Welcome to the Bloomberg Family Office Guide

An insightful, interview-based exploration of the structure, workings and strategies of family offices around the world, with a focus on China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Contents Establishing and designing a family office
> What type of family office is right for you, and when is the right time to establish one?Building an effective team
> The importance of having the right people in the right roles for your office.Managing and overseeing assets and investments
> Different approaches to managing and growing wealth.Protecting the family legacy
> Doing the groundwork to ensure your family office continues to thrive.

Getting the technology right
> Identifying the most relevant and appropriate systems and sources for information, data analyses and protection.Locating your office
> Choosing where to locate your office and making the most of its offerings.

Planning for the future
> The importance of making way for the next generation.

Introduction

Family offices are entities set up to manage the assets of ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families.

Usually safeguarding assets of US$200 million+, family offices are sometimes formed when a well-established family business is sold, or when a family wishes to restructure its approach to its wealth with the aim of managing and growing the resulting assets in an organized, effective, and regulated way.

Family offices are either single family offices that manage the assets of one family, or multi-family offices that manage the assets of several or many families; sometimes 20, or more.

Thousands of family offices are spread globally, with a growing concentration in Asia, particularly Singapore, where, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, family offices have risen five-fold between 2017 and 2019.¹

To understand more about the structure and workings of these unique entities, Bloomberg has collaborated with the Family Business Network Asia to create an insightful, portrait-style guide to family offices.

This guide draws on in-depth interviews with six diverse family offices from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Each office’s origin story, visions and goals and modus operandi are distinct. All were established to protect family wealth generated through business activities. Some were founded decades ago and have been restructured by later generations, others have a more recent genesis.

The well-established ones are now being overseen by the third, fourth or even fifth generation of a family, particularly in Europe and the US. Others, more often those in Singapore, Hong Kong and China are younger and more typically involve the first or second generation of a family.

Just as no two families are the same, nor are any two of the family offices we spoke to the same. Some are headed and run by the family, others are staffed by professional investment managers and financial advisers, while others outsource to subject area experts to fill the gaps. Some prioritize liquidity; others focus on philanthropy; yet others look to direct investments to complement the family’s existing operating businesses.

However, they have in common a desire to protect and retain their family wealth and legacy in honour of the hard work of previous generations, and for the posterity of future generations, and a deliberate embrace of intergenerational evolution.

¹Source: Business Times

Thank you to our participating family offices

Bloomberg and the Family Business Network Asia would like to thank each of the family office representatives who generously gave their time to participate in the interviews that have informed this guide, specifically:

Aglaia Family Office
Singapore

Applerigg
United Kingdom

HT Capital
Hong Kong and China

Maitri Asset Management
Singapore

Tsao Family Office
Singapore

We also interviewed a Chinese multi-family office family member who asked to remain anonymous; their participation is also most appreciated.

Bloomberg wishes to thank the Family Business Network Asia for its partnership and commitment to producing this guide.