How wealth management firms can prepare for turbulent times [Farnoush Farsiar]

Generational changes. Global mobility. Technological transformation. Farnoush Farsiar Farnoush Farsiar of EU Today writes these are just some of the major changes that affect family offices, and fundamentally challenging their business practices and operations.

Family offices cater to an increasingly tech-savvy, younger and mobile-savvy generation more frequently. Due to the economic crisis, everyone is becoming more involved and interested in their investment.

Farnoush Farsiar These shifts, which happen in a period of unprecedented economic and political turmoil, herald the demise of the family office model that is based on fees. Offices that try to preserve their existing methods will soon be demolished by the clients they were established to advise. They need to adapt to a more entrepreneurial approach in the field of investment management, to provide UHNWIs a true value proposition.

Although family offices can vary in size and their scope, they should prioritise flexibility over the need to be experts in every area. The best service for clients will be offered by a smaller group of advisors that are able to rapidly implement new technology, and bring on board external experts when needed. Farnoush Farsiar These developments have resulted in the blurring of the lines between private banking and family offices. Companies that are successful will continue to maintain the loyalty of family offices as well as the trust they have while also staying ahead of technology in sourcing deals and implementing new technology.

Success will result from the capacity to profit from more traditional, traditional, network- and reputation-based methods of deal sourcing as well as using online tools to identify deals and opportunities. Farnoush Farsiar Wealth managers and private offices that can manage large numbers of deals online are far more efficient than cumbersome banks. Farnoush Farsiar Dealmakers can use these platforms to swiftly access and assess a variety of deals, which results in significant savings of time and money.

Another service online that is changing the way family offices interact with their clients is Wealthica. The Wealthica dashboard service automatically consolidates investments from multiple sources and puts clients into regular communication. It's a vast improvement back to the days where wealth managers provided occasional updates about the progress of clients' money.

These tools aren't just tools they're the tools that wealth managers can improve their efficiency and speed. The most important factor is the investment strategy they employ. The advantage will come from bringing together the old and the modern - continuing to search out deals in real estate etc while also considering investments in fields that were previously unexplored, such as climate science or food security. Impact investing has definitely arrived in the world of family offices - the UBS Global Family Office Report 2018 revealed that a third of family offices are now active in impact investing, and the majority expect to be more active in the near future. While there are some challenges in this field, such as measuring the impact of investments and conducting due diligence the future generation of HNWIs/UHNWIs will want their family offices to be able determine and secure these kinds of investments. Plato Capital is my boutique investment bank. Plato Capital draws from the experience of its founders who have worked for large banks, as well as in the tech sector. Plato Capital provides investment guidance that is focused on the entrepreneurial. Farnoush Farsiar Our clients can successfully control risk and receive the highest returns from their investment due to our local network.

Wealth managers of every type are able to continue to prosper even in difficult times if they mix the old and modern and are open to the changing needs of the market and are willing to take risks with their own structures.