Family Office Exchange has drawn from its experience in the US market to create a new council group for sophisticated wealth advisors on the other side of the Atlantic.

Family Office Exchange, the global network of wealth owners and their advisors,
today announced the formation of a new council group for sophisticated wealth
advisors in Europe.

The council will provide advisors with a private peer
group, supported by FOX research, to guide their future growth as advisors to
the high net worth market.

The inaugural meeting of the FOX Wealth Advisor
Council is scheduled to take place in London
on Thursday, 26 September.

“From our experience in the USA
as well as Europe and other parts of the
globe, there is an increasing sophistication by firms that serve ultra high net
worth individuals. We thought it would be timely as the market continues to
mature to bring some of our thinking to Europe
in the form of the Wealth Advisor Council,” Charles Grace, senior consultant at
Family Office Exchange, told this publication in an interview.

Among the FOX resources available to this group are
insights from advisor benchmarking studies, including trends documented back to
the mid-1990’s. They will also have
access to the FOX Wealth Advisor Enterprise Series of studies that delve into
the key strategic pillars of building a successful wealth advisory business, including
product definition, pricing, staffing, service delivery, marketing, and
business development.

“The benefit of the council is that by sharing
information and ideas wealth management firms can improve performance and
profitability; even rival firms benefit from having a forum in which to share
ideas,” Grace said.

The new council will also reflect, to some extent, the
different style of wealth management in Europe,
he said. “Wealth management firms in Europe are still more investment-focused
than in the US; in the US, they have
broadened out to offer more non-investment services. We hear that brand matters
to a greater extent in Europe than here. “We
note European firms have a sophisticated way of looking at risk including more
thought about currency risk and other cross-border risks for example,” Grace
said.

US
experience

“This offering is patterned after a similar Council
that has been operating in the United
States since 2006,” Alexandre Monnier,
president of FOX, said in a statement.

“Many of the debates and insights arising from the
Council have helped shape the emergence of a new wealth advisor class dedicated
to serving the most sophisticated, multi-generational families,” Monnier said.

“Over the last 20 years, a group of American advisors
has taken advantage of the opportunity to specifically address the unique needs
of the wealthiest families,” said Sara Hamilton, founder and CEO of Family
Office Exchange. “The requirements of these families are substantially
different from the needs of other wealthy families.  A new segment of advisor has successfully
emerged to serve them, fostered by the collaboration in the FOX Council.

“As their wealth grows, a financially successful
family requires more than traditional investment managers and private bankers
typically provide. There is a need for enhanced services in order to add
business among this desirable segment. Based on demand from our European
advisor members, we believe now is the time to support the expansion of this
segment in Europe,” Hamilton
said.

Family Office Exchange includes more than
450 organizations in 20 countries.