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New trends
1. The RMB exchange rate hit a new high in the past 4 years European asset management institutions and family offices are the largest capital forces
At 16:00 on February 18, the offshore offshore renminbi rose sharply against the US dollar by about 200 basis points, at one point hitting its highest value since May 2018 at 6.3144. Affected by this, the onshore rmb exchange rate against the US dollar followed suit, once refreshing the highest value since January 28 at 6.3253.
The foreign exchange market generally believes that the driving force behind this round of sudden rise in the RMB exchange rate is mainly European asset management institutions and family offices.
The chief representative of a large European asset management institution in the Asia-Pacific region said in an interview with the media that the world's large asset management institutions would prefer to see the RMB exchange rate fluctuate in both directions in the equilibrium exchange rate range, because this can improve the security of RMB asset allocation and attract more global capital to regard RMB assets as a reliable safe haven. (21st Century Business Herald)
2. Digitalization has become a key point in the competition of family offices
The huge transfer of wealth and digitalization presents a key challenge for family offices – how to manage operations to meet the expectations of complex multi-generational families where each stakeholder may have very different expectations.
A recent survey data shows:
37% of family offices say managing multi-generational family clients is one of the biggest issues and challenges they face;
21% of respondents cite technology, IT and cybersecurity as major challenges this year and next.
Digitalization is key for family offices to stand out from the competition, serve across generations and grow their business at scale. According to the latest survey, 95% of family offices involving third-generation members are already implementing digital operations and management. （AltFi）
3. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange welcomed the first batch of SPAC companies
After the Hong Kong Stock Exchange officially introduced the SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) rule at the beginning of the year, the first six SPAC companies listed in Hong Kong have been launched.
These include: Interra Acquisition Corporation initiated by Primavera Capital and ABC International Cooperation; Tiger Trade Acquisition Company co-sponsored by Taixin Capital and Dragonstone Capital; Aquila Acquisition Corporation co-sponsored by CMB International Asset Management and AAC Mgmt Holding; Wei Zhe, founder and chairman of Jiayu Capital. Vision Deal HK Acquisition Corp, co-sponsored by RealGlobe and Opus Chuangfu, Trinity, co-sponsored by Li Ning and Lane Capital, and Ace Eight Acquisition, initiated by Ace Global.
The so-called SPAC, commonly known as the "blank check company", that is, the investment institution first initiates a shell company to list and raise funds in the capital market, and then acquires the entity to complete the asset injection. (21st Century Finance)
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Home office dynamics
4. Goldman Sachs creates family offices for executives
Recently, multinational investment banking and financial services firm Goldman Sachs is building an internal family office unit to meet the financial needs of its executives.
The service, called the Goldman Sachs Partner Family Office, will provide wealth management services to the firm's current and former partners and managing directors. The bank has chosen Lisa Opoku, the current chief operating officer of the engineering division, to manage the business.
O'Poku has worked at Goldman Sachs for more than 20 years, having served as COO of securities and fixed income, currency and commodities in Hong Kong, London and New York.
The new family office comes as Goldman Sachs is offering attractive incentives to retain valuable employees in the face of increasing competition for talent. （finews.com）
5. Joint family office Iconiq Capital invested in credit company i80 Group
Iconiq Capital, a joint family office serving many Silicon Valley billionaires, recently invested in i80 Group, a business that provides credit to startups.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Iconiq Capital, which manages money for Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Shirley Sandberg, is a major investor in the i80, which plans to raise $600 million in the fund. (Bloomberg)
* Mr. and Mrs. Zuckerberg
6.Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller dumped a stake in Facebook's parent company, Meta
Recently, the family office of billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller sold a $35.9 million stake in Facebook's parent company Meta and disclosed a $67 million investment in social media company Snap Inc. and an investment of nearly $100 million in oil company Chevron.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Druckenmiller has a net worth of $10.4 billion. He sold off his stake before Meta's stock plunged 26 percent earlier this month. Meta lost more than $230 billion on Feb. 3, the largest single-day loss in the history of U.S. businesses.
Stanley Druckenmiller has been running his own family office since he closed duquesne Capital in 2010. (Campden FB)
7. Joint family office investment in Epic Games may reap excess returns
Australia's joint family office, Belz Family & Associates, is betting on U.S. software developer Epic Games and could reap excess returns.
Epic Games, best known for its Fortnite franchise, secured additional minority financing through Belz Family & Associates. Epic Games' valuation of $1.25 billion raised in 2021 is estimated at $28.7 billion. In the past year, Epic Games valuations have soared to $42 billion, up 68 percent. (Campden FB)
8. Investment bank Jarden raised NZ$60 million from family offices
Investment bank Jarden raised more than NZ$60 million ($56 million) of funding from its family office clients through convertible notes to fund short-term growth.
Jarden plans to use the funds for new businesses and growth opportunities. According to reports, 2021 was a record year for Jarden's growth, with global revenue up 40% driven by the M&A boom.
Founded in 1961, the investment bank entered Australia in 2021, with Robbie Vanderzeil of UBS as local CEO. In addition, Jarden has established a strategic partnership with Japan's Nomura Securities.
"In my opinion, there has been a lot of chaos in the investment banking business over the last 12 to 18 months. We think this year could be a turbulent year, and opportunities could arise in the diversified financial sector. Van der Zell said. (Financial Review)
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Personnel dynamics
9. Elon Musk donated $5.7 billion
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reported on Feb. 15 that in November 2021, Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated 5.04 million shares of Tesla stock to a charity. When donating, Tesla's stock traded at more than $1,000 per share. Based on the average of the highest and lowest quotes on the trading day, the donated stock is worth $5.7 billion.
The donation was disclosed in a Feb. 14 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Documents show that the shares were donated between November 19 and November 29 last year, but there is no indication of the recipients of the shares, and the whereabouts of the donations are mystery.
When the document was released, some speculated that it included a large sum of money musk had donated to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). A month before the stake was transferred in November, Musk tweeted that he would donate $6 billion to the World Food Programme — if the group could describe "how that $6 billion would solve the problem of world hunger" (some have speculated that Musk, who has long liked to tweet flippantly, is just playing a prank). In response, the World Food Programme said it had not received such a gift.
From a more plausible perspective, the money should have landed on a donor-designated fund (DAF). The fund acts like a charitable bank account, essentially a black box because it does not contain specific requirements, such as annual distribution or public disclosure of grants related to a particular donor.
One of the benefits of donating shares to DAF is that musk can enjoy the tax breaks that come with the donation, which can reach 30% of his adjusted total income in 2021, even though the shares he donated are still intact in the account. (Forbes China)
10. Wren Investment Office, a joint family office in the United Kingdom, appoints a new Chief Investment Officer
Recently, Wren Investment Management, a joint London-based family office, appointed Eirian Jones as chief investment officer and hired other senior and senior executives.
The most successful families and endowments see their wealth as a 'business.' Wealth needs to be managed like a business, with structure, strategy, and appropriate metrics. Our goal is to help families and trustees find the best out of the investment community so they can protect, grow and enjoy their wealth. Wren Chairman Adam Wethered said.
Wren Investment Office has grown to £2.8 billion ($4.5 billion) in assets. Its practice includes wealth advisory, investment management and family office services to wealthy families in the UK and internationally, their family offices, endowment funds and charities.
According to Wren Investment Office, there are typically £50 million to £200 million customers who are suitable for Wren's services, with no prescribed minimum or maximum amount.
11.The DeVos heirs bet $5 billion on family offices
In recent years, investment firms managing the financial affairs of the world's super-rich have proliferated, with some families creating multiple entities as their wealth soars.
Doug DeVos, the heir to the American DeVos family, is preparing to set up his own family office, marking a sixth private investment firm for the politically influential DeVos family.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the DeVos family has a net worth of about $5 billion. In 1959, DeVos Sr founded Amway with his former high school classmate Jay Van Andel and built it into the world's largest direct selling company, selling health food products such as Amway Nutrilite. DeVos Sr died in 2018 at the age of 92.
*DeVos family portrait (from left: eldest son Dick DeVos and Betsy DeVos, eldest daughter Cheri, Helen Van Wesep (died 2017), Richard DeVos (died September 2018), second son Dan and wife Pamella Roland, third son Doug and wife Maria DeVos)
The DeVose couple originally founded RDV Corp. in 1991 to manage their wealth and create opportunities for family members to collaborate. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based company already employs more than 100 people, including chefs, ship managers and nannies, as well as investment professionals.
In 2014, RDV invested $100 million in the now-defunct blood testing company Theranos, whose founder Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud in January and awaiting sentencing. (Bloomberg)
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Family Office Recruitment Information
Job Number 3
Company: A family office equity investment institution
Location: Beijing
Job Title: New Media Operations Manager
Work experience: more than 3 years
Salary: Interview
Responsibilities:
1． Responsible for the editing and dissemination of self-media content such as websites, official accounts, and video accounts;
2． Responsible for the coordination and coordination of the company's publicity resources;
3． Responsible for the implementation of brand strategy, corporate culture activity assistance, and external activity execution and landing;
4． According to the needs of brand communication, responsible for the creativity, shooting, editing and operation of video numbers;
5． Other tasks assigned by the leader.
Qualifications:
1． Bachelor degree or above, major in journalism, new media planning, marketing and other related majors are preferred;
2． Have strong copywriting skills and communication and coordination skills, good at graphic design and event planning;
3． Cheerful personality, good communication skills and teamwork spirit;
4． He has more than 3 years of experience in new media operation.
Job Number 4
Job Title: Brand Culture Manager
1． According to the company's strategic layout, assist in formulating the company's overall brand planning, planning and implementing brand promotion activities, responsible for the company's trademark, website official account operation, supplier channel management, gift procurement and brand qualification certification;
2． Public opinion management, responsible for docking and maintaining media resources, completing the company's news dissemination and management; responsible for public opinion monitoring and brand news writing;
3. Corporate culture work, assist in building and optimizing the corporate culture concept system, plan and organize corporate culture activities, and strengthen the brand culture awareness of internal employees.
1． Bachelor degree or above, more than 2 years of work experience in related positions is preferred;
2． Have a certain degree of brand strategic thinking, have activity execution and market-related work experience, have writing expertise or public account and other new media planning and operation experience is preferred;
3． Have certain organizational and coordination capabilities, risk awareness and adaptability;
4． Active thinking, cheerful personality, good expression skills, interpersonal communication skills.
(Reminder: The content and views are for reference only and do not constitute any investment advice.) ）