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Enumerating the tasks family office employees must fulfill is only part of the goal-setting process. The decisions and actions of every employee impact a family office's success in serving its clients, so it is critical for employees to understand the mission of the office and how their roles, targeted goals, and "behavioral competencies" will help the office meet its objectives.

Family office executive compensation is a topic continually reviewed by the FOX membership. Because the family office industry draws from other financial and legal professions, it is of critical importance to both the executive and the family to gain a wider understanding of the competitive landscape of executive compensation and benefits in order to recruit, retain and reward top talent.

The family office is often called upon to organize and staff family charitable endeavors. Community foundations can be a resource for the family office by providing information, insight, technical know-how, and alternate means of funding and conducting a family's charitable activities.

Effectively managing the transition of employees into and out of a family office will contribute significantly to the achievement of business objectives. Transitions are stressful for the employees and family members who are affected by the change, but, with careful planning, positive morale can be maintained and disruptions to work flow kept to a minimum.

Our advice to anyone hesitating to bring about an intergenerational family foundation because the time does not seem right or there are too many family issues to confront is — just get started. There is no better time than now to have the satisfaction of helping others and, at the same time, to give your family the opportunity to grow and to discover the pleasures of working together.

Just as family businesses have boards and family foundations have boards, family investment offices should have boards, too. And the best family boards include several independent, outside directors. Boards provide oversight and accountability. Family organizations benefit from such oversight, and independent, outside directors on boards provide fresh perspectives and objectivity.

Perspectives of six individuals who have moved into new family office positions.

One frequently overlooked vehicle for transmitting values is family wealth management. Although money has often been seen as a disruptive force in maintaining positive family values, families who have avoided this "dark side" of wealth have done so by developing a proactive program for wealth management instead of assuming that appropriate values toward money will just happen.

A profile of the Whittier Trust Company.

Interview with Zach Shipley, the vice president of finance for Oxbow Corporation, from his office in West Palm Beach.