Let Our International Attorneys Help You Create a Family Office That Benefits Multiple Generations

Family offices cater to the needs of high-net-worth individuals but distinguish themselves from traditional wealth management shops by providing a total solution to managing the financial and investment needs of their clients. Single family offices serve just one family but typically encompass multiple generations. Multi-family offices serve several families but can deliver many of the same services you'd find in a single family office. Outsourced family offices streamline the process by relying on a point of contact who coordinates the efforts of contracted service providers.

Family offices were once a perk utilized exclusively by well-known billionaires like the Rockefellers and Rothschilds, but this approach to managing a family's personal and professional needs is growing in popularity. At MEG International, we work with clients who are interested in creating single family offices, multi-family offices, or outsourced family offices. If you're interested in exploring the family office approach, we encourage you to contact us to discuss which type of arrangement is best suited to your needs.

What a Family Office Can Do

Family offices can offer a wide range of services tailored to meet the needs of wealthy Mexican or Latin American multinational investors. Wealth management services such as investment strategy, cash flow analysis, retirement planning, and oversight of charitable giving are often the backbone of the family office model, but legacy and lifestyle management services may be added as desired. For example, if you've created a successful business you wish to pass to your children and grandchildren, your family office might create a succession plan, provide education for your heirs to ensure they're able to fully participate in key financial matters, and manage illiquid asset transfers to pass down key business and real estate holdings. Or, if your family often travels internationally, your family office might make travel arrangements, coordinate personal security, and provide support for temporary relocation.

Single Family Offices

It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 single family offices throughout the world, with roughly 60% of those family offices located within the United States. Each single family office operates like a corporation or limited liability company, with officers and support staff.

When structured appropriately, a single family office can help preserve your privacy while letting you benefit from the collective buying power of the family's combined assets. A family office can also support your needs after a liquidity event, such as the sale of a family business.

One of the primary advantages of the single family office model is its flexibility. Unfortunately, this flexibility can become a weakness if you skip over vital steps in the planning process. To avoid common single family office mistakes, you will want to:

Structure your single family office like a real business and give it the resources it needs to be successful
Consider whether the services you want are truly cost-effective
Choose a strong leadership team
Make sure all of your family members understand the role of the single family office and what services they will be able to utilize

Multi-Family Offices

While the benefits of a single family office can be quite appealing to the wealthy Mexican or Latin American investor or entrepreneur, this approach doesn't make sense in every context. For example, you may have a net worth of well over $100 million but have a spouse who enjoys lifestyle management tasks such as hiring household help and making your family's travel arrangements.

A multi-family office provides many of the same wealth management, legacy management, and lifestyle management services you'd associate with a single office but supports multiple families instead of focusing exclusively on the needs of just one family unit. However, the multi-family office provides a broader range of services and works with fewer clients than a traditional wealth advisory firm.

Outsourced Family Office

An outsourced family office is an alternative to the single family or multi-family office. With this approach, there is one professional who coordinates the communication between a network of service providers that are collaborating to meet the needs of the family.

For example, MEG International can serve as the point of contact for an outsourced family office by bringing financial advisors, accountants, and other professionals who work together to meet a family's needs. When professionals are authorized to consult with each other regarding a family's financial and personal needs, they're able to provide a higher level of service than those who work independently.