Crain Currency

6 days ago | craincurrency.com | Marcus Baram

More family offices are rethinking how they’re structured — and increasingly, that means outsourcing two of their most essential roles: the chief financial officer and chief investment officer. Our lead story this week explores why this shift is gaining momentum. It’s not just about saving money (though that matters when top-tier talent can cost upward of $500,000 a year). It’s also about flexibility.

1 week ago | craincurrency.com | Marcus Baram

During a time of economic uncertainty, global trade tensions, cutbacks in government spending and potential tax code changes, family offices are taking a cautious approach to philanthropy. While some prominent figures — including Sergey Brin and Bill Gates — have made sweeping commitments to charitable causes in recent months, most wealthy families are holding on to their existing strategies. But so far, family offices are not making many changes.

1 week ago | craincurrency.com | Marcus Baram

Family offices are increasingly outsourcing two of their most important roles — chief financial officer and chief investment officer — for cost efficiency, expertise and flexibility. While they have traditionally maintained tight control over their operations and used third parties only for specialized tasks such as trust lawyers, accountants and art advisers, more offices are now doing the same for these core functions. In general, family offices plan to outsource more operations.

1 week ago | craincurrency.com | Carrie Pallardy |Marcus Baram

I hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend and is easing back into the rhythm of late spring. This week, the conversation in the family office world turns to one of the most personal — and often most difficult — topics: preparing heirs for wealth. At a recent Tiger 21 virtual event I attended, “The Legacy of Wealth: How — and When — to Prepare Your Heirs,” panelists explored the emotional and strategic challenges of legacy planning.

2 weeks ago | craincurrency.com | Marcus Baram

Family offices see a global trade war as the biggest risk in 2025, followed closely by major geopolitical conflict, according to a new UBS Global Family Office Report. Despite those concerns, most plan to chart a steady course, taking on the same level of portfolio risk as last year.