While there’s no doubt the Rineharts and the Forrests will have a team of dedicated internal experts managing their significant personal and business affairs, the need for bespoke family office services for those with established or emerging wealth in the millions, rather than billions, is increasingly in demand.
In the coming weeks, myself and my expert collaborators Accountant, Craig Barry and Lawyer, Robert Lamb will explore the key issues family leaders need to consider when managing their financial, business and legal matters and the inherent complexity that characterises their constantly evolving wealth and family circumstances.
Last year, Resources Unearthed clocked-up 10 years advising senior executives, professionals and business owners in the mining and resources industries. Throughout that time our core purpose has been to provide quality and relevant information and access to proven, specialist advisers in financial planning, legal support, tax and business advice.
Suffice to say, we have first-hand knowledge of the issues faced by very high net wealth families.
While wealthy people have a lot of complexity in general, it seems for those in mining and resources it can be next level, as industry specific challenges are also added.
Very high incomes, often supplemented further with profits from employee share schemes, performance incentives and bonuses in addition to valuable accumulated assets, usually necessitates asset protection, tax management structures and multiple business entities for managing it all.
For many senior executives and business leaders in this industry, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day, which is why professional oversight is a key benefit of a formalised family office service.
For wealthy individuals or family groups considering family office services, reviewing your current needs and identifying the benefits of a closely coordinated financial, tax, business and legal service for your circumstances, is a good place to start.
Among the benefits is opportunity to delegate the heavy lifting of day to day personal/family administration to a highly experienced and qualified family office advice team.
In so doing, you’ll also eliminate the time and effort needed for coordinating between and the tedium of repeatedly briefing different and usually unrelated professional advisers.
For Resources Unearthed clients who engage our family office service, they remain able to directly access individual advice team professionals, while benefiting from a highly informed central coordinator who manages the professional relationships and coordinate all family office services to deliver outcomes as required.
This approach to family office services strives to create greater value for less cost, less of your time, and higher accuracy.
This is achieved naturally as the advice team’s collaborative approach produces efficiencies borne of all professional advisers being on the same page and fully briefed with a deep understanding of the family’s circumstance, values and goals which increases the likelihood of successful outcomes.
It’s common during the establishment phase of a family office, that the family matriarch or patriarch directs the advice team. However, the intention is for other family members to become involved as the family’s wealth, and the family itself will continue to grow and evolve.
A key benefit of proactive and constructive involvement of family members allows responsibilities to be shared across existing and next generation family leaders. This is particularly important as appropriate generational wealth transfer will forever be a pressing and complicated family issue.
Involvement of a diversity of family members in age and circumstances, can bring different viewpoints (for better or worse) and highlight requirements for individuals and nuclear families as they evolve in future, while potential problems and opportunities can also be identified and mitigated.
Involvement of others can also bring safeguards that enable alternative decision making in a range of situations.
For example, the family group could face serious consequences if a sole decision maker was to fall critically ill, pass away or become compromised in some other way. These issues will be among the many legal matters, Robert Lamb will address in his upcoming article.
It will be these types of professionally advised and guided discussions that shape how a family group can set their charter and then go about achieving their financial and non-financial goals across many generations to come.
Importantly, family office advice services such those offered by Resources Unearthed advise and guide decision making, implement a clear framework for delivery of services necessary for achieving outcomes that meet the family’s immediate and medium term (five to 10 years) goals, as well as those beyond in perpetuity.
It’s important to note, entry level family office services, suitable for those with wealth and assets upwards of several million, do not require a family office ‘firm’ for directly employing advisers and other professionals. In fact, the benefit of the Resources Unearthed offering, is your advisers are already hand picked from a panel of seasoned professionals, capable of delivering to your family’s requirements.
A family office comprising dedicated highly skilled professionals, who collaborate to deliver seamless, best possible outcomes in context of clearly articulated values, goals and timeframes is a proven solution.
To learn more, please contact James Marshall for a 20-minute no obligation discussion. You can call James on +61 (0) 7 3007 2000 or email contact@resourcesunearthed.com.au
To learn more about James, visit this link.
Resources Unearthed is a solutions hub that connects senior executives, established professionals and business owners in mining and resources with proven specialist advisers.
Stratus Financial Group and its advisers are Authorised Representatives of Fortnum Private Wealth ABN 54 139 889 535 AFSL 357306. This advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should not act on it without first obtaining professional financial advice specific to your circumstances.
*Please note: For advice and services relating to this matter that are not offered under the Fortnum Private Wealth AFSL, in accordance with our collaborative advice model, when required, such matters are referred to appropriately qualified professionals.
