As women rise in prominence as financial planners and thrive as leaders within the industry, they’re being left behind at one of the highest levels of wealth management, according to a recent report from UBS and Campden Research,
About one in 10 family office CEO and CIO roles are held by women, according to the UBS 2017 Global Family Office Report.
Women accounted for just 8 percent of the CEOs and 13 percent of the CIOs in the 262 family offices analyzed in the report. Only one-third of the COO and CFO positions were occupied by women.
The average family office’s shortcomings don’t stop at gender diversity in the C-suite. Though they often manage multigenerational wealth, many of these businesses are failing to plan for their own long-term continuity. In the study, only 33 percent of family offices currently have written succession plans in place—yet more than two-thirds of the firms, 69 percent, expect to undergo a generational wealth transfer in the next 15 years.
While many of the respondents are developing a succession plan or have a verbal agreement in place, nearly half, 45.7 percent, have not yet established a succession plan.
The UBS research also examined the investment performance posted by family offices. A composite global portfolio of family offices, representative of a rough average family office portfolio, returned 7 percent in 2016, up from a 0.3 percent in 2015.
Exchange-listed and private equity investments now represent 47 percent of the average family office’s investment portfolio. UBS expects the equity side of family office portfolios to grow as interest in emerging market stocks, private equity funds and co-investments increase.
Family offices are also increasing their emphasis on sustainable and impact investing, according to UBS. Over 40 percent of the report’s respondents expect to increase their allocations towards environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investments.
According to the report, family office clients are also focusing on their philanthropic works, with nearly 95 percent of the respondents planning to increase their giving over the next 12 months.
Campden Research surveyed principals, executives and beneficiary from 262 family offices in February and May with an average AUM of $921 million.
