These are the main take aways from the recent Family Office Symposium with Opal in Dubai:

1. Private Trust Companies / Foundations (PTC/PTF): ‘Having your cake while eating it too…’. A special construction for family members to have their part of the family wealth available.
2. Active and Direct Involvement with Private Equity: the PE allocation grows and becomes more and more active in nature, as well as more direct. Both for economic reasons as well as ‘family sustainability, preservation and growth’ reasons.
3. Impact Investment is Private Equity by nature
4. Access to PE Funds: top 5 has very limited access and chasing too little opportunities of too big scale. (Too?) high prices. Seek lower/middle segment and preferably go direct or in co-finance
5. Alliance & network in Investments: is becoming more and more essential to find the right (PE) opportunities and reduce risks.
6. Real Estate / Real Assets: opportunistic opportunities rightly available! Also more into earth resources & innovations in this sector
7. Middle East Developments & Trends: there is more than we may assume but great differences between the various nations or states. Great emancipation and internationalization both in businesses and investments. Female active participation evolving. Exploring innovations from the west.
8. Philanthropy: evolving in direction of Impact Investments with self sustaining business models
9. About Risks: ‘The anticipation of what you expect which will not happen, but the chance of many different other outcomes…’  â€¦â€™that can be worked on actively …’
10. The end of the traditional risk-return model for asset allocation: …
11. Preserving wealth: ‘It’s down to the capabilities of the guy (family member, advisor) on the floor of operations, it’s not finance, it’s not the financial sector’
12. Manager selection: ‘it’s all about consistency, consistency & constistency in good and bad trends'
    
    You are warmly invited to comment on these topics and statements as ongoing learning and new perspectives add value to shared knowledge. In case of further interest in these topics, both to increase knowledge or finding solutions or opportunities please contact me in a personal message.