By Russ Alan Prince, Forbes Contributor
OCTOBER 29, 2014 - To a large degree, the very wealthy are gravitating to multi-family offices including multi-family office practices that are embedded in larger organizations such as accounting, law, and brokerage firms. According to Hannah Shaw Grove, an independent consultant to professionals on the structure and operation of family offices and a founder of Private Wealth magazine, “Multi-family offices are very appealing to the high-net-worth because they are not about pitching services and products, but instead concentrate on developing a deep understanding of each client in order to provide a suite of interconnected state-of-the-art solutions.”
For multi-family offices to ensure success, it’s increasingly important to have access to a complete range of expertise. “We solve an extensive array of problems for our family clients,” explains Gemma Leddy, partner and Director of the O’Connor Davies Family Office. “Many times, this involves bringing in the highest-quality outside experts, where our role becomes one of oversight and facilitation. When it comes to lifestyle services, two areas that are frequently in strong demand are concierge medical services and family security specialists.”
According to Daniel Carlin M.D., the founder and CEO of WorldClinic, “The drivers behind concierge medicine are the clients’ desire for loyalty, efficiency and competence. There are several versions of concierge medicine; most of them are small practices with conventional office hours and a specialist referral network limited to their local hospital staff. Our affluent families and executive clientele require a far greater set of resources, one set up to deliver exceptional personal care on a 24/7 anytime, anywhere-in-the-world basis.”
Another indispensible lifestyle service is family security expertise. Some aspects of security are well defined, such as close protection personnel or pre-employment screenings, while others, such as fraud detection, litigation support or crisis response are more fluid in nature and often require bespoke solutions. “Being able to minimize or eliminate security problems and threats requires a deft touch,” explains Andrew O’Connell, a former federal agent and the president of investigations and private client protection at Guidepost Solutions. “Unfortunately, many times the very wealthy and their advisors don’t have a clear grasp of all the issues involved and the ramifications of their actions. We work very closely with all the stakeholders to ensure that they understand every option available to them and, when they’ve decided on a course of action, we make things happen.”
Selecting the right concierge medical practice or the right family security specialist can literally be the difference between life and death. “Our ability to spot client needs and our knowledge of firms like WorldClinic and Guidepost Solutions and other best-in-class providers enables us to be exceedingly responsive,” notes Leddy. “Coordinating lifestyle specialists is a skillset we’ve actively developed that now enables us to do a more comprehensive and better job for our clients.”
Multi-family offices are increasingly becoming the preferred financial provider to the exceptionally affluent. The core appeal is their ability to efficaciously bring an entire menu of top-of-the-line capabilities to their clients. “Issues pertaining to health and family security can instantly eclipse financial matters, so concierge medicine and private security can be critical and differentiating services for a multi-family office,” notes Grove. “Having a vetted network of specialists in place that can be deployed as soon as situations emerge is just another facet of the thoughtful and attentive service that is so closely associated with family offices.”
