How Family Offices Work Virtually and What They're Investing In
At a Family Office Club panel, the moderator asks family office panelists about virtual work and investments they find exciting.
Family office panelists discuss how they work with investment teams, clients and partners across distance. The conversation covers trust, the role of in person contact and investment themes they find interesting. One panelist describes virtual work as part of a hybrid model, while others consider how technology affects relationships and access to companies around the world.
In this video: Panelist (Family office panelist)
What they said
- Hybrid service for global clients. A panelist says the firm works in a hybrid way because its clients are global. She describes using Zoom to meet with clients from anywhere and at a time that suits them.
- Trust can grow remotely. A panelist says she has built lasting working relationships with people she has never met in person. She says virtual trust took time to develop, and expects it to continue.
- Virtual work expands company access. A panelist says the organization has team members and interns in several states. When companies moved to virtual meetings, he could review businesses in one part of the world in the morning and another part in the evening, which he found more efficient.
- Contact preferences vary by age. A panelist says he sees the choice between in person and virtual relationship building as demographic driven. In his view, looking someone in the eye and shaking hands can matter more to older people, while younger people may accept screen based contact.
- Distinctive projects attract interest. A panelist says an eco luxury yacht company uses wind, solar and hydro power, and that interest from islands has brought deal flow. Other panelists mention an AI enabled private credit platform and waste to energy opportunities linked to data centers and locomotives.
In their words
"I can be anywhere in the world and have a meeting with whoever I want at whatever time of the day that I need to have it at."
"They are building eco luxury yachts that run solely on wind, solar and hydro."
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
One panelist described sending baby gifts and joining life events for colleagues she had never met in person. Those examples show how remote relationships can include personal care beyond scheduled meetings.
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 communication tools came up?
Panelists mentioned Slack, Skype and Teams chat alongside Zoom.
Where were some of the team members and interns based?
One speaker named California, Colorado and Pennsylvania for team members, and Texas and Ohio for interns.
How did one panelist describe the private credit platform?
He said it connects brokers with capital providers and that he was involved in some operational aspects.
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.