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This guidebook takes a critical look at significant challenges and opportunities in family office operations and offers comprehensive guidance with a future-focused lens. Gain expert insight, strategies, and best practices on the top-of-mind issues that include strengthening your cybersecurity, leveraging your technology, the role of the chief investment officer, starting a direct investment function, and choosing an appropriate trustee.

Charitable giving is an important goal for many investors. Although any form can be beneficial, proper planning of the when, what, and how can help maximize the donor’s philanthropic as well as overall wealth planning goals. In examining some common charitable giving strategies, the advantages and disadvantages are discussed, and examples are presented to illustrate the potential impact.

The use of a specific ownership structure to provide for the deduction of investment management fees has evolved since 1941 to most recently in 2018 when guidance was provided by the U.S. Tax Court in determining whether the activities of a family investment management company constitute a trade or business. With a review of the details of that evolution, guidance is provided on implementing a Lender-Type structure through the use of a Private Trust Company.

Best practice business processes and workflows for the family office are essential factors in maximizing efficiency, minimizing risk, and positively impacting ongoing staffing challenges. However, clinging to old ideas has hindered family offices’ adoption of modern capabilities. Despite the uniqueness of every family office, there are many areas to incorporate universal truths where industry-standard workflows and best practices can be leveraged to ensure efficiency and employee productivity, reduce risks, and improve outcomes across the entire enterprise.

No matter if a family enterprise is establishing an Advisory Board, Fiduciary Board, or Owners Board, considerations must include the roles that family members might play and how best to prepare them for service. As a fourth-generation Pitcairn family member and family governance leader within a pioneering multi-family office, Andrew Pitcairn shares key strategies to bring the next generation of family leadership up to speed on Board service.

Also known as a family trust company, a private trust company (PTC) is an entity that allows families to unbundle fiduciary services in furtherance of family and financial goals. In this overview and primer, learn more about the elements of the PTC structure, board roles and responsibilities, and when it makes sense to form a PTC.