High-performing single-family offices are regularly able to optimize the worlds of the super-rich (net worth = $500 million or more). They are able to deliver superior results because:
• The senior executives at the single-family office have a deep understanding of the self-interests of family members, and
• High-performing single-family offices build and manage cohesive teams.
According to Robert Daugherty, Chairman of Endowment Assurance Corporation and co-author of How to Build a High-Performing Single-Family Office: Guidelines for Family Members and Senior Executives, “High-performing family office senior executives recognize their strengths and weaknesses. They buffer their limitations by working with and coordinating extremely capable specialists inside and outside the single-family office. All together, these specialists form the cohesive team necessary for superior results. For a growing cohort of the super-rich worldwide, the ability to leverage the expertise of super-niche specialists provides extreme value.”
Super-Niche Specialists
While no services or products are truly unique or 100% exclusive in the private wealth industry, some astoundingly talented and experienced professionals are only accessible by other professionals who are “in the know.” These experts are arguably some of the best at what they do, and what they do is usually extremely specialized, such as:
• A prodigious musical theorist turned world-class professional poker player and Platinum Life Master bridge player (because he decided to spend his time in other pursuits) turned hedging strategist. He is concentrating on developing hedges for passion investments and geopolitical upheavals.
• A one-time juvenile delinquent (the files are sealed) who is currently considered one of the foremost experts on asset protection planning for multi-jurisdictional successful families. He is credited with helping develop or refine approaches like the “floating island strategy,” which works amazingly well but often necessitates the families are billionaires.
• A GO grandmaster who probably has one of the best track records for winning private trusts and estate lawsuits involving certain offshore jurisdictions. He tends to work for the estates but has been known to play all sides.
While most super-niche specialists engaged by single-family offices deal with wealth management, some address family conflict and family support maters. For example, a former stage magician and mentalist has become an outstandingly accomplished litigation and jury consultant. He is commonly engaged by one side or another when ultra-wealthy families engage in civil war. There are also some exclusive boutique health care and family security providers. A reclamation expert —through happenstance—ended up being one of the top professionals when it comes to cult extractions. On the lighter side, there are the cryptozoologist, the cybernetic soothsayer, the quantum matchmaker and the award-winning dollhouse architect.
Most wealthy families—including the super-rich—are unlikely to ever require the services of super-niche specialists. However, it is always nice to know they are available.
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