Advisory firm Mattioli Woods is planning to soft launch a family office proposition in the early summer.
Speaking to FTAdviser, the firm’s sales and marketing director Murray Smith said the firm already has a number of families in place is now putting definition around what it is already offering to some clients.
He added it was a “fairly big project” that would start off with a relatively low number of clients, which the firm hopes to grow exponentially.
The soft launch in early summer will be aimed at defining and marketing the proposition, Mr Smith added. “I’ll be very surprised if there is not quite a high level of demand for this kind of proposition.
“We are looking at the charity and philanthropy side of advice and giving clients access to that kind of advice through Mattioli Woods.”
Mr Smith said the service would be highly personal, focusing on a family’s wealth, with Mattioli Woods acting as a “family concierge” for these clients.
He stated that at the other end of the scale, the firm has been working on cost effective pension solutions, such as the MW Select product, which allows clients to access its discretionary fund management services in a more cost effective way than a pure self-invested personal pension would allow.
In October last year, Mr Smith explained that the new product lets someone in a group personal pension move their simple funds into a more proactively managed proposition. “A client could start at the MW Select level and move into the absolute full bespoke Sipp offering without having to change adviser,” he added.
Indre Butkeviciute, managing director at wealth planning and multi-family office Centaurus Wealth Management, said a lot of people think donating to charities is simple, but they do not realise how complicated philanthropy can be.
“Families are looking to impact more and more and people do lack advice on how to do philanthropy properly,” she commented.
Michael Maslinksi, partner and group head of strategy at Stonehage Fleming, said: “There is no blueprint for a family office, or a family office offering within a wider business, as the service should be designed to suit the particular needs of the family concerned.
“It is based on listening to each client and delivering genuinely bespoke services, especially in managing the transition to the next generation.
“The adviser must have the breadth of experience to add value across the entire asset base and to challenge the client, even within his or her own areas of expertise.”
ruth.gillbe@ft.com
