Quote of the week

"[People] don’t expect retirement to begin with social security and sit on the back deck in a lounge chair for the rest of their lives. This group really wants to remain active."

Jeff Cimini, head of personal retirement at Merrill Lynch

Weekly Poll

View previous poll results

Nearly three-quarters of single family offices say that preserving wealth is the most important aspect of managing their investments, according to a new survey from JP Morgan Private Bank.

The bank’s Family Office Survey covered 120 single family offices from around the world, each with over $100 million in assets under management.

While 73 per cent cited wealth preservation as the most important aspect of investment management, maximizing returns was cited by 22 per cent of family offices. Meanwhile, the toughest challenges besetting SFOs are measuring portfolio risk (cited by 25 per cent), and – when it comes to non-traditional investment – acquiring other businesses (30 per cent).

How changing tax and regulatory environments affect investments was cited as the main concern by 23 per cent of respondents, while 10 per cent cited volatility.

When it comes to working with other financial institutions, single family offices are looking for a top level of service (40 per cent), while transparency ranks as the second-biggest concern.

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