DA-Tax
Multi Family Office
This article is for general information only. You should not act or refrain from acting in reliance of it. You should always obtain professional advice on the facts of your particular case. Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice. The owner of this site accepts no liability.
Multi Family Offices have become popular in Monaco. They are viewed as separate entities to Single Family Offices which are offices dealing with the affairs of a single family privately which are not regulated in the same way. Single Family Offices will be more attractive to very wealthy families who can sustain the long term overheads of running their office. Multi Family Offices have the advantage of pooled access to investment advice and a wider management team. Monaco is attractive for Family Offices because of its record of long term stability, taxation policy, access to financial advice, geographical access and light regulation. Other jurisdictions offer similar services but Monaco along with Geneva are probably best for pure private client wealth management.
Multi Family Offices are regulated in Monaco (loi n. 1.439 of 02/12/2016) which covers offices which provide financial advice to individuals or their families including to trusts and foundations. A Multi Family Office must obtain authorisation from the Monegasque authorities. Any change in shareholders or directors requires a fresh authorisation. The directors must be covered by insurance against any claims for negligence. The Multi Family Office can only be remunerated directly by its clients.
In short the success of Multi Family Offices in Monaco is down to tight controls on who can set them up and receive client funds. There is a lot of flexibility as to how investments are managed and what other services they provide. It is sensible to understand what the annual costs are going to be, how they will increase year on year and what the costs will be if you want to leave. It is best there is at the outset a detailed service contract between you and the Multi Family Office covering the level of service you expect from them. This should also cover services other than investment if you want a "concierge" type service. This service contract will be subject to Monegasque law and the jurisdiction of the Monaco courts. Your aim must be to ensure it is as clear as possible to avoid any risk of litigation.
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