The Perspective and Strategy of a Family CFO
It is the family office’s role to act as the Chief Financial Officer, assisting the family’s decision makers. Most successful people possess the skills required to manage their day-to-day flow of income and expenses, and to evaluate the merits of individual opportunities. Very few, however, have the time to define and digest the information necessary to make informed, long-term strategic decisions that span the entire financial spectrum. The frequent result is a portfolio by default rather than a portfolio by design, and a portfolio that typically ignores tax and estate issues in pursuit of raw performance numbers.
Wealthy families typically manage multiple relationships, each of which has input into the family’s financial affairs: a short list of preferred brokers, one or two CPA’s and a team of attorneys, each with their own niche specialty. A successful family CFO must have the time, the skills and the aptitude to ensure that everyone involved understands the comprehensive financial plan. No matter how well asset managers perform, if the family’s wealth management plan is not executed, the end result will be at best disappointing or, worse, disastrous.
