yachts and planes to paid-for vacations in family properties and travel between meetings. Family Offices might not be fashionable but they certainly afford an enjoyable lifestyle.

Fashion comes and goes but Family Offices do not, nor do their staff which is why talent retention is absolutely critical to Family Office success.