What Family Office Wealth Managers Seek in Investments
At a Family Office Club panel, the moderator asks family office and investment firm representatives what they seek from managers and how they advise clients.
The discussion covers manager selection, tailoring advice to client circumstances and the tools firms use to manage portfolios. Panelists also discuss how their personal investment interests can differ from the portfolios they build for clients.
In this video: The moderator (moderator), Isaac (family office adviser), Greg (panelist), Dan (investment firm representative), Family office representative (family office representative)
What they said
- Isaac on private market screening. Isaac says private market investments need to perform enough to compensate for illiquidity. After performance, his team uses due diligence, then considers terms, size, platform and how the investment fits.
- Greg on manager moats. Greg says a manager's moat and ecosystem get his attention. He points to a defense industry buyout group whose partners' security clearances and board of advisers give it access and experience that a new entrant could not quickly reproduce.
- Greg on client fit. Greg says advisers should meet clients where they are, listen and verify what they ask for. He describes the adviser's role as connecting a client's stated need to underwriting and a suitable solution, while keeping the exchange respectful.
- Family office representative on founder capital. The founder focused panelist describes a very safe capital bucket for founders, with 5 to 10% of family net worth potentially set aside for esoteric investments. He names private direct investments, secondaries and later stage VC, and says his firm does not get involved in seed investing.
- Dan on market signals. Dan says his family office approach is to advance as markets trend upward, then protect and redirect as they trend the other way. For investment firms using the research, he says the focus is on having the best signals.
In their words
"we have a tax department a CFO department and of course Investments"
"our clients are extremely successful our job is to serve them and do what's best for them"
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
Greg's doctor analogy offers a concrete way to assess an adviser's work: a client asking for a prescription may need a different diagnosis. That means the quality of the questions and underwriting can matter as much as the investment presented.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Anu Aga: Focus on one main cause. Her family found its giving more satisfying and impactful once it chose primary education for the underprivileged in India.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Never chase a deal out of desperation. Stay cool and look at every part of the deal. Have your advisers and your finance team review it critically. Your counsel should review it too.
- Larry Connor: Learn from every mistake. Larry's team owns its failures and makes no excuses. They learn, change quickly, and keep getting better.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
Which founders does one firm work with?
A representative says the firm has 12 investment professionals who work with founders planning a significant liquidity event in 12 to 18 months, helping them plan for issues before, during and after the transaction.
Why did Isaac say he avoids crypto for clients?
He cited volatility and said he could discuss Apple with an analyst, but could not do the same with a coin. That was his personal view in the panel discussion.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.