Family matters: The family-focused family office
A new approach that puts family at the center of the family office
As families become more complex, we believe there’s a need for a new family office model: the “family focused family office” (FFFO) that takes a more holistic approach in supporting families, helping them to flourish across generations.
As families become more complex, we believe there’s a need for a new family office model: the “family focused family office” (FFFO) that takes a more holistic approach in supporting families, helping them to flourish across generations.
Family needs extend beyond the purely financial. The FFFO can spearhead initiatives needed to meet these needs, managing the family’s total wealth for continuity and creating a lasting legacy.
These initiatives include enhancing family communication, strengthening bonds and forging connections, as well as supporting and developing family members. The FFFO can also:
- Provide family governance support
- Facilitate family philanthropy
- Articulate a family’s mission and values
- Clarify a family’s purpose and vision for the future
Nurturing true wealth
While the natural tendency is to measure a family’s wealth quantitatively as financial capital, the family focused family office model acknowledges that the most important assets are the family members.
Families who understand this concept spend most of their time growing all of their assets—especially their qualitative assets. These qualitative assets include the family’s human, intellectual, social and spiritual capitals.
Human
The individuals who make up the family and includes:
- Creating physical and emotional well-being
- Finding meaningful work
- Establishing a positive sense of personal identity
Intellectual
The knowledge gained through each family member’s life experience, including:
- Academic, career and artistic successes
- Understanding individual and family finances
Social
The relationships family members have with each other and within their communities and includes:
- Making thoughtful, shared decisions together
- Welcoming new members
- Giving time, talent and assets
Spiritual
The family’s ability to share and sustain an intention beyond each member’s individual interests, including:
- Humility to recognize this is a challenging journey
- Gratitude toward those who came before and will follow
Together with the family’s financial capital, these five forms of capital comprise a family’s true wealth.* The FFFO is a holistic model that focuses on not only preserving financial wealth but also growing and nurturing all of the qualitative capitals.
Benefits of a family-focused family office
Because it recognizes the importance of both soft personal capital and hard financial capital, the FFFO aims to optimize both, seeing this as the best way for families to succeed for generations to come.
Cohesion and trust
Built on the foundations of:
- Good communications
- Inclusive interactions
- Family financial education
Resilience
Fostered by:
- Communicating with intention and purpose
- Taking an incremental approach to including the rising generation in decision-making
Alignment across the family enterprise
Created by:
- Helping the family understand how disparate parts often financially support each other
- How the family initiative links them together
Wealth preservation and growth
Sustained by:
- Preparing heirs for proper stewardship
- Effective wealth transition
- Communication, trust and individuation among family members
- Maintaining core values
Dive deeper
Going beyond managing financial wealth, the family-focused family office invests in the development of the family as a whole, helping it to flourish and prosper over time.
Our Private Wealth Management offices are located in various cities throughout the US. If you would like to explore how Private Wealth Management may serve you and your family’s needs, please contact one of our offices.
