Ultra-affluent families and individuals often establish Family Offices to manage their wealth. These organizations typically hire professionals in various disciplines, including taxation, estate planning, accounting, bookkeeping, and investing. Collectively, these individuals manage budgeting, insurance, charitable giving, family-owned businesses, wealth transfer, family governance, reporting and data aggregation.

By employing a dedicated team, the family can be assured that only its best interests are being served. Unfortunately, such enterprises are costly, at times requiring operating revenue exceeding $2 million annually. Such an expenditure surpasses what even many affluent families could consider spending.

Like a Family Office, a Multi-Family Office provides a broad range of wealth management solutions, including investment services, estate and tax planning, risk management, family governance and education. However, as the name suggests, instead of providing these services to one family or individual, a Multi-Family Office serves several affluent families and individuals. The operating costs can then be spread over multiple clients, making sure that a comprehensive array of services remains accessible and cost effective.

Ideally a Multi-Family Office should be independent and free of any outside influences. In recent years, the term “multi-family office” has grown in popularity. Today, it is often used to refer to operations being conducted by large financial institutions. Clients should take great care to determine whether their advisors are responsible only to them or whether they are under the direction of another employer, who may have different objectives.

The difference is often independence and adherence to a strict fiduciary standard. Family offices are ideally not affiliated with any bank, financial institution or asset manager. The advice offered should be objective and not clouded by a sales mandate or a financial interest in selling products or services.

An Independent Advisor is one who is employed and paid only by the client and has no outside influences or financial conflicts of interests. An Independent Advisor does not receive any incentives or commissions paid by affiliates, money managers or other third-party service providers. Because the Independent Advisor is hired and paid only by the client, financial conflicts of interests are removed. Clients can be assured that the advice offered is in their best interest, because the uncertainty of commission compensation has been eliminated.

We are paid only by the clients we serve. As such, we have a fee-only compensation model. We recommend that the fee be calculated as a percentage of assets under management, however, a flat-fee arrangement may be implemented, depending on a client’s particular situation. The agreed-upon fee is inclusive and covers all wealth management services offered to the client.

No. Commission compensation diminishes trust and clouds the relationship between the client and the advisor. We believe that our clients are best served by an atmosphere of transparency. While we will recommend services and help clients evaluate financial products, the only compensation we receive is the fee they pay. As such, our only loyalty is to the clients we serve.

Yes. Every client’s situation is unique. The families and individuals we serve all have different objectives and different views on wealth transfer, investing, philanthropy, legacy holdings, and family governance. They also have different needs created by legacy positions, family considerations and tax constraints. The guidance we offer our clients is directed to what is most important to them. Our recommendations are always client specific.

Our process has been developed and refined over the last 25 years. It is designed to help each client implement a wealth management strategy that is most conducive to his or her objectives. We recommend that clients follow a disciplined approach to managing their wealth, but acknowledge that every client has different needs and expectations, often dictated by various life stages or special circumstances. We listen diligently to our clients and follow their direction. If a client does not feel that a particular aspect of the process will be helpful at the present time, we will table the discussion and revisit at a later point.

For more than 25 years, we have been helping clients make important investment decisions. Not only do we offer credentialed education in the field, we have developed resumes built on real world experience. We have witnessed and managed through multiple market cycles, including the Great Recession. We understand investment theory, but more importantly, we understand investment practice.

All investment recommendations are thoroughly researched. Third party investment managers, custodians and brokers have all been carefully vetted. Those we recommend consistently provide top quartile results and exceptional service, while offering highly competitive fee structures.

Finally, we deliver institutional level reporting on all accounts that is detailed, comprehensive and easy to interpret. We want all clients to understand their investment results and be able to actively participate in discussions regarding their financial position and well-being.

Our investment approach is guided by the principles of long-term value investing. Conceptually, value investing is simple and straightforward--value investors endeavor to select investments that are priced below their intrinsic value. These positions may be considered undervalued. This undervaluation is often the result of markets overreacting to bad news, such as temporary declines in revenue and sales.

Carefully analyzing long term fundamentals is essential to effective value investing. Value investors often select stocks with lower-than-average price-to-book or price-to-earnings ratios, frequently accompanied by high dividend yields. Because most investors’ returns are predicated on the purchase price, practicing the tenets of value investing can often lead to significant realized and unrealized gains.

Yes. Giving back and helping others give back is very important to everyone associated with our firm. We are proud to have facilitated many charitable grants over the years, from instituting scholarships, to funding medical research, to providing for land conservancy. While we are an approved investment manager for The Columbus Foundation--one of the largest community foundations in the United States-- and sit on the professional advisory council, we know that every client has unique desires and diverse expectations. Therefore, we customize philanthropic solutions for each client. Once a solution is adopted, we work with the designated charity to make sure that our client’s contribution is doing the most good.

Philanthropic endeavors are often complex and require the involvement of multiple professionals to ensure the best possible outcomes. We are always happy to partner with other members of a client’s advisory team or recommend several distinguished professionals who can help.

Yes. Particularly among families with significant financial resources, education and communication are essential to an effective wealth management and transfer strategy. Often a spouse or members of the next generation have limited involvement with the administration of the family’s wealth, until they are required to take the reins. When faced with the harsh reality of a disability or death, these individuals are often left not knowing how to move the family forward.

At your request, we can facilitate or conduct meetings, helping all family members to understand your vision for managing the family’s wealth and your desires for succession planning. We will sit down individually or collectively with members of the next generation, to discuss important considerations surrounding wealth management and investing. Through gifting or inheritance, we can facilitate a transfer or provide for the continued management of family resources, in a manner appropriate for the recipient. Through these efforts on your behalf, we will always respect and uphold the protocol you have established for your family.

Yes. We seek to be an integral part of your team. We enjoy partnering with other advisors to make sure that your needs are not only met, but that your objectives are surpassed. Our mission is to enhance and optimize your wealth management experience. We realize that only through a multitude of disciplines can you discover and implement the best financial solutions.

We are committed to you and your best interests. We will work with you and your other advisors in any way that is beneficial to you.

Simply connect with us at your convenience. We would welcome an opportunity to sit down and discuss what is important to you. We will be happy to tell you more about our values and how we work. And, we will take whatever time is needed to answer any and all questions you may have. We will even schedule a second or third meeting if needed. There is no cost and no obligation. Our only objective is to make sure that you have all the information you need to determine whether a relationship with Capital Asset Management is right for you and your family.