Family Office Director
If you’re looking for a family office director for your estate or are simply interested in what family office directors do, then you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll discuss the benefits of having a family office director, as well as their role, responsibilities, and qualifications.
We hope this information is helpful in understanding what you will receive when our family office staffing agency places a family managing director on your estate.
What is a Family Office Director?
A director of your family office is a professional who oversees all the operations, often acting as an executive for the family governance. The expertise of a director provides them with roles and responsibilities resembling a high level corporate executives. The director of your family office may be involved in one or all of the following roles:
- chief investment office
- chief executive officer
- chief operations officer
The director will typically have a background in business or finance since they manage the family’s wealth. One of their key objectives is ensuring they meet all the immediate and long term financial needs of the family. This includes involvement in business, household, and real estate activities within the family.
If you’re looking for someone to manage your family’s finances and estate planning needs, then a family office director is the perfect candidate. They have the skills and experience necessary to ensure they effectively manage your family wealth.
UHNW families have several options in having an office director, as they can use a multi family office or a single family office. Having the format for your family office executive depends on the families personal needs and the relationship they hope to create with a high-level executive of their estate staff.
The Benefits of Having a Family Office Director
Having a director for your family office provides support to the family member most involved in the family’s wealth and legacy. We will discuss the responsibilities soon enough, but it’s important to look at the greater effect a family director can have.
- Increased Efficiency
- Greater Control Over Their Wealth
- More Time to Enjoy Their Lives
- Peace of Mind
- Expertise and Guidance
UHNW families can feel a great sense of relief knowing the director has the skills and experience necessary to care for family finances. That is why our agency takes credentials and history seriously for our family office director placements.
The Role of Family Office Directors
There are three primary roles the director has when managing your family office.
- When working with outside advisors, a family office director ensures they route all communications through the family office.
- They also act as the executive contact for the family office staff, and they oversee all operations. This includes managing the many areas of business and finance that a high net worth family has.
- A family office director manages generational wealth by working with other professionals to ensure that the family’s finances are in order for future generations.
The Responsibilities of Your Family Office Director
A director oversees all the operations of a family office. Your director handles a wide range of tasks and responsibilities, many of which are critical to the smooth functioning of your family office. Below we have outlined some of the most important duties your family office director should perform:
- Wealth Management – Perhaps the most important responsibility is regarding family wealth. Acting as the wealth manager, it’s their job to protect net worth, while engaging in charitable giving activities.
- Managing the Investment Portfolio – A well-diversified investment portfolio is key to ensuring the financial security of your family. Your family office director will be responsible for investment management, which includes creating and managing this portfolio, making sure it meets your specific needs and goals.
- Paying Bills – It’s important to keep track of all expenses, big and small, and make sure that they’re paid on time. That’s why your family office director should be in charge of paying all bills related to the running of your household or business affairs.
- Preparing Tax Returns – Tax planning and filing is a complicated and time-consuming responsibility. That’s why it’s essential to have someone who can handle this task expertly and efficiently. Your director must have experience in preparing tax returns, so you can be confident that your tax filing has checks and balances.
- Real Estate Management – For families involved in real estate investments, the director is an active part of conversations about purchasing, selling, and managing properties.
- Providing Estate Planning Services – A major responsibility of a family office director is to provide estate planning services. This includes creating and managing trusts, wills, and other legal documents. It’s important they are knowledgeable about succession planning and laws around wealth transfer to protect your assets in the event of your death or disability.
- Working with Other Professionals – To ensure that your family’s finances are in order, your family office director seeks general counsel from your accountant, tax specialist, and investment adviser.
- Communication With Human Resources – Family office directors are also involved in business administration activities, such as for human resources within the family office. This includes hiring and firing staff, as well as managing employee benefits and payroll.
Qualifications of Family Office Directors
A family office director should have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, preferably in business, economics, or finance. They should also have experience working in the financial industry, and they should be familiar with the various investment products available.
Previous employment outside of working with a UHNW family may include private banking, private equity, and wealth management. We take the steps to ensure that your director is fully qualified and prepared to manage your family’s wealth.
Family Office Staffing Agency
If you’re looking for someone who can oversee all the operations of your family office, then contact us today. Our family office directors have previous client references and years of experience helping UHNW families with their family office services. We look forward to helping you with your estate staffing and management needs.