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How wealth management firms can be prepared for turbulent times [Farnoush Farsiar]
Generational change. Global mobility. Farnoush Farsiar Technology-driven change. Farnoush Farsiar from EU Today writes about these key changes that affect family offices and fundamentally challenging the operational structures and procedures.

Family offices are increasingly catering to the younger, mobile generation. Farnoush Farsiar All clients, regardless their age, have become more interested, regardless of their financial situation in managing their personal investments. This means that they are looking for more information and involvement , not just an investment manager to manage.

The changes are happening at a time when there an unprecedented level of economic and political instability. These changes also mark the end of the fee-based family offices model. If family offices maintain their current strategies however, they might find that the very individuals they were created to assist will not be able to keep them. Farnoush Farsiar Instead, they need to change and adopt an creative approach to investment management and create an authentic value offering for UHNWIs.

Family offices vary hugely in size and scope, however irrespective of this they should be focusing on agility and streamlining their service rather than trying to be experts in everything. Customers will benefit from a lesser amount of advisors capable of quickly implementing new technologies and bringing in specialists when they are required. Since the lines between family and private banking are blurred The best banks will have a smaller team of advisors who can quickly adopt new technologies and also bring on external experts when needed. This will enable them to provide the best service to clients.

It is important to be able draw upon traditional, network-based and reputation-based methods for deal sourcing. Online tools can also be used to identify opportunities and deals. Online deal sourcing platforms are easily installed by wealth managers as well as agile private office, as opposed to banks that have bureaucratic burdens. Farnoush Farsiar These platforms allow for dealmakers to evaluate several deals at once and save considerable time and effort.

Other online services which are changing the way family offices communicate with their clients include dashboards, like Wealthica which instantly consolidates the investments of a variety of sources, bringing clients in daily contact with their investments. Farnoush Farsiar It's a far cry from the days of wealth managers who offered only periodic updates on the progress of their customers' investments.

These tools are not the only way wealth managers can increase effectiveness and speed of their work. Their investment strategy is what matters the most. In the end, the advantage will come from bringing together the old and the new - continuing to scout for deals in real estate etc while also considering investments in areas that have not been explored before, such as climate science or food security. Impact investing has definitely 'arrived" in the world of family office - UBS Global Family Office Report 2018, which found that a third of family offices were now engaged in the field of impact investing. Most anticipate to become more involved in the future. There are many challenges in this field including the difficulty of measuring impact and doing due diligence. Farnoush Farsiar However the next generation of UHNWIs and HNWIs will be expecting family offices to determine and secure investments in this area. Plato Capital, my own boutique investment bank, is based on the experience of its founders, who are from large banks and the technology industry to provide investment advice that is entrepreneurial in the focus. Our clients are able to achieve maximum returns and reduce risks through our own network.

All types of wealth managers will continue to flourish even in difficult times when they blend both the traditional and the contemporary and are willing to adjust to the changing needs of the market and are willing to take risks with their own structures.
Read More: https://www.anochords.org/farnoush-farsiar-why-are-so-few-women-in-finance/