A private family office is any collection of staff, whether separate from a family business or not, which provides dedicated personal and/or professional services to a family. This often includes one or more individuals managing the operational aspects of family life – such as residences, travel, and asset collections – as well as professional staff managing accounting, tax, estate planning, legal, philanthropic, investment, and administrative matters. A family office can consist of as few as two people or as many as 350. A wide range of family office models are in use today. There are several key differences between single family offices, and multi–family offices that serve several unrelated families. Variants also include private family trust companies that are legally constituted in a form that maximizes tax and estate planning, along with long-term fiduciary oversight. The private trust company may work in concert with a family office or operate as a standalone entity.
Another model is the family investment company. These entities often undertake investment activities on behalf of the family, but do not offer support services (residence management, legal and accounting services, etc.) that are often provided by the traditional family offices. Regardless, the common denominator is that the office serves only one family, which may include multiple generations or even family branches.
At Sandbanks Private Office we offer an alternative to the traditional family private office where you can choose to service the operational aspects of your family life on a virtual hourly basis.
