A family office is a private company that manages investments and trusts for a single wealthy family.[1] The company's financial capital is the family's own wealth, often accumulated over many family generations. Traditional family offices provide personal services such as managing household staff and making travel arrangements. Other services typically handled by the traditional family office include property management, day-to-day accounting and payroll activities, and management of legal affairs. Family offices often provide family management services, which includes family governance, financial and investment education, philanthropy coordination, and succession planning.[2] A family office can cost over $1 million to operate, so the family's net worth usually exceeds $100 million. Recently, some family offices have accepted non-family members.[3] More recently the term "family office" or multi family office is used to refer primarily to financial services for relatively wealthy families.[4] A traditional family office is a business run by and for a single family. Its sole function is to centralize the management of a significant family fortune. Typically, these organizations employ staff to manage investments, taxes, philanthropic giving, trusts, and legal matters. The purpose of the family office is to effectively transfer established wealth across generations. The family office invests the family's money, manages all of the family's assets, and disburses payments to family members as required. The office itself either is, or operates just like, a corporation (often, a limited liability company, or LLC), with a president, CFO, CIO, etc. and a support staff. The officers are compensated as per an arrangement with the family, usually with overrides based on the profits or capital gains generated by the office. Often, family offices are built around core assets that are professionally managed. In addition, a more aggressive and well-capitalized office may be engaged in private equity placement, venture capital opportunities, and real estate development. Many family offices turn to hedge funds for alignment of interest based on risk and return assessment goals. [5] Modern family offices are typically separated into three classes:[6] Class A Family Offices are operated by an independent company that receives direct oversight from a family trustee or administrator. A typical Class A family office: Class B Family Offices are operated by a bank, law firm, or accountant firm. A typical Class B family office: Class C Family Offices are operated by the family with the assistance of a small support staff. A typical Class C family office: Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after intense lobbying pressure from trade organizations and large family offices, the U.S. Congress provided an explicit exception for family offices from registration under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 if they met certain criteria (family offices previously relied on the so-called "less than 15 client" rule to avoid registration under the Act but the rule was eliminated under the Dodd-Frank). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) promulgated the final "family office rules" on June 22, 2011.[7]Family office
Contents
[hide] [edit]Traditional and modern usage
[edit]Modern family offices
[edit]U.S. legal situation
[edit]Notes and references
[edit]See also
[hide] Basic investment types 
History Terms and concepts Investors Related financial terms
Monday, 26 December 2011
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Topics on private equity and venture capital
Structure
Corporations • Institutional investors • Pension funds • Insurance companies • Fund of funds • Endowments • Foundations • Investment banks • Merchant banks •Commercial banks • High-net-worth individuals • Family offices • Sovereign wealth funds
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