were set up in the last 15 years," reported
EY, the accounting and financial services
giant, in a 2017 study. If the typical shop has
$1.1 billion under management, as found
by UBS, then we can extrapolate the global
family-office business has about $11 trillion
under management. ough an eye-popping
number — enough to run the U.S. federal
government for nearly three years — it is not
outlandish or unbelievable, given the scale of
modern finance. Asset manager BlackRock,
for example — a single firm — has about
$6.32 trillion under management.
Not only has the global economy grown,
but tax codes worldwide and in the United
States have been altered over the past 40
years to enhance the accumulation of wealth.
Offshore tax havens, if controversial, have
multiplied. As a result — and no doubt also
through the intelligent, sustained application
of capital — the family office has moved into
the financial big leagues in the past 10 years.
And for all the current size and scale of the
family office sector, nearly all observers con-
tend the future is much larger.
"e number of ultra-high-net-worth fami-
lies will continue to rise for the foreseeable future
as emerging markets, primarily led by Asia, con-
tinue their economic ascendance," according to
Empaxis, a financial industry services firm. In
2016 there were 187,500 ultra-high-net-worth
families globally, defined as those controlling
more than $30 million in assets. By 2025, that
The number of ultra-high-net-worth families will continue to rise
for the foreseeable future as emerging markets, primarily led by
Asia, continue their economic ascendance.
By 2025, that number is expected
to grow to 263,500, an increase
of more than 40 percent.
45
REALASSETS ADVISER
|
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8
