Family office

rdf:langString Family office

rdf:langString A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50-$100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer wealth across generations. The company's financial capital is the family's own wealth. Family offices also may handle tasks such as managing household staff, making travel arrangements, property management, day-to-day accounting and payroll activities, management of legal affairs, family management services, family governance, financial and investor education, coordination of philanthropy and private foundations, and succession planning. A family office can cost over $1 million a year to operate, so the family's net worth usually exceeds $50-$100 million in investable assets. Some family offices accept investments from people who are not members of the owning family. It came to light during the 2021 implosion of Archegos Capital Management that family offices were reportedly "more loosely regulated than other investment vehicles, with fewer disclosure requirements." In response to these concerns, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced The Family Office Regulation Act of 2021, H.R. 4620, which would limit the use of the family office exemption from registration as an investment advisor with the SEC to offices with $750 million or less in assets under management. The bill would also prevent persons who are barred or subject to final orders for conduct constituting fraud, manipulation or deceit from being associated with a family office. This view, however, is not shared by a number of regulators and commentators, including Commissioner Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commissioner Brian Quintenz of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), who published an op-ed arguing that family offices do not need new regulations. Some firms that cater to multiple clients offer personality psychology services for family members to support better alignment and communications among members of the family. A family office either is, or operates just like, a corporation or limited liability company, with officers and a support staff. Officers are compensated per their arrangement with the family, usually with incentives based on the profits or capital gains generated by the office. Family offices are often built around core assets that are professionally managed. As profits are created, assets are deployed into investments. Family offices might invest in private equity, venture capital opportunities, hedge funds, and commercial real estate. Many family offices turn to hedge funds for alignment of interest based on risk and return assessment goals. Some family offices remain passive and just allocate funds to outside managers.