Demystifying Risk Management for Family Offices

Examining trends, frameworks, and best practices in an ever-evolving risk environment.

by Edward V. Marshall

“In a new world fraught with risks of bad guys doing bad things – stealing profits, IP, reputations and wreaking havoc – family offices and their crown jewels are now being targeted. Bank robber Willie Sutton was famously asked why he robbed banks and his reply was, “Because that’s where the money is.” A trend we are seeing is top security and risk management talent are now being aggressively courted by family offices to play defense against today’s proverbial Willie Suttons.” – Jeremy King, Benchmark Executive Search

– Jeremy King, Benchmark

When principals establish a family office, typically, the goal is to create a centralized management system to more efficiently and effectively manage assets, decision-making, and services under one roof. By their very nature, family offices are discreet, often maintaining reduced public profiles to anonymize activities of the office and the principals they serve. Despite these efforts, malicious actors have become aware of what family offices are, where they are, and how they operate. As a result, they have become an increasingly attractive target for criminals and other nefarious characters. While family offices manage the wealth and assets that are often associated with small- and medium-sized companies, they often do no employ the necessary risk management policies, technologies, and personnel.

In this paper, we explore the increased risks that family offices face, why family offices are at risk, and provide recommendations to improve risk management.

To read further: https://files.bostonprivate.com/file/Demystifying-Risk-Management-for-Family-Offices.pdf
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