Is a Family Office Right for You?

Use the comparative chart below to determine if Century Wealth Management’s family office services match your needs.

Issue	Traditional Broker	Fee-Only Registered Investment Advisor	Multi-Family Office
Compensation	Based on sales; compensated through commissions and third parties; clients may never know exactly what their brokers earn from their relationship.	Transparent and conflict-free; advisor’s only compensation is from the client, determined solely by the assets managed.	Most transparent and conflict-free; retainer-based; based on, but not linked to, assets managed; enables the delivery of sophisticated advice in situations where investable assets are small or non-liquid.
Conflict of interest	Often in conflict with client’s best interests because of the compensation structure, as well as their duty and allegiance to their firm.	Generally puts client’s needs first, but because their compensation is tied directly to the level of investment assets, may be reluctant to recommend strategies or solutions that reduce investable assets.	Designed from the ground up to be completely free of conflict; compensation is detached from any particular solution; never compensated by third parties; only goal is to serve clients.
Investment management capabilities	Quality varies by individual advisor, who is generally left to find their own way through the firm’s products and solutions.	Usually developed on a firm-wide basis by an investment committee; consistent across firm and generally high in quality, but may be limited in scope.	Takes an institutional approach; access to sophisticated strategies and solutions with institutional pricing.
Advanced planning	Not experts on the issues that matter to wealthy families; may have resources within a firm but they are generic and impersonal.	Has core competencies in planning for the affluent and well-defined processes, but because high net worth clients are not their target market, they may not be familiar with more sophisticated strategies.	Exclusive focus on high net worth clients allows specialization in advice and planning that is suited to this clientele.
Lifestyle services	Primary focus is on investments; may offer some planning but not much else.	Sometimes offers additional services to their better clients, but generally as an afterthought.	A core family office component; offers services that simplify and enhance the lifestyle of high net worth clients: bill paying, concierge services, bookkeeping, property management, major asset purchases, etc.
Individual client attention	Has hundreds of client relationships ranging from the very small to the large.	Generally has fewer relationships than traditional brokers (50-200); strives to know their clients and provide customized service.	Typically has fewer than 50 client relationships, so each is highly focused.
Process	Typical approach to getting to know the client is a “risk assessment questionnaire” in order to meet regulatory requirements.	Strives to know their clients and their goals, but ultimately the delivery of advice is based on the firm’s model, to which advisor and client must conform.	Recognizes that each family is different and builds each engagement around the client; a core competency of a multi-family office is discovering and clarifying the needs of the client and building a customized solution.
Access to investment solutions and strategies	Can only sell what their firms allow, which is often a proprietary product.	Generally seeks out high-quality investment solutions.	Primarily delivers solutions to high net worth families, so is constantly researching and sourcing best-of-breed investment solutions; can generally deliver better strategies, better managers, and better pricing.
Resource network	Broker insulates the client from other advisors to protect the relationship.	“Plays nice” with other advisors but may be parochial in their ability to source sophisticated, best-of-breed solutions.	Looks for the best solutions on behalf of their clients; often means consulting with national experts or going directly to institutions.