发布时间：2022-09-05
导语：
高净值家族在被大量的咨询和服务推荐围追堵截。私人银行家、律师、信托公司、投资经理、会计师、保险公司、艺术顾问和安全顾问为获得受家族信任的顾问角色而竞相争夺。即使是对于财富管理世界里最有把握的领航者而言，那些声称 “站在他们一边 ”并提供 “一致利益”的机构如此泛滥，也会让人感到困惑。
许多家族希望通过家族办公室的概念来实现利益调整。但对于家族而言，他们需要什么样的家族办公室呢？
关键是确定正确和切实可行的做法，以满足家族的需求。这通常包括对内外部责任如何分配进行评估。本文旨在帮助所服务的家族审视这一问题，并将重点讨论单一家族办公室和多家族办公室的比较优势。
本文内容由雷梭勒家族办公室根据Stonehage Fleming文章编译整理，版权归原作者所有。
多家族办公室
另一些家族则倾向于独立的专业服务集团提供的多家族办公室服务。支持这一模式的理由有很多。
人员
较大规模的机构很可能更有能力吸引优秀的人才。它们通常可以提供更有吸引力的职业道路和薪酬待遇，让人才可以在一家成长中的企业中拥有股权，并有可能与多个家族合作。通常，人们认为这样会使工作更有趣，对于不愿意把所有鸡蛋放在一个篮子里的高级管理人员而言，这也可以降低其职业风险。
专业知识
更大规模的机构也能够聘请更多的专家，为客户提供更广泛和更深入的内部专业知识。这有可能会产生利益冲突，需要加以妥善管理。
这样一来，家族办公室内部将产生一种真正的学习文化，不同的专业领域能够相互影响，生成高级智力资本。
对于家族而言，能够兼顾负责多个领域的家族办公室是非常宝贵的。在实际业务中，律师、会计师和银行家需要能够进行简短和定期的沟通。一个专业的多家族办公室能够在公司内部协调这一点。
然而，在现阶段，只有极少的多家族办公室拥有相应的基础设施和专业知识，为利益遍布于多个司法管辖区的国际家族提供全面的服务。
规模经济
以上提及的规模经济现象也可见于其他领域。通过一家机构将不同的家族联合起来，可以实现更大的购买力，从而降低成本并提升标准。
家族办公室也能利用自身对市场、行业和其他影响富裕家族问题的知识，产生规模经济效应。许多家族觉得有必要找到一个论坛，让他们能够与面临类似问题的志同道合者交流观点。多家族办公室可以提供这个平台。
多家族办公室还可以让其所服务的家族在公共辩论中拥有发言权。这意味着政策制定者可以与受影响群体进行更直接的接触来了解决策，而不会遭受隐私泄露，也不必豁出去冒风险。
延续的服务
家族办公室无论是为一个还是多个家族服务，其基本目的之一是确保在发生危机时有一个运转机制，以确保家族能够有效运作。
危机也有可能发生在家族办公室身上。多家族办公室的客户依赖的是一个组织，而不是一个人或一小群人形成的团体。如果家族办公室的内控体系和备用方案已经到位，那么在关键顾问不在的情况下也能为客户提供延续的服务。这种制衡机制可以减轻将过多的责任放在一个人手中所带来的风险。
监管
银行业危机和随后出现的经济状况，使各国政府不得不开始对金融服务部门进行更多的管控。加强监管似乎是不可避免的。单一家族办公室不一定被监管，但可能被监管。照此看来，越来越多的家族可能会落入监管网。
对监管问题的有效管理需要大量的资源和强有力的公司纪律。多家族办公室在这两方面都不具有垄断性。尽管如此，我们可以合理地假设，一个拥有既定合规文化的大型专业机构将更善于应对不断变化的监管环境。
存续时间
关于家族办公室一般的寿命有多久，很难找到确切的数据。如果是这么一个多家族办公室，它有可靠记录显示，自身既挺过了经济动荡期，又经历了客户家族的多个世代相续，那么这样的家族办公室会是一个有吸引力的选择。
选择
如果一个家族的需求发生变化或找到了更好的替代方案，则其可以相对轻松地退出多家族办公室。而将一个家族从单一家族办公室中脱离是非常困难的。
多家族办公室还有其他客户和声誉问题需要考虑。在实践中，多家族办公室可能会以一种尽可能让双方都满意的方式结束客户关系。
技术
一个复杂的家族生活的许多方面可以通过采用正确的技术来改善。在会计、综合财富报告、财务功能、投资管理和研究等领域，技术解决方案都非常丰富。较大规模的组织自身拥有足够的资源和专业知识，来选择、建立和维护最先进的一体化体系。它们也能够维护经验丰富的团队，来管理信息技术免不了带来的一些问题。它们不需要让外部机构参与支持或作为服务供应商，例如，提供服务器空间。这样就提升了安全性。
成本
研究表明，一家单一家族办公室的维护成本约为总财富的65%。多家族办公室则不太可能收取这么高的费用。多家族办公室拥有规模经济，这意味着它会在成本方面占有优势。这对于那些在净资产方面属于中低档次，且可能需要家族办公室服务的家族而言尤其重要。这些家族可能认为，多家族办公室可以在合理的预算内提供恰到好处的服务。
正确的平衡
以上讨论的各个问题的重要程度如何，因不同的家族而异。在确定采用何种方法时，家族财富的规模是一个特别重要的因素。
对于任何一个复杂的国际家族而言，在没有一个重要的内部职能组织的情况下，他们都无法运作。问题是，应该在多大程度上保留或下放责任。换句话说，家族不应该觉得他们面临两种模式的选择。挑战在于如何在两种模式之间建立恰当的关系。
与家族关系最密切的人在这个问题上会有强烈的个人偏好和个人利益，但这一事实并不会使这种平衡工作变得简单。
在这一领域始终有一点不变，那就是真正独立的优秀建议仍然非常珍贵。
English Original Text
Single and Multi Family Offices
THE MULTI FAMILY OFFICE
Other families prefer to use a multi-disciplinary Family Office provided through an independent professional services group. Different arguments are available to advance in favour of this model.
People
Larger organisations may well be more able to attract talented personnel. They can often offer more compelling career paths and remuneration packages as they can include equity ownership in a growing business and the possibility to work with a number of families. This is often seen to make the work more interesting and to mitigate the career risk of an executive who is reluctant to put all his or her eggs in one basket.
Expertise
A larger organisation is also able to employ more specialists, producing greater breadth and depth of expertise available in-house to clients. This can produce conflict of interest which need to be properly managed.
This should then generate a genuine culture of learning, in which different disciplines are able to interact and produce very advanced intellectual capital.
Inter-disciplinary oversight is invaluable to families. Lawyers, accountants and bankers in reality need to be able to communicate briefly and regularly. A professional Multi Family Office is able to coordinate this in-house.
However at this stage there are very few Multi Family Offices with the infrastructure and expertise to deliver a full service to international families with interests spread across several jurisdictions.
Economies of Scale
The economies of scale touched upon above extend to other areas. The grouping of families within one organisation can result in enhanced buying power that reduces costs and improves standards.
This can also stretch to the opportunities to leverage off the group’s knowledge of markets, industries and other issues affecting wealthy families. Many families feel a need to find a forum in which they can exchange ideas with like-minded people who are facing similar issues. The Multi Family Office can provide this platform.
The Multi Family Office can also give the families it serves a voice in public debate. This means that policymakers’ decisions can be informed by more direct contact with groups of those affected, without any loss of privacy or the need for ‘to put heads above the parapet’.
Continuity
One of the fundamental purposes of a Family Office, whether it serves one or many families, is to make sure that in the event of crisis there is an operational structure in place to ensure the family can function effectively.
Crises happen in Family Offices too. Clients of Multi Family Offices depend on an organisation and not an individual or small group of individuals. Internal control systems and alternates are in place to provide continuity to the client in the event that key advisers are not available. Checks and balances mitigate the risks associated with putting too much responsibility in one person’s hands.
Regulation
The banking crisis and the subsequent economic conditions have left governments looking for more control of the financial services sector. Heightened regulation seems inevitable. Single Family Offices are not necessarily regulated but may be. It appears likely that an increasing number will fall into the regulatory net.
The effective management of regulatory issues requires considerable resources and a strong corporate discipline. Multi Family Offices do not have a monopoly over either. Nonetheless, it might be reasonable to assume that a larger professional organisation with an established compliance culture would be more adept at dealing with the changing regulatory environment.
Longevity
Hard data on the typical duration of a Family Office is tough to find. A Multi Family Office with a track record of surviving both economic turbulence and transition through generations of clients is an attractive option.
Choice
A family can reverse out of a Multi Family Office with relative ease if their needs change or a better alternative is found. It is extremely hard to disentangle a family from a Single Family Office.
Multi Family Offices have other clients and a reputation to consider. In practice they are likely to end client relationships in a way that is as mutually satisfactory as possible.
Technology
Many aspects of a complex family’s life can be improved by the use of the right technology. Accounting, aggregated wealth reporting, treasury functions, investment management and research are all areas in which technological solutions abound. Larger organisations have the resources and expertise to select, set up and maintain systems that are cutting edge and integrated. They are also able to maintain fully vetted teams to manage the inevitable glitches that all IT produces. They do not need to involve outside agencies either in a support function or as service providers, for example to supply server space. This improves security.
Cost
Research suggests that the maintenance of a Single Family Office can cost in the region of 65bps of total wealth. It is unlikely that a Multi Family Office would charge fees anywhere near this amount. The economies of scale available to Multi Family Offices mean that in respect of costs the balance tips heavily towards them. This is especially relevant for those families who, in terms of net worth, fall towards the mid to lower range of those likely to require Family Office services. These families may feel that a Multi Family Office can deliver the right services within a proportionate budget.
THE RIGHT BALANCE
The importance of these individual considerations will vary from family to family. The scale of family wealth will be a particularly important factor in determining the right approach.
No complex international family can function without a significant in- house function. The question is the extent to which responsibilities should be retained or devolved. In other words, families should not feel they face a choice between the two models. The challenge is to create the right relationship between them.
The fact that those closest to the family will have strong preferences and personal interests in the matter does not make this balancing act any simpler.
As always in the area, excellent advice that is truly independent remains at a premium.
本文转载自雷梭勒家族办公室，如有侵权，敬请告知删除。
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