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The world is changing at a frantic pace. New bestsellers appear weekly on management techniques, time management skills, effective leadership, philanthropy, tax planning, investments, law, etc. Many concepts in these books are revolutionary; others just repackage the "idea of the week."The knowledge necessary for a professional just to st...

In difficult economic times such as this, we tend to forget — or minimize — the impact of turnover in the office. This is primarily due to the fact that people seldom leave their jobs in a tight employment market — even if they are unhappy. Turnover is costly, particularly in a small office environment. Smart family offices will p...

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 ...

Most of us live with a fair amount of interpersonal conflict, largely because we really don't believe that it can be resolved. Ongoing controversy within families and between family members and family office staff is a common experience, but it is not a necessary one.

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 ...

Among the most crucial functions for the family office is the chief investment officer (CIO). The position might be held by a family member or outsourced to an external professional. A minority of families hire a captive investment professional-a strategy considered by many to be among best practices for families with ten-figure wealth.

How does a family office serving the third and fourth generations differ from one that is serving generations seven and eight? How do the servicing needs change as the family expands and changes? What happens when the cost of services delivered by the office exceeds the perceived value? How can costs be controlled? What back office systems are requ...

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 fr...

One of the greatest challenges facing family offices is how best to demonstrate and communicate the value that the office provides to the family. At the FOX Fall Forum session “Setting Expectations and Measuring Success,” representatives from two family offices described how working in tandem with family clients to set goals and objecti...

Developing an effective family office can be a formidable challenge. Keeping it headed in the right direction is a constant process of assessment and adjustment. The rapid pace of change in virtually every aspect of the world around us necessitates this monitoring and redirecting process to ensure and maximize the effectiveness of the family office...

Rather than trying to seasonally time the market, most investors would be better served by staying fully invested unless there are fundamental reasons to reduce stock exposures. Volatility is likely, as investors weigh the ongoing debt crisis in Europe, the slowdown in China, the strength of the U.S. economy, and the resolution of the "fiscal cliff...

A long-term perspective is difficult to maintain through the roller coaster of the past 10 years. It is reasonable to wonder when we will revisit the much preferred bull market of the 1980s and 1990s. While we think world equity markets should earn positive real rates of return over the next five to 10 years, we are less certain there will be a mul...

Portfolio volatility needs to be considered in making asset allocations at a given level of risk, and that volatility can take on extreme values that depend on the volatility of volatility, or vovo. This paper from the National Association of Active Investment Managers explores vovo-related concepts and offers insights on tactical asset allocation.

The search for investments that are not highly correlated to search for options to more traditional alternatives, such as private equity. Many of these investments can be volatile and highly speculative. This white paper from Appellate Funding explores the funding of legal appeals as a low-risk, high-return alternative.

Disasters bring out the urge to help, but would-be donors often are not sure about where to donate. Schwab Charitable Fund looks at the hierarchy of disaster relief, considers the importance of general disaster expertise vs. local expertise for a charity, and discusses how to encourage accountability. A targeted list of recommendations for donors i...