Family offices are a niche service used by affluent families. They provide services such as accounting, tax preparation, budgeting, grant-writing assistance and financial planning. A family office is an organized and dedicated team of professionals who serve as advisors and accountants for a wealthy family or individual. These advisors can help you organize your personal finances in an efficient manner to save you time and money.
Once you hire the best family office services in Dubai, like GSBcapital.com they will relieve you of some stress while streamlining your financial affairs. To find the right people to work with on a long-term basis, here are some questions to ask when selecting a family office:
What kind of services do you offer?
The first step in evaluating a family office is to find out exactly what services they provide. If you have an existing relationship with a family office, you may already know what they’re capable of. If this is the first family office you’re interviewing, you’ll want to ask what they specialize in.
A family office’s services will vary from one to another. Many offer some or all of the following:
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Asset management
- Business management and consulting
- Education planning and financial aid assistance
- Investment management
- Lifestyle and estate planning
- Retirement/pension planning
- Tax management
What is your process for determining investment strategies?
Your family office will likely manage your investments, so it’s a good idea to know how they decide which types of investments to buy. Your family office will select a mix of investments based on your goals, risk tolerance and financial situation. You’ll want to ask them how they go about choosing your investment mix. You may even want to see a copy of their investment policy statement (IPS) to see how their process matches up with your own investment philosophy.
How do you communicate and collaborate with your clients?
The best family offices have a process for collaborating with their clients. If the family office you’re considering does not have a process, you may want to consider hiring someone else. Collaboration with your family office includes everything from communication methods to timeframes for completing tasks. You’ll want to ask these questions:
What communication methods do you use?
Is there a particular method or medium that works best for you?
How do you define and establish deadlines?
How and when do you set priorities?
Are there certain types of projects that you prefer to complete alone, or do you prefer to collaborate with your clients on all tasks?
What types of tax planning do you implement?
Tax planning is an essential part of wealth management. You may want to hire a tax planner in addition to your family office, but you should definitely see what they offer in this regard. Even if you have your own tax planner, it’s a good idea to know what your family office is doing in this area. The best family offices will utilize a variety of strategies to manage your tax liability, including:
- asset location
- tax-loss harvesting
- retirement planning
- charitable giving and gifting to heirs.
Are there any limitations you should be aware of up-front?
When interviewing family offices, you should definitely ask about any potential limitations. In some cases, hiring a family office may limit the services you can receive from other financial advisors. That’s because many other advisors may not be willing to work with a family office. It’s important to discuss these potential limitations early on so you can decide if they’re deal breakers or not, as you may want to hire a family office and also keep your existing financial advisors.
How often will we meet and how long will each meeting take?
Some family offices require you to meet with them once or twice a year. Others may offer quarterly meetings. You can also find family offices that offer monthly or bi-weekly meetings. You’ll want to find out how often you’ll meet with your family office. This will give you an idea of how much time you’ll need to set aside for this. Family offices may also offer a service called concierge services. This is where you give them a list of tasks you need to get done each month and they help you get it done.
Are there any support staff that I can speak with directly and regularly?
Beyond meeting with your family office regularly, you may want to have regular contact with some of their support staff. This may include your account manager, financial analyst and/or tax advisor. Having regular communication with these people will help you better understand your financial situation. You may even want to be able to contact these people directly. In some cases, you can set up a direct line of communication with these staff members.
Summing up
A family office is an organized and dedicated team of professionals who serve as advisors and accountants for a wealthy family or individual. These advisors can help you organize your personal finances in an efficient manner to save you time and money. Once you hire the a family office, they will relieve you of some stress while streamlining your financial affairs.
