About the Book
This book provides an insider's view for anyone looking to understand family offices as well as how to best serve and advise them. Veteran practitioners William I. Woodson and Edward V. Marshall offer a thorough guide to family offices: why wealthy families create them, what they do, and how to manage them effectively.
Book Synopsis
Family offices are private organizations that assume the daily administration and management of a wealthy family's personal and financial affairs. Historically, these repositories of great wealth were shrouded in secrecy, their activities conducted behind closed doors. Recently, family offices have acquired a considerably higher public profile: they represent a mere 7 percent of the world's ultra-high-net-worth population--yet control a staggering 50 percent of the wealth. As only a select few families now hold a disproportionate amount of global wealth, there are significant social implications to how such assets are managed and used.
This book provides an insider's view for anyone looking to understand family offices and how to best serve and advise them. The veteran practitioners William I. Woodson and Edward V. Marshall offer a thorough guide to family offices: why wealthy families create them, what they do, and how to manage them effectively. They present these insights through a series of problem-based learning cases that follow a single family's journey from the time of a significant liquidity event; through the creation, staffing, and management of their family office; and on to its succession. Each case study is supported by detailed background reference material. The cases and background materials are drawn from the authors' practical knowledge, network of industry experts, and experience advising family offices large and small. They shed light on the unique issues that ultrawealthy families face and the solutions they adopt to address them throughout the life cycle of a family office. This book is the definitive resource for practitioners and students, as well as family principals, advisers, service providers, and all others who engage with the world of family offices.
Review Quotes
The Family Office is a "must-have" for college library School of Business collections, highly recommended.
-- "Midwest Book Review"
The [authors] have triumphantly raised the bar in analyzing how those who want to set up, work in, and manage family offices should set about these tasks.-- "Family Wealth Report"
This book provides a rare and expert glimpse into the inner workings of a family office. Unlike most books on this topic, it focuses on how and why family offices are put together and run effectively. Combined with a detailed case study format, this book is one of a kind, a must-read for all family offices.--Rick Ross, global chair, Hotels and Leisure Group, and cochair, Family Office and High Net Worth Sector, Dentons
This book will quickly become an essential read for anyone looking to understand more fully the little recognized but increasingly important world of family offices. William I. Woodson and Edward V. Marshall thoroughly explore the major aspects of a family office from the perspective of the various constituents. At the same time, they reveal the countless subtleties and intricacies of these complex organizations operating at the intersection of family, business, and investing. Combining a case study approach with well-researched background information helps enlighten the reader about both the theoretical and practical aspects of the modern family office.--Paul Carbone, president and managing partner, Pritzker Private Capital
Family offices are living entities that evolve and develop to encompass each new challenge. Woodson and Marshall present the family office not as an abstraction but as a vehicle to respond to those special challenges that face a family when they accumulate wealth. This book is easily accessible for students, advisers, and family members who want to understand family offices in all their diversity.--Dennis Jaffe, author of Borrowed from Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of 100-Year Family Enterprises
The definitive guide to a fast-growing, highly diverse, and poorly understood domain of finance--a must-read for those seeking a holistic view of the investment side of the capital markets and an in-depth exploration of key strategic and organizational issues facing family offices.--Ingo Walter, Seymour Milstein Chair in Finance, Corporate Governance, and Ethics Emeritus, New York University
Woodson and Marshall provide a comprehensive overview of the various functions family offices can perform and how to set them up effectively. As someone who advises and invests on behalf of family offices, this work fills a critical void. Family office advisers, other business practitioners, and aspiring students alike will find great value in this book. An essential read.--Chad Sweet, CEO and cofounder, Chertoff Capital
About the Author
William I. Woodson is a lecturer on wealth management at Columbia University School of Professional Studies and serves on the advisory board for the Stanford University Global Family Office Initiative. He is the former head of a family office and ran the family office practices for Citi Private Bank and Credit Suisse.
Edward V. Marshall is a family office expert, author, consultant, and speaker. He is the global head of the family office practice at Dentons, the world's largest law firm. Marshall has held leading family office roles at Credit Suisse, Citibank, and Boston Private, and he is a guest lecturer on the family office at New York University's Stern School of Business.
