Alpen Partners Q&A: Family Office Services

Alpen Partners offers clients with more than 10 million in assets under its management a complete range of family office services, similar to what large multi-billion dollar families typically receive through their own family offices.

Our clients have realized the cost and efficiency benefits of having Alpen Partners take care of their family office, and have appreciated that the need to own their own family office became a dispensable luxury.

Pierre Gabris took time out of his busy day to answer some important questions regarding family office services. Pierre is a founder and managing partner of Alpen Partners and has years of experience in the financial sector and dedicates his time to sharing his experience and knowledge with others.

Visit this page to read more about Pierre and the entire Alpen Partners team.

Let us take a look at what he has to say about family office services and the future.

• What are some of the biggest challenges that most family offices face?

The main challenges they are facing are 1) internationalization of their businesses and family members that lead to many issues such as estate planning, 2) family governance, 3) preservation of the wealth that was created and 4) finding investment alternatives that make sense in the current economic cycle.

• How do you deal with the overwhelming amount of inquiries you receive from those trying to raise capital from your family office for their investment fund or private offering?

We apply the same level of due diligence for any possible investments, be liquid or private. We review the underlying market trends, the balance sheet and cash flow situation of the investment, the management team, shareholders, etc. For investment vehicles such as funds, we look at the fee structure, track record, alignment of interests with management, etc.

• What is the Alpen Partners investment technique?

Our focus is on capital efficiency, i.e. investments that can generate high cash flows with little capex. We also do some more opportunistic trades such as some investment themes (water, 5G, etc) or special situations (M&A, restructuring, etc)

• How can a family best prepare the next generation?

Teach the younger generation how to deal with the money, invest wisely, diversify across many regions, currencies and asset classes, succession planning,

• What are the top trends that you have seen emerging within the family office sector in 2020?

Prepare for the end of the current credit cycle that will end with a major credit crisis, prepare for the bad days (get a 2^nd residency, get a 2^nd passport, set up asset protection structures, etc), find investment opportunities that are somewhat decorrelated

• What do you consider the largest value add that Alpen Partners brings to the table when working with clients?

Our total alignment of interests with the clients, our total independence vs. banks and other financial institutions, our critical vision of any possible investments, our global view of investments and unique investment idea generation, our global network of lawyers and industry specialists

With this important information in mind, it is never a bad idea to ask for help. Below are some of the important family office and financial management services offered by the expert team of Alpen Partners.

Preparing for the Future

One of the main reasons an individual should consider forming a family office is what it can do for their future. People with high net-worths have worked hard for their money and it would be a shame for it to be wasted in the event that they are not around anymore.

With the help of Alpen Partners, your family office can be equipped with the following resources to ensure your wealth is taken care of.

• Family Governance
• Next Generation Education
• Retirement Planning
• Estate Planning

Your Current Wealth

Along with planning for the future, by forming a family office, your current wealth can be protected through risk management, portfolio advisory, financial planning, and more.

• Portfolio management and monitoring- Portfolio optimization looks at an individual’s investment decisions through formal mathematics. Techniques include quadratic programming, nonlinear programming, mixed integer programming, and more.
• Financial planning– Financial planning involves evaluating your current and future finances by using known aspects of your financial state to make predictions about what can happen in the future, including cash flow, asset values, and withdrawal plans. The plan utilizes your net worth, tax liabilities, asset allocation, and future/retirement/estate plans to develop the best plan for you and your family.
• Risk management- Risk management is identifying what losses may occur when making an investment and finding a way to lower the potential loss from the investment. Risk management involves planning ahead for the risk to occur and knowing how to avoid or reduce the effect.
• Asset protection- Through asset protection planning, you stand a chance at protecting your valuable property. You will find that asset protection planning takes early planning and proper guidance to meet the objective of taking the chips off of the table so that if bad times hit, you can walk away less scathed.
• Philanthropy- Having a large amount of wealth comes with a lot of responsibility. Through philanthropy, motivated individuals can use their large net worth to make a contribution to an organization that carries the same values and ethics as themselves. Some family offices choose to create institutions that bring a change to the world that they wish to see.

Secretarial Services

Secretarial services include all services that will make the life of our clients easier. Cash management, personal advisory, and party planning are some of the services that our team can offer.  Alpen Partners provides its larger clients with the full range of family office services. More than being simply an asset manager for clients, we become their trusted partner to handle all aspects of their private affairs.