What is a family office?
A family office may be defined in a number of ways but it is generally used to describe the role(s) that family members undertake to centralise the management of a family’s financial and personal affairs, to preserve and grow their wealth across generations.
Where a family has had success in business or investments, and their wealth is substantial enough to require management, a family office may be the solution.
A family office is not necessarily represented by simply setting up one formal structure, but may refer to a collective group of entities that are set up to manage the wealth, and are usually ‘separated’ from the main business or trading entities within a family group.
Advisory firms can offer these services to families, or families may take on the responsibility themselves and engage with advisors to assist in various aspects. Advisors may be engaged for their specific service offering, such as financial, taxation or legal advice, to formal roles such as non-executive directors or advisory board roles. Some larger or multigenerational families may have one representative of their family branch acting on their behalf in relation to decisions made by the family office, or they may sit on a family council that may be set up to manage the potentially conflicting interests in a larger family group.
Family offices are known for their confidentiality and tailored services, crafted to meet the distinct needs and opportunities of affluent families.
By Western Australia based Family Business Accredited Advisor
Kirstin Stewart
Partner – Private Business Tax & Advisory
Grant Thornton
