Kristen Oliveri is Family Office Network’s Content Director for North America.
My blog will discuss the hot trends and developments in the family office sector.
Families of considerable wealth like to talk to each other. Beyond the obvious social aspect of their interaction, they can also like to compare notes on investments and philanthropy. If they have a family office, they also like to talk about operational best practices.
I recently attended an event organized by the wealth manager US Trust, which gathered around 30 of some of the wealthiest families in America. The event focused on philanthropy and showcased three prominent non-profit groups backed by families. The draw for these families was summed up by one attendee who said: “It’s why we’re all here.” But it also created an atmosphere of trust among the attendees, allowing them to be frank about more than just their philanthropic efforts and ambitions.
A case in point was the story told by a member of a single-family office based in Utah. He spoke candidly about their trials and tribulations when it came to their direct investment strategies, and how it led them to create guidelines for the types of companies they like investing in. For this particularly family office it’s about companies that are located in the Mountain West region of the US with profits of around $1m to $2m. They look for solid management teams and businesses with high growth opportunities. All very interesting, and something that obviously proved interesting to the other families.
The SFO was comfortable enough to talk to the group about a few of his failed direct investments, discussing one at length and why it went wrong. His frankness invoked a stimulating conversation among participants. Indeed, it created a dialogue which lasted throughout the three-day program.
All these discussions reminded me that this is exactly the type of community engagement that Family Office Network (FON) wants to create. SFOs need a safe forum where they can connect with other families who want to invest among themselves and engage in stimulating dialogue.
I encourage all FON readers to comment on anything you read here in my blog and begin discussion threads that will help build our FON community where information is shared in a secure manner. If there are any topics you would like to see discussed or any particular experts you’d like to hear from, email me at Kristen.oliveri@institutionalinvestor.com.