Virtual family office: 101

By Mark Barnicutt on April 1, 2021

A Virtual Family Office (VFO) is a family office model that harnesses the experience, dedication, and loyalty of your established group of independent advisors to provide the comprehensive wealth stewardship affluent families require. This model simplifies all important financial decisions, as decisions are made in a disciplined manner with the appropriate advisors, at the same table, all working together.

A VFO will help you navigate the challenges that come with wealth, including:

  • Wealth management
  • Tax and estate planning
  • Business succession issues
  • Setting and funding philanthropic goals

Integrated, holistic, and with only your family’s interests at heart, your VFO works together to create a seamless approach facilitated through well-defined governance, structure, and processes.

At HighView Financial Group, our response to the requirement for a VFO is “The Family Stewardship Council”, which we organize and guide in the fiduciary oversight of your wealth.

Benefits of the Virtual Family Office

  • Experience and Competency: Continue to harness the experience and competencies of the long-established relationships with the professionals that surround you.
  • Variable Cost Structure: Avoid the costs of setting up your own Single Family Office (SFO) or participating in a Multi-Family Office (MFO).
  • Objective Advice: Avoid any conflicts that might arise from using the services of a Commercial Family Office (CFO) and ensure a purely objective set of solutions to address your specific needs.
  • Integrated Advice: Eliminate planning gaps or oversights through the collaborative efforts of your advisors.
  • Confidence and Comfort: Achieve the peace of mind which only comes from knowing that there is a formal governance structure and set of processes in place to ensure that all the family’s stewardship needs are being met in the appropriate manner.
Mark Barnicutt
See Beyond

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