With increasingly global lives, many wealthy families face complex succession and tax issues that require a structured approach. Indeed, family wealth may have reached a point where both governance issues and financial planning need to be addressed in an effective and co-ordinated way. Corporate and private assets may need to be consolidated or re-balanced, intangible or private assets considered, and other needs satisfied – whether they concern philanthropy, succession planning or risk management.

For these reasons, the family office continues to grow in popularity. As a forum where these complexities are managed, family offices integrate a variety of issues and bring a more structured approach to the management of family wealth.

“Family offices often begin as informal structures, but as wealth grows family needs also evolve,” explains Mary Duke, Head of Wealth Advisory Services, Americas. “Entrepreneurial family members engaged in business activities are left with little time to address their personal wealth, while those who have recently sold a business face new challenges. Increasingly, families looking for help streamlining and integrating the complexities of their wealth seek advice on these matters from specialists with direct experience.”

A family office should be customised to achieve critical goals and address the concerns that matter most to a family. In addition to establishing holding structures for wealth protection, growth and transition, the family office can be a tool to implement broader succession, leadership and governance plans. For some, the family office also acts as a forum to ensure that family values, traditions and legacy endure. As needs change, it is important that the family office structure and functions evolve with them.

In addition to enhanced levels of privacy, service and control, many families require specialised services that transcend the traditional capabilities of any local provider. At HSBC Private Bank, we call upon our global network of in-house and external family wealth experts to offer access to specialist advice.

“In Asia, we are the first private bank to establish an independent family office platform,” explains Agnes Au-Yeung, Head of Family Office in Hong Kong. “Our teams work both independently and with family advisers on issues such as consolidated reporting and analytics, and can serve as a conduit to a broad range of advisory solutions. Our independence and open architecture allows us to fashion solutions to exactly fit the needs of each family.”

Solutions range from complex and complete to simple and partial – we can complement a family’s existing arrangements, provide a holistic service or simply act as advisers, retaining other providers to implement a family's wishes.