Family Office Real Estate Blog

Article by Russ Alan Prince - Contributor to Forbes Insights Directly investing in small and middle-market companies is becoming more appealing to family offices . While many still commit monies to private equity and venture capital funds, there is a strong and growing interest in doing direct deals. While some of these are “ club deals ,” the majority of direct investment opportunities are brought to family offices through the financial and legal professionals in their networks. “Family offices make much higher allocations to alternatives in general, and private equity in particular, than typical high-net-worth investors or wealth management firms,” explains international family office authority Hannah Shaw Grove , a founder of Private Wealth magazine . “Many times the source of wealth behind a family office is a privately-held company, so family members know how important these types of investments can be and are accustomed to the unique nature of private equity deals.” ...

So today I am at a Campden Wealth Conference in San Francisco and yesterday I was at an IMN Conference in Chicago.  Next week I will be at a Tabor Conference in Beaver Creek and the week after a Family Office Network meeting in Laguna Beach CA. The thing that I have really noticed in the last few days is how different each conference really is.  Not only with the type of people, but also the feeling of the conferences.   For example some conferences has many product providers and limited family offices. Typically at these types of conferences there are many people networking in the hallway so in fact you could actually chose to be outside or inside the conference room.   Other conferences there is little time for networking as everyone is primarily in the conference room and no one is in the hallway.  These conferences, and ironically conferences that the family office pays for, have many more family offices who are really there for the content. What...

Takeaways from the Handler Thayer Family Office Forum! The Anatomy of a Family Office: 1. Families will not perceive all the risks they are vulnerable to, so many times they are not prepared. Sit down yearly to measure risk appetite 2. A person can be technically proficient – but not a good culture fit          a. Create a plan - Think in the long term – maintain consensus, 1. Families will not perceive all the risks they are vulnerable to, so many times they are not prepared. Sit down yearly to measure risk appetite 2. A person can be technically proficient – but not a good culture fit a. Create a plan - Think in the long term – maintain consensus, 2. A person can be technically proficient – but not a good culture fit a. Create a plan - Think in the long term – maintain consensus,         a. Create a plan - Think in the long term – maintain consensus, alignment and planning    ...

In a recent article by R. Byron Carlock Jr. from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Byron discusses how philanthropy has an impact with economic development.  With many family offices being involved in various philanthropic endeavors,  I thought it would be good to share this article so that they may gain a greater understanding of the impact they make above and beyond the financial commitment from themselves or their foundation. This year there has been a lot of talk about the 125th anniversary of the opening of New York’s Carnegie Hall. Bequeathed to the city by famed industrialist Andrew Carnegie, it’s the most famous example of real estate philanthropy by the great industrialist, in a portfolio that included the creation of some 3,000 public libraries and the founding and support of several colleges. While Carnegie’s philanthropy helped transform infrastructure (not to mention culture) in numerous cities, more modern exam...

A lot of people want to access the family office market . The reason is because they believe that it's an area which they can raise a lot of capital and often in a manner that is much easier. Although the check size might be bigger there's many many things that people don't realize when dealing with a family office.  In my past I had the ability to raise capital from individuals to family offices to private equity funds, insurance companies and institutions. The biggest difference with institutions or institutional capital is that their decisions are typically made based upon parameters. They have a box or boxes in which they are to invest into. In addition, it's not their own money so because of that they are often removed from any emotions. Sure they want to do a good job but let's face it its not their own money!!  Family offices, however are different. I would say that family office investors are much more like individual investors. In many ways very si...

Recently I  read an article by Zoe Secton  that discussed why family offices invest in real estate and thought it was a great read to share, especially as it touches on family offices co-investing which is what our family believes in! For the most part, the purpose of the family office is to effectively transfer established wealth across generations. So investing in real estate–developing a housing complex, shopping center or even a town–have been primary ways family offices have created long-lasting wealth and contributed to economic growth. Here are the top seven reasons why family offices invest in real estate: Comparable income stream to fixed income at current rates Tax efficiencies Uncorrelated returns to securities Estate planning strategies Family legacy creation Preferred treatment by government entities Socially responsible potential With year after year of a consistently low interest rate environment, it’s no surprise there has been little diff...