Family Office

New Client Onboarding Process

The initial, or getting to know each other phase is about deciding whether we’re a good fit and want to work together. Typically, it looks something like this.

Step 1 : Confirm We Are A Good Fit

A 30-minute virtual meeting so we can both determine if this could be a potential fit. We aren’t the right firm for everyone and we will happily refer you to a firm that may be a better fit for your needs.

Step 2 : Discuss How We Can Help You

≤60-minute virtual meeting where we better understand your needs and identify the value we can provide.

Step 3 : Email You A Proposal

We follow up with you to summarize how can help you, recommend the appropriate service model and provide the estimated fee if you were to sign on as a client.

Step 4 : Think It Through

Do you feel we can help you? Here are
some questions that you can ask yourselves:

  • Do you feel heard and understood?
  • Do you believe Henceforward can help
    solve your financial problems?
  • Do you believe investing in this
    relationship will improve the likelihood
    of accomplishing your goals?
  • Does Henceforward seem credible,
    trustworthy and likable?

Step 5 : Let’s Start Working Together

We are lucky to be working with you! We begin by setting expectations and laying out the next steps to onboard you as a client

Once You Become a Client: Advice Journey Process

At a certain level of wealth, it becomes unavoidable that the complexity and time taken to manage your financial affairs increases substantially. Multiple assets across multiple jurisdictions, business ownership, various accounts and investments, family trusts (local and/or offshore) and a plethora of advisors …

Developing an integrated strategy that ties all this together can be challenging. Preserving your wealth and leaving your legacy in a way that ensures your wishes are fulfilled is not always straightforward. Family dynamics might also be more complex and managing expectations and providing a framework for inter-generational wealth planning takes a lot of thought and care.

We understand that each family dynamic is unique, and no two strategies will be the same, but we aim to provide a framework for the various stages we might follow and the kinds of topics we address in helping you create your customised blueprint and strategy.

Henceforward Family Office Fees
Define the Family Blueprint

Develop a clear understanding of the family situation, the role wealth and money play, and your vision for this wealth and the legacy you would like to leave

Understand your objectives and wishes for the wealth you’ve created
Learn more about your family history situation and your family’s attitude towards money
Get to know your values and priorities and the impact you would like your wealth to make for your family and others
Determine what’s important to you and the kind of legacy you want to leave behind

How Long It Takes

It can take 2-3 meetings to fully unpack this and become clear on your vision and the legacy you would like to leave
Cashflow and Balance Sheet Analysis

Your balance sheet is often more complex in nature and understanding the nature and role of all the assets (including trusts) and how they fit into your vision are critical

How Long It Takes

Usually, 1-2 meetings depending on your lifestyle, needs in retirement and available assets to consider.
What are the family’s income needs?
Develop a Family Asset Map to have a clear picture of the balance sheet and ownership structure
How is the income being funded, e.g. employment, trust, dividends, rental?
Understand the role different assets play in achieving your objectives not only today, but the legacy you would like to leave?
In the case of business ownership, what is the strategy for succession or exit?
Understand the role different assets play in achieving your objectives not only today, but the legacy you would like to leave?
Develop Your Integrated Legacy and Intergenerational Wealth Plan

Creating a family charter for personal and business assets is something that involves the entire family (heirs and beneficiaries) to prepare and educate them, and serves as the framework by which all decisions are made in future

How Long It Takes

This process often takes several meetings working with the entire family to develop and create a document that becomes the guiding blueprint that informs all future decision making for the family’s wealth
A family charter provides a framework for inheritance and succession across personal and business assets that aligns with the family’s vision and values
Create understanding and agreement for assets that may have greater emotional attachment, e.g.; family business
Prepare children and heirs through education and involvement and means difficult conversations can be had and addressed early
Guide future decision making through the lens of the family charter
Incorporate a framework for charitable giving and donations to causes the family is passionate about
Refine & Integrate Your Investment Strategy

Develop an integrated and fully aligned investment policy framework

What role do the different assets on your balance sheet (and in trust) have in fulfilling your vision?
Incorporate exposure to institutional asset classes to further diversify and reduce risk, e.g., private equity, infrastructure, hedge funds
Develop an investment policy framework and mandate that governs your investment strategy and aligns with the family charter
Aim to optimize the mix between domestic and offshore wealth, making use of your excon. allowance
Address overexposure to any one asset that may create unnecessary risks, e.g., business ownership?
Work with and hire portfolio managers to align and implement strategy where needed.

How Long It Takes

An ongoing process that takes several meetings to understand and implement, which will include co-opting specialists like portfolio managers to manage different strategies as needed.
Business Succession And Continuity

In the case of business ownership, the family needs to have a clear framework and strategy for succession, transfer of ownership or sale

What else we do

  • Create a framework for transfer of ownership or succession
  • Engineer successful exit plans
  • Deal with significant equity stakes to reduce concentration     risks
Align family business charter to succession and continuity plan
Ensure protocols and plans in place that cover various eventualities
Plan for liquidity events and potential exit
Assist with business specific planning
Assist with business specific planning
Strategy Implementation

Strategies are implemented as different needs are addressed and solutions implemented

How Long It Takes

Ongoing process as strategies are implemented that align with the vision and blueprint defined at the outset.
With most family dynamics having many moving parts and often being more complex in nature, implementing a strategy according to the blueprint defined usually means this is an ongoing process as each topic and pain point is addressed and dealt with.
Ongoing Support and Monitoring

Once the strategy has been agreed, now it’s all about implementation and setting your plan in motion

Monthly Check-Ins

Monthly check in to assess progress and confirm action points for the coming month.

Update your will

Quarterly Reviews

Staying on top of everything is important so the quarterly reviews provide structure to assess how progress is being made towards achieving the various priorities established, as well as reviewing the broader family portfolio and balance sheet from a performance and impact perspective. Meet with specialists to review progress and performance when necessary.

Tax Optimization

At a certain level of wealth and the attention that generates from the authorities, everything has to be done absolutely correctly. Tax efficiency and optimisation must be done correctly and we work with specialists to ensure that the consequences of all decisions are considered. CRS, FATCA and all the global legislation that now results in the sharing of tax information makes it critical to do everything correctly.

Insightful Content

Regular content to educate, inform and support you. We promise this won’t only be boring market updates that everyone sends out.

Special Situations and Work with Family and Heirs

There are always opportunities, challenges and problems that arise - we act as a sounding board and guide to ensure your decision making reflects your goals and values. Working with and educating your children and family is also a critical part of the process.

retirement planning

Estate Plan

The estate plan becomes a ‘living’ document that evolves as circumstances and the family dynamic change, which require ongoing planning and amending where needed.

Access

Unlimited telephone and e-mail access to the Directors Monday to Friday during business hours. We guarantee we’ll get back to you within 6 hours.

pay off debt

Co-Opt Specialists

There are usually numerous meetings facilitated meeting with and/or co-opting specialists to ensure the strategy aligns to your vision and blueprint, e.g., portfolio managers, tax and legal experts, fiduciary specialists etc. Our job is to get you in front of the right person to solve a specialised problem when needed.

Portfolio Management

Aims to keep your total portfolio aligned to your broader objectives and the investment policy framework created that serves as a template for how assets across the family balance sheet should be managed. Utilize asset classes that have assymetric risk and return profiles like private equity, hedge funds and infrastructure to balance and optimally diversify your portfolio. Co-opt and appoint specialists to manage different parts of the portfolio so a blend of ideas and philosophies are being utilized. Rebalance, hold portfolio managers to account and aim to take advantage of tactical opportunities when they present themselves.

Annual Events

There will be exclusive invitations to attend events to listen and learn from thought leaders and subject matter experts on a wide variety of topics.

Our Fees

Why Service-Led Fees?

We believe that the existing remuneration model that governs our industry is outdated. It’s all about accumulating assets under management and charging a ‘fee’ tied to the value of those assets, which has no direct correlation to the quality of advice or level of service provided. That also means customised and specialised advice is only accessible to a few.

This approach creates inherent conflicts of interest because unless there is a sale of a financial product or investment that can incur a ‘fee’ or commission, it typically won’t be discussed, assessed, or recommended. We want to discuss your entire balance sheet and how that serves you, not just the areas we can make money from.

Henceforward aims to adopt a radical but fair approach that provides real value. Our relationships are with our clients, not with their money

The Henceforward approach adopts a simple service-led fee model, determined at the outset of the relationship and customised to the level of service and advice provided.

We aim to provide an unbiased and impartial relationship driven approach whereby we always act in your best interests and do what’s right for you, without any conflicts of interest.

No product commissions
No investment advisor ‘fees’
Unbiased and impartial
What Are Our Fees?

Our fixed fee on the family office model starts at R10,000 per month and typically goes up to R20,000 p.m. depending on complexity and your circumstances.

We will also consider how many inperson vs. virtual meetings you would like, where heirs and family members live when designing inter-generational wealth plans etc., so that the service package is fully customised and reflects your needs.  Our work is with your entire family and not just you.

The nature of your balance sheet (local and foreign assets, use of trusts both domestic and foreign, business ownership etc.) and the level of service required means we will design a discrete and customised service package specifically for you.

You have the flexibility to cancel at any time (even though we like to think that like all good things the real value only becomes apparent over time).

all fees quoted are inclusive of Value Added Tax of 15%

Henceforward Family Office Fees
The Benefits of Service-Based Fees Compared to the current ‘AUM Model’

A pre-determined service fee model tied to a service package that addresses specific financial and family needs and strategies being solved is clearly both fair and transparent – and leads to a more cost-effective long-term outcome.

Henceforward Family Office Fees
Henceforward Family Office Fees
What About Commission on Risk Products?

Where you have a need for a risk product like life cover for estate liquidity purposes or another form of risk cover (e.g., business planning) - >we default the commission to zero
This can result in a 15-30% saving in premium on your risk product when established with zero commission and means we have no conflicts of interest as to who we place the business with on your behalf
Notes

*There are various ways we can levy the fee, e.g., invoice you or your business, EFT, arrange for it to be deducted from your investments.

*If we are co-opting 3rd party specialists to help you with a bespoke planning need – e.g., drafting of wills (local or foreign), setting up a trust, using a currency specialist to move money offshore, specialised tax or legal advice – these service providers will charge you a fee for their work, but we will always aim to obtain preferential rates for you

*We don’t provide advice or services relating to medical aid or short-term insurance. We will refer you to a partner in our network for these services.

*On occasion, certain products are designed with a fee or commission already built into the
product, e.g., structured products that have a return profile designed with a commission built
into them. These are the only instances in which we would receive a commission from a product
provider, but we will always disclose to you should that be the case.

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