Recently, we devoted an entire segment on Fried On Business to the family office. I know, it sounds like a new sitcom, and I suppose many family offices could generate plenty of material for a TV show.
But these “family offices” are serious business, and my guest Richard C. Wilson is an expert in helping them find investment opportunities. He founded the Private Equity Investment Group and is CEO of Richard Wilson Capital Partners, LLC.
Wilson also runs wilsonconferences.com, which organizes many events catering to the family office segment of the financial services industry.
The latest conference – the Family Office Super Summit – starts Nov. 11 and runs for three days at the JW Marriott Miami. It covers topics such as family office investment portfolios, risk management, direct investment, co-investment and more.
Just so we’re clear: A “family office” is a holistic, full balance sheet wealth management solution for generational wealth. A single family office works with a single family or individual, while multi-family offices serve several families simultaneously.
“A family office coordinates the complex financial lives of the ultra-wealthy, where a one percent mistake in taxation could cost more than that advisor,” Wilson said.
It’s kind of like having a quarterback in football, he said. To me, it’s more like the bridge on the Starship Enterprise.
Just saying.
Anyway, it seems to me that family office wealth management could gain currency, so to speak, in the financial world as baby boomers begin to leave inheritances to their heirs.
No doubt, said Wilson, who has recently traveled to Kuala Lampur, Moscow, the Cayman Islands and London on business.
“I can tell you globally the No. 1 trend is family offices owning direct assets and direct operating businesses,” he said.
“We have 60 billionaire family office relationships. Each one of them owns real estate and owns operating businesses. And each one as a general rule also invests in some private equity and hedge funds as well.
“It’s important that people know, when you’re talking about family offices, is that there are many different types, there are over 10,000 globally and they invest in all types of things,” he said.
Wilson, a resident of Brazil, said Miami is fertile soil for finding new relationships with international clients. His firm focuses on $1 billion-plus single family offices.
“Overall, it’s a very global city and that infuses tons of wealth into the economy,” he said.
The upcoming Family Office Super Summit is unique, Wilson said, in discussing topics you won’t find at any other conference this year. A good example would be a talk on structuring direct investments. If a deal goes badly and it isn’t structured correctly, he said, a family could lose all of the money involved.
A next year will offer a full plate of new conferences devoted to the family office. Look for the full calendar at wilsonconferences.com.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Richard C. Wilson of Private Equity Investment Group and Richard Wilson Capital Partners, LLC.
