Conclusion, Background to Survey, Survey Partners and Colleagues

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The Evolving Risk Landscape for Family Offices: A Dentons Survey Report
Conclusion, Background to Survey, Survey Partners and Colleagues

Conclusion

This study reveals concerning gaps in family office risk management processes caused by both internal and external deficiencies.

Although family offices see technology upgrades as critical to closing these gaps, technology cannot solve longstanding internal issues such as staff and skill shortages, poor risk processes in family office operations and risk awareness culture deficiencies.

All of these factors call for a comprehensive overhaul of training practices and a laser-like focus on attracting and retaining top talent. Family offices must recognize that human capital is their most prized asset. A more knowledgeable and risk-aware workforce will help break down the barriers of complacency and reverse the reactionary mindset that has continued to plague family office risk management.

In addition to hiring internal specialists, family offices need to find and recruit external experts that can put in place more sophisticated monitoring strategies and offer wider support packages.

Family offices need to navigate new threats in a more volatile environment, and this necessitates a new set of answers and a cultural reset of risk management practices. Critically, a sense of urgency needs to be embedded into risk management culture, because a wait-and-see approach is no longer viable. Amidst an unprecedented array of threats, family offices must act now to avoid a day of reckoning.

Background to Survey

The findings here are based on the views of 202 individuals at family offices from 33 countries around the world, with 49% in the United States. Most respondents (77%) either work at family offices or are advisors to one or multiple family offices. About a fifth of respondents (21%) are family members that also work in their family office.

Nearly half (43%) of the respondents are C-suite (e.g., CEO, CFO or COO), while 11% are investment professionals, 10% are portfolio managers and 5% are investment committee members.

By region, 50% of respondents are based in North America, 32% in Europe, 13% in Asia and 4% in the Middle East. A small number of respondents (less than 1%) represent the Latin American region and thus, may be omitted from depiction in certain data charts noted in this survey report.

SFOs are the most common type of family office, for 62% of respondents, while 27% are at MFOs and 7% are at FEs (i.e., family-owned operating businesses that also manage the assets and/or affairs of the family).

What is your relationship to the family office? stats

Please select your primacy title and/or functional role

Please indicate the primary location of your family office

How would you describe your family office?

What is the net worth of the family associated with your family office?

Please describe the primary source of wealth managed/administered by the family office

How long has the family office been in existence?

Survey Partners and Colleagues

A huge thank you to my partners and friends in the family office space for their thoughtful input and feedback on this survey report. And a special thanks to Henry Brandts-Giesen, Virginia Brause, Mike McNamara, Anna Metrakos, Christopher Rose, Rick Ross, Vivien Teu, Ines van Dijk and many more.

Additionally, Dentons thanks our survey partners for their assistance and leadership in bringing these findings to the family office community.

Attenuer Risk
Black Bag Global Emergency Medicine
Charles River Associates
Concentric Advisors
Cynosure Group
F2 Strategy
Forbes Banister International
Goose Rocks Wealth
Grant Thornton
Hughes Growth Strategies
Integris Aviation Consultancy
JDJ Family Office Services
Kreuzberger Associates
Lockton
Mack International
McFarland Partners
Next Capital Management
Orbital Risk
Peter Quinn & Associates
Presage Global
Private Medical
R360
Ron Varney Fine Arts Advisors
Sands Point Risk
Simple
Strategic Philanthropy
Succession Advisors
Surefire Cyber
TAG Associates
Tapestry Associates
The Global 51
The Rudin Group
The UHNW Institute
Tompkins Insurance Services
WE Family Offices
Woodruff Sawyer

Key Contacts

Priscilla Balgobin-Bhoyrul
Henry Brandts-Giesen
Virginia Brause
Gary Gartner
Rhonda Johnson
Edmund Leow
Edward V. Marshall
Mike McNamara
Anna Metrakos
Brian E. Raftery
Christopher Rose
Rick Ross
Robert L. Simmons
Nick Simpson
Vivien Teu
Alex Thomas
Ines van Dijk
Marnix Veldhuijzen

For more information on how Dentons works with family offices, please visit www.dentons.com/familyoffice

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