Best Practices

Expert Roundtable: Should Family Offices Have Social Media Policies?

Can — or should — a family office control the social media activity of its family members and/or employees? We got insight into how three family offices seek to educate their staffs and families on social media best practices, and how three consultants to family offices advise their clients on social media policies.

The Five Common Characteristics of Successful Family Offices

Scott Saslow, author of Building a Sustainable Family Office: An Insider’s Guide to What Works and What Doesn’t, outlines the five characteristics that high-functioning organizations tend to share.

Expert Roundtable: Family Office Communication

In-person meetings, written quarterly reports, text messages — a family may have as many preferred means of communication as it has family members. Six family office experts offer tips on successful family communication.

Balancing Outsourced and In-House Services in Family Offices

Family offices are increasingly outsourcing services to access specialized expertise, with 34% expecting to increase reliance on third-party providers this year. Janet Arzt, founder and managing partner of Parere Advisory, says that deciding what to outsource depends on balancing costs, control, and resources, as some services, like accounting, are better outsourced, while others, like investment decisions, may stay in-house.

Higher Education Tackles Family Offices

Where can family office professionals and the family members who oversee their family offices go to deepen their understanding of the issues they face? One option is university executive education programs that focus on family offices. Although the programs are offered in a variety of formats, the most common is in-person meetings over a few days.