Brandts-Giesen, Henry
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(Article) Family offices in a New Zealand context
01.09.2020
We are very pleased to include another Country Report - this one from New Zealand, a jurisdiction that is not currently overwhelmed by pandemic concerns. Henry Brandts-Giesen gives an excellent report on the state of the family office industry in New Zealand. Henry notes at the outset that: The New Zealand private wealth sector is nascent and operates in a quite different eco-system to other developed countries. It is also changing rapidly both in terms of an increasing size and scale and the way in which the market is being serviced and wealth is being structured. It may be that the family offices, especially single-family offices, are exceptionally private and confidential, making it quite challenging to describe the industry unless someone has the insider knowledge that the author has. As Henry explains: The SFOs in New Zealand maintain very low public profiles, perhaps because historically New Zealand was a very egalitarian society where it was considered distasteful to celebrate and promote success, let alone wealth. Arguably that is changing but it remains part of New Zealand's cultural identity. He goes through the various functions that a family office fulfils, with a focus on wealth management and succession planning. He contrasts family offices with private investment offices and family banks. He closes with the observation that there is a trend of increases in the number of family offices in New Zealand, as the private wealth sector ?is growing exponentially due to underlying asset inflation, foreign investment, migration, and (at least for now) a relatively benign fiscal environment?. -
(Article) The benefits of a family charter
01.12.2021
The greatest transfer of wealth in modern history is underway. Families that are unprepared for this transition of value and power expose themselves to risks that can compromise decades of enterprise and hard work. In the author's experience, informal family governance structures that once might have been appropriate may now need review and reform to ensure they are fit for a future where traditional leaders have less influence and the family may have more wealth consumers than generators. Developing a family charter (also known as a family constitution) can be an important part of this process. This article will attempt to define a family charter, explain how it may benefit a family, provide some suggestions on the consultation process that should precede the drafting of a family charter and give some examples of the types of matters that a family charter might address. -
(Article) Talent acquisition, compensation and management by family offices
26.06.2023
In their article Sarah Kelly, Stacey Fletcher and Henry Brandts-Giesen outline important employment issues relating to family offices in this useful review of the relevant considerations in this area. A "must read" for family office principals and those in human resources.