Family office profile

The client is a multi-billion dollar multi-family office that works with substantial families throughout the Persian Gulf. The MFO has approximately 40 employees who work in investment management, client service, operations, legal, compliance and technology.

The MFO offers a full suite of wealth management services and helps its clients diversify their assets by investing in regional private equity in key parts of the world, including the US and the Far East. The MFO has developed a series of such investment vehicles in-house to support the private equity investing for its clients.

The business situation

The board of directors mandated its CEO to create an actionable five-year plan. The CEO met with each department head asking for input, both for their specific departments and the business as a whole, to foster a more aligned approach for the MFO, its clients and its employees.

The MFO was investing heavily in its business due to rapid growth. As a result of that, it identified enormous opportunities. But executives recognized that there was a lack of cohesiveness with which to effectively capitalize on those opportunities.

The business proposition

Family Office Metrics has been working with the MFO as a strategic consultant since its inception in the early 2000s and helped to shape its direction during its formative stages. In this instance, the CEO tasked us with aligning its strategy with the various business initiatives considering board directives, client needs and internal operations.

The strategic business assessment

The assessment was conducted over a three-week period. In the first week, Family Office Metrics met on-site with the board, the CEO and all of the operating groups to understand their business activities, their goals, and how those goals were aligned with the overall organization. The last two weeks were spent devising a strategy in the form of a written evaluation that was then presented to the board of directors.

The solution

Family Office Metrics proposed a set of recommendations. The most important came in the form of our proprietary approach pioneered eight years ago, the Family Office Balanced Scorecard. The Family Office Balanced Scorecard examines strategy, business processes, business development and technology, to ensure that they are collectively focused on clear goals.

Once all of these areas have been closely examined, they are measured to qualify what is working well and what needs the greatest attention.

The outcome

Armed with the knowledge that the overall business could be improved, the MFO mandated changes across its entire business, reducing those efforts that were not directed towards the overall goal of the organization as defined in the Family Office Balanced Scorecard. The MFO needed to implement a vision across its entire organization to provide clear direction.

Main takeaways

• Recognize the need for a strategic assessment across all departments when the business is not performing as expected;
• Create a vision that can be understood across your entire business;
• Identify common goals and communicate them using the Family Office Balanced Scorecard; and
• Implement the Family Office Balanced Scorecard and measure the effectiveness of your efforts, not just in profitability, but with every action you take towards success.