The cohort was a white-collar jumble. Some were private bankers with gym bags and others were primly dressed accountants.
“Unlike many of the family offices in the United States and Europe, Asian family offices are often managed by family members, but this approach has had some constraints and limitations.”With much of the local money generated after the end of colonialism, many of the entrepreneurs who’ve become super-rich are now seeking to manage and transfer wealth to their descendants, just as old-money families in Europe and the United States have done for decades.
Singapore was early to the game, offering tax breaks and other perks, adding to its reputation for stability. Being great at a finance job doesn’t always translate well to this line of work. Three family office principals gave Bloomberg rather unconventional criteria when asked for their ideal hires. “If someone needs to pick up the mail or make a cup of coffee for the principal’s friend, then you may be required to do that,” Westall said, noting that one finance-trained head of a family office is working on the design of a client’s office.The hiring challenge is especially acute in places like Singapore, where firms must hire a minimum number of staff to reap tax exemptions and other benefits, even with an unemployment rate of just 1.9%.
In Switzerland, the International Institute for Management Development traditionally ran its flagship “Leading Your Family Office” programme in Lausanne, with Asian family office owners flying in for it, sometimes with their staff. It’s a push that’s been supercharged by a surge in wealth from tycoons driven out of Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The success of competing schools and courses may come down to how honest they are about the industry’s harsh truths. Consider the need for flexibility.In Wong’s Hong Kong classroom, the ex-head of the family office at Invest Hong Kong projects a survey onto a screen that shows professionals spend much of their time performing “administrative tasks” before sharing that this can cover everything from organising trusts to helping clients get their kids into top schools.