President's Blog

Family Office Investing in Alternative Strategies

January 13, 2012
post contributed by Megan Flynn
    At the NYHFR’s November Roundtable, "Family Office Investing in Alternative Strategies", the insight presented into the longevity of wealth preservation was intriguing. The investment perspective is a unique one, often spanning several generations with an ultra-long term approach. “Wealth preservation is a very difficult task” said Fred Fruitman, Managing Director of Loeb Partners. Fred was joined on stage with Geoffrey von Kuhn, Managing Director of The Crosby Company along with moderator Kurt Miscinski, President of HPM Partners.
    The specific topic of Family Offices had never been covered so in depth at the Roundtable before. Seeing the perspective of Family Offices on the specific realm of alternative assets made the event truly unique. Various different alternative investment strategies were weighed and discussed at the event, but it was the investment processes themselves stuck out as particularly unique as they don’t maintain a black and white process; it’s simply a discussion among the family office, whom were described as being extremely intellectually curious.
    The biggest risks for family offices right now are regulations and taxes, Von Kuhn said. We view the world in terms of risk, Fruitman stated, we don’t like quant models and we don’t like leverage, however, said he views Hedge Funds as capital preservation vehicles.
    The event was a healthy reminder of how a long term perspective must play a part in true wealth creation. Members were brought back to a more traditional level without fancy quant models and high frequency traders; where the growth and maintenance of wealth is directly comparable to the growth and maintenance of your personal connections and network.

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