Tag: video

Family Office Vlog Series: Ep. 2 – What is a Multi-Family Office?

Posted on by Peter Harper

Learn why family clients are looking to start a multi-family office in our second episode of the Family Office Vlog Series with Asena CEO Peter Harper.

Transcript:

Peter Harper: Hey, guys. Peter Harper, Managing Director and CEO of Asena Family Office. For those of you who are not familiar with our business, we advise foreign families and private clients on U.S. direct investments in mergers and acquisitions.

Peter Harper: So today, I wanted to talk about the definition of a multi-family office (and) what is it? The term “family office” has become more ubiquitous over the last decade as the transference of money, of significant private money, away from major institutions into the hands of private family managers continues to grow. So in my last video where I talked about what it was to be a family office, right, a multi-family office is just that on a fractional basis.

So, to recap, in a typical family office, (especially a) single family office, you’ll have a C suite. Not unlike you would have in an operational business that covers tax, accounting, finance, and legal wealth management, investments, (and so on). So (then) general admin for the family.

Peter Harper: In a multi-family office, it’s simply that on a fractional basis. A family may not have the wealth to be able to sustain the full C suite. And for a lot of single family offices, it can cost $3 to $10 million just to run the executive infrastructure for the family.

Peter Harper: So they may not have the wealth that can sustain that type of costs or to run it. So they say, “We want someone on an outsource basis to fractually manage all these things for us as a family.” Right? Obviously, when you’re doing it fractual, there’s going to be some reduction in the cost for doing that, or they simply don’t want the headache of managing all those people internally.

Peter Harper: So this is the core of what Asena as a business does. We provide fractional support for families that either choose not to run their own C-suite or run their own service lines because they don’t have the wealth to sustain that or because they don’t want the headache of that. And we do that across tax, accounting, estate planning, wealth management, M&A advisory, and legal.

Peter Harper: So if you want to know more about family offices or you need help with your family office, please reach out.

Peter Harper: Cheers.

 

Want to start your multi-family office? Stay tuned for more expert tips or get in touch with one of our Asena consultants to get started.

–Peter Harper

Family Office Vlog Series: Ep. 1 – Intro to Family Offices

Posted on by Peter Harper

In the premiere episode of our new Family Office Vlog Series, Peter Harper (CEO and Managing Director) will introduce us into what a family office is and why it is vital for private clients looking to secure the management and legacy of their wealth.

Transcript:

Peter Harper: Hey, guys. (This is) Peter Harper, Managing Director and CEO of the Asena Family Office. For those of you who are not familiar with the business or a multi-family office, we advise foreign family offices and private clients on US direct deals and mergers and acquisitions.

Peter Harper: So today, I wanted to just touch on the definition of a family office. And the reason why I wanted to revisit this is (that) recently, I was on a call with another advisor. The opportunity was referred to through me from one of the top US private banks, you know, (as) we get a bunch of referrals from banking referral partners. And the question was posed quite cynically, I might add, is, “What is a family office anyway?” Right? 

Peter Harper: And I think whenever I hear that question, my immediate reaction is that the person I’m speaking to is kind of threatened by or has had no meaningful interaction with the family office to truly understand what it means to be one, right? And there are multiple facets as to what one means today.

Peter Harper: And the two more important things (are as followed): the first, which is probably more obvious for a lot of folks, is an individual who’s had material success needs a team of people to drive their private investments; (overall), to manage and drive their private investments. So what that looks like is how you would approach a normal business: you’d have a C-suite, a team of people across tax accounting, legal investments, (and) people management to go off and execute on the founder or family success, right? So the normal sort of economic business apparatus to drive the family forward.

Peter Harper: But in my opinion, the most integral piece, right, because in that same question, “What is a family office?”, you know, (conjures the image of) a traditional trusted advisor who is sitting next to a patriarch or an individual. So that one person would say, “Well, all that individual needs is a good advisor, one person to help them drive that forward.”

Peter Harper: The thing that that person’s missing is that without the right framework for a family office apparatus, (then) we feel it’s almost guaranteed that the family money is going to be dispersed on the demise of that individual, right? And the reason for that is there is no family buy-in for future generations to actually help the founder or the patriarch/matriarch build a long-term legacy.

Peter Harper: So, in my opinion, the single most important thing that defines a family office is how they think about legacy, how they think about the concentration and management and value of wealth across multiple generations. So across 100 to 200 years, right?

Peter Harper: And the only way that families can sustain a family office for a long period of time is if future generations care about things other than just money. They care about the family, and they understand why it’s important to keep the family together and flourish and grow as a family. 

Peter Harper: Cheers, guys.

 

Want to learn more? Follow us same time next week for our next episode, sign up for our newsletter for updates, or schedule your consultation with one of our advisors.

–Peter Harper