Family Office Structures
Best practices structuring personalised Family Offices.
The Main Family Office Vehicle
My partners and I have worked with various generations of family business owners seeking to institutionalise and evolve their family office functions using their existing corporate structure and existing trusted staff. Increasingly, we work with younger, self-made HNWI’s, often building wealth through disruptive innovation and starting their family offices from scratch.
Asset Ownership vs Family Office Services
Business and Accounting 101 theory teaches us to clearly distinguish business from personal interests. This becomes increasingly important as the stakes grow and with them the ensuing risks. Segregating business staff from family office personnel will be the subject of another post. Here I will focus on corporate structures that sufficiently segregate asset ownership of family wealth and business interests from the service function of the family office.
I have seen family office functions performed through a variety of structures, ranging from legacy structures using existing holding company to operating companies that happened to employ those entrusted with the most important responsibilities and sensitive knowledge of the family office’s affairs. The goal of a professional family office structuring exercise is to consolidate family office functions and staff within a dedicated family office vehicle.
Holding Companies as Family Offices
Family offices, as opposed to holding companies, are often structured as service companies having family office functions such as management, investment control, investment advisory, distinct from holding companies that are vested with asset and business ownership. Holding companies fall within the ambit of family office structures but should not be confused with the family offices themselves. Read more on Family Office Holding Companies vs Family Office Service Companies.
Maltese companies as family office vehicles are onshore, compliant entities within the European Union, offering tax efficiency on top of the prestige of an onshore family office location with a robust legal infrastructure for family offices and a pleasant lifestyle destination for family office principals and staff.
Malta Family Office Company Formation
Chetcuti Cauchi runs a premier Family Office Advisory and Malta company formation practices, providing sound legal and tax advice to family offices and HNWIs supported by fully-fledged company formation, company administration and company accounting teams, all provided in-house. While maintaining the personalised service of a boutique practice, Chetcuti Cauchi’s company formation and administration service is able to deliver at high quality levels within a personalised, partner-led environment.
Malta Company Formation Services
Chetcuti Cauchi provides all company setup and management services in-house without outsourcing any aspect of the process. This enables us to offer an all round professional administration service whilst maintaining a single point of contact for all company related matters. This ensures a seamless service, eliminating service overlaps and reducing the cost of managing Malta companies without compromising quality. We offer full company formation and administration services.
Our Family Office Company Formations Team
Led by Corporate Services partner Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker, our Malta Company Formation team is able to deliver very short response times for queries related to company formation in Malta and fast Malta company formation and company incorporation service, if required, even within 24 hours. As leaders in the area of company formation in Malta, enjoying the cumulative experience of Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates since 2002 in setting up Malta Family Office companies, we are able to be practical, responding without hesitation while maintaining high levels of legal and fiscal compliance, often necessary in company formation cases that are less straight forward.
