Insights
A local mindset with international capabilities
The French family office market is in growth mode. In the past, the wealth management sector in France was dominated largely by smaller boutiques or private banks – both French and international – rolling out what they thought to be a broadly ‘European’ version of their private client offering. As such, their focus has tended to be to establish and roll out operations with local mindsets and local outlooks.
However, rather than relying on their private bank for family office-type support, families are increasingly realising that they can broaden their horizons, both in terms of a breadth of service and the geographic scope of their affairs. For this, they are turning to specialist family offices who have looked after hundreds of families in similar situations, often over several decades.
This increase in demand is due to a growing realisation that the preservation of wealth over more than one generation is best achieved by shoring up the future cultural, social and intellectual capital of a family rather than the financial aspects alone. Lessons learned from the more mature Anglo-Saxon family office market where historically, governance planning has tended to be broader and more long-term in nature than in France or Europe.
Arguably, families with substantial wealth have always been international in their outlook if not their nature. Today, client families are often made up of ‘branches’ in several places around the world. It is rare, therefore, that the French families my team supports, require us to deal only with French matters. As soon as another jurisdiction or jurisdictions come into the picture a family needs support from experts who are well versed in dealing with these often-complex interdependencies.
In looking for a more nuanced offering, many French families are finding that a combination of deep localised European expertise and Anglo-Saxon ‘scope’ and experience is an attractive proposition. On the one hand, they are interested in holistic, global advice and to learn from their international peers about how they have arranged their affairs to date. On the other, they are keen to engage a team who understands inside and out their own legal and tax framework, civil law, and the political, social and cultural touchpoints.
Hélie de Cornois is a Partner of the Stonehage Fleming Group and Head of the Family Office division in Luxembourg. He advises ultra-high net worth private clients and investors on a range of international and domestic tax and estate planning matters.
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