中闻原创 | 近距离与个性化：中国家族办公室透视

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近距离与个性化：

中国家族办公室透视

世界金融的重心正在转移到中国，其中国内家族企业的发展是一个主要因素。但与欧洲和北美相比，中国家族办公室的概念还处于初级阶段。西方的财富管理者正抓住机遇，努力与中国客户建立持久的业务关系。

听说在中国，你只与其信任的人做生意。这是一个被高估的概念，说起来容易做起来难。当然，若您不积极沟通，则不能建立信任。但是，也有人说，若您不知如何喝酒，则不能与中国商人有效沟通。

在中国，真正的沟通是一个挑战，而不是“随意的交谈”。其始于一个简单（与否）的任务，做出适当的努力，例如一起喝酒。这显示出对一方文化的接受和尊重，是双方相互信任的基础。

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这是一个挑战

中国财富的很大一部分仍然由家族的父系或母系家长控制。这些早期的企业家很穷，没有受过正规教育，且不懂英文。因此，您应如何解释“家族办公室”这个概念呢？

即使在中国人中，也存在中国大陆人、香港华人、新加坡华人和马来西亚华人的区别。此外，新一代家庭的背景和文化也是多元的。他们讲多种亚洲语言，并世代传承多种商业文化。语言障碍使获得老一辈及其家庭成员的信任和信心成为财富管理者的更大挑战，特别是那些从欧洲或美国拓展业务的财富管理者。

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信任圈

信任需要建立大量的关系。这需要时间。同时，若您操之过急，则将永远无法进入核心圈。关键是，您要么“进入”中国客户的信任圈，要么“退出”。

若您进入信任圈，则您的意见将在其关注的多个领域受到重视。问题是，作为局外人，您如何融入信任圈。家族企业的概念一直都是这样在“家族”中。然而，这可能延伸至家族的亲密朋友。他们几代人一起工作，历经艰难困苦，考验着彼此的忠诚。

当然，这不是也无法一蹴而就。即使专业的“值得信赖”的顾问，背后有大型私人银行或律师事务所品牌作为后盾，也无法做到。一个家族只信任家族或其信任圈内的人。在自身经历同样的挑战（和机遇）后，只有这些人才能真正理解和“感受”对方的价值观和目标。

尽管如此，事实仍然是，中国拥有全球三分之一的超高净值人士。作为一个市场，中国很容易创造或打破跨国公司的底线。由于资产仍主要由第一代持有，大多数中国富裕家庭的领导人仍然是关键决策者。他们往往热衷于积极参与管理自己的资产，尽管中国许多富裕家庭正面临一个转型期，即：将家庭财富的控制权转移给后代。因此，家族办公室的理念- 一种致力于满足富裕家庭的财务、企业和个人需求的制度化和形式化模式，对国内的很多高净值人士来说，仍然是一个外来概念。中国人的财富相对较新，控制权更多地由父系或母系家长掌握，而不是专业人士。

尽管面临这些挑战，中国的家族办公室被各方认可其发展潜力巨大。由于对欧洲发展和美国经济放缓的担忧，寻求下一个增长阶段的企业正将注意力转向中国，这有助于推动该地区的经济增长。中国不断增长的财富正在创造越来越多的百万富翁和亿万富翁。因此，财富保值和传承等问题变得更加令人关注，有助于推动家族办公室的发展。

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近距离观察

合并报表正成为中国家庭和企业关注的问题。如果一个家庭的资产价值是5亿美元，那么值得担心的不是如何创收下一个百万美元；相反，真正令人担忧的是如家长突然去世，而是孩子们是否知道其向何人、在何处、分配了哪些遗产。

中国有句谚语，富不过三代。第一代人创造财富，第二代人对财富进行保值。然而，一旦将财富传承给第三代，则财富通常会被挥霍。家族办公室的一个关键作用是防止财富遭到挥霍。在中国，管理财富的竞争正在加剧。

在过去的十年中，随着金融机构的私人银行部门设立咨询服务，来自美国、西欧和中欧的家族办公室也已经开始针对中国富裕家庭开展业务。然而，中国独特的文化、语言和信仰，给渴望进入这一利润丰厚行业的家族办公室带来了挑战。随着家族办公室的种类越来越多，包括瑞银、花旗集团和汇丰银行等投资银行设立的家族办公室，谁将在中国富裕家庭中越来越受青睐？

从家族的角度看，大银行往往太过热衷向客户销售自己的产品。在全球银行中，高管的薪酬往往与新客户的数量以及所销售的产品挂钩。因此，银行的利益与那些需要无偏私的战略建议的家族的利益并不完全一致。这些家族的利益与资产管理或其他产品的销售无关。

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个性化服务

通过信任圈建立密切关系，可以让“值得信赖的”顾问更接近客户，更好地提供更多“定制”服务，其中可能包括家族治理、移民，甚至包括从财富管理到葡萄酒品鉴等教育。单一第一代财富家庭的家族办公室很可能是“私人”办公室，处理个人和家庭事务，包括类似礼宾服务。

在这些值得信赖的顾问中，拥有从法律、税务到行业投资等广泛技能的专业“T型”顾问将对中国新成立的私人家族办公室具有吸引力。特别地，拥有财富规划和税务专业知识、拥有足够投资管理咨询经验的律师事务所将具有额外的优势，因为律师通常被认为具有更全面的技能，特别是通过处理影响家族企业的一般案例。这些顾问非常适合与私人家族办公室紧密合作。

一般来说，中国家族更愿意在这些私人的单一或多层式家族办公室内与其内部团队合作。这些家族办公室只为相互了解的家族提供服务，其目标是创造至少超过通货膨胀加上办公室费用的回报。因此，财富计划的结构紧密基于家族的价值观和目标，同时考虑到家族的风险状况、收入资本、家庭分布和时间范围。家族可以选择尽可能增加或尽可能減少地控制这些结构。根据税收司法辖区的不同，有些结构比其他结构更好。

总的来说，税务咨询将成为一个起点，因为家族财富的大部分分布于不同的国家和资产类别。税收筹划非常重要，通常被视为一种储蓄回报率。尽管中国家庭财富不断增长，但他们的风险偏好却相当保守。这又回到家族企业的本质。当您的公司拥有这么多的家庭成员，在大多数情况下，您不能承受高风险，因为其很容易变得复杂，特别是对于已经进入下一代且涉及多个家庭的家族企业。

因此，在构建家族办公室时，一种更为全面的方法是从三个维度来审视——家族、企业和财富管理，并按此顺序排列。家庭和谐是关键。若家族企业出现问题，那么家族很难专注于投资回报。

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结构

随着中国财富的转型，不同区域正在崛起的一代人通过教育或专业背景，比他们的前辈更有商业头脑，也更能接受通过建立“正式的”办公室以帮助管理家族资产。这将有助于行业的发展。

虽然中国香港和新加坡是中国超级富豪设立家族办公室的两个主要地方，但还没有明确的“家族办公室”法律和法规。在这两个地方，只有内部基金和家族办公室正确构建时，监管豁免才能适用。

无论家族办公室采取何种形式，其关键在于正确构建，以适应超高净值家庭的特殊需求，并满足相关监管要求。一些中国家族希望采取独特的策略，投资私人交易或另类资产配置。他们的家族办公室将作为家族内部基金的经理或顾问。组织家族投资平台的常用工具包括有限合伙、独立公司基金、独立投资组合公司以及通常适用离岸法律（主要是开曼法律，偶尔包括新加坡法律）创建的单位信托。

另一个越来越流行的工具，可作为家族办公室其中一部分良好运行类型的结构，是基金会公司--- 一个公司和信托的混合体，被设立为私人信托或一组家族信托的受托人。基金会公司通常适用离岸法律（如开曼、泽西岛、根西岛或英属维尔京岛的法律）创建。关键的吸引力在于信托的委托人和其家族成员可以加入董事会。如果有家族办公室，也可以提供专业人员作为董事。因而创始人和家族成员在结构中能保持控制权。

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: 

PERSPECTIVES ON CHINESE FAMILY OFFICES

The world’s financial center of gravity is shifting to China and Chinese family businesses are a major factor. But the family office concept is in its infancy compared to Europe and North America and western wealth managers struggle to forge enduring business relationships. 

It has often been said in China, you only do business with another because you trust them. An over-rated concept, easier said than done. You cannot build trust if you do not communicate but it has also been said that if you do not know how to drink, you cannot talk to the Chinese businessman. 

Real communication, as opposed to the “casual talks”, is a real challenge in China.  It begins with the simple (or not) task of making suitable efforts, such as drinking together.  It shows willingness and respect to one's culture, a foundation for mutual trust between parties. 

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It is a challenge

A big part of Chinese wealth remains controlled by the patriarchs or matriarchs of the families. These early entrepreneurs were poor, didn’t have formal education and spoke very little English. How do you explain the concept the word “family office?”

Even among the Chinese, there are China Mainland Chinese, the Hong Kong Chinese, the Singapore Chinese and the Malaysian Chinese and they are all different. Furthermore, the new generation families are of mixed backgrounds and cultures. They speak many Asian languages with inherited multiple business cultures spanning generations. The language barrier would make gaining trust and confidence of older generations and family members even more of a challenge for wealth managers, in particular those who are expanding from Europe or the United States. 

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Circle of trust

Trust requires a lot of relationship building, which takes time, and if you push too hard, you will never get into the inner circle. What is key is that you are either "in" or "out" of their trust circle. 

If you are in, your opinion will be valued in and across multiple areas of concern. The question is how you get in to being part of the circle of trust as outsiders. The concept of family businesses has always been just that-within "family". However, this could extend to close friends of the families, which over generations have worked together and through thick and thin, tested each other's loyalties. 

It is certainly not and cannot be done overnight, not even with professional "trusted" advisers who arrived with big private bank or law firm brands behind them. A family only trusts those within the family or people within the circle could truly understand and "feel" what the other's values and objectives are having gone through the same challenges (and opportunities), themselves.

Nonetheless, facts remain that China is home to a third  of the world's ultra-high net worth people and as a market, can easily make or break a multinational's bottom line. With assets still predominately held by the first generations, the heads of most wealthy Chinese families remain as key decision makers and they are often keen to stay actively involved in managing their own assets. This is despite the fact that many of Chinese’s wealthy families are facing a transition period which involves shifting control of the family’s wealth to later generations. Hence, the idea of a family office - an institutionalized and formalized model that is dedicated to the financial, corporate and personal needs of wealthy families, is still a foreign concept to many of the region’s high net worth individuals. Chinese wealth is relatively new and control is more often with the family patriarch or matriarch, rather than the professionals. 

In spite of these challenges, China’s potential for growth for family offices is widely regarded as huge. Amid concerns about development in Europe and a slowdown in the US, companies seeking the next growth phase are turning their attention to China, helping to propel the region’s economic growth. China’s surging wealth is creating more millionaires and billionaires. Issues such as wealth preservation and succession planning have therefore become more of a concern, helping to propel the growth of family offices. 

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It is close

Consolidated reporting is becoming a concern for Chinese families and businesses. If a family is worth, for example, $500 million, the worry is not really about making the next million, rather, if the patriarch dies suddenly, would the children know what they have  allocated to what, where and who. 

There is a Chinese saying which states that the wealth of a family never lasts for more than three generations. Whilst the first generation creates wealth, the second generation preserves it. However, once the fortune is passed on to the third generation, the wealth is usually squandered. A key role of the family office is to prevent the destruction of wealth and the competition to manage that wealth is intensifying in China. 

In the past decade, family offices from the US and western and central Europe have started to develop their presences alongside private banking units of financial institutions which have set up advisory businesses, targeting Chinese wealthy families. However, China’s unique cultures, languages and belief present challenges for family offices keen to tap into this lucrative industry. As the space become crowded with varied family office types, including those set up by investment banks such as UBS, Citigroup and HSBC - who is gaining favor among China’s rich families? 

From the families' perspectives, quite often the big banks are too keen to sell their own products to their clients and the pay of an executive at a global bank is linked to the number of new clients and the products he has sold. Therefore the interest of the bank is not exactly aligned with that of the families' which need unbiased strategic advice, not tied to selling asset management or other products. 

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It is personal

A close relationship built through being within the circle of trust allows "trusted" advisers to be closer to their clients and in a better position to come up with more "bespoke" services, which may include family governance, immigration and even education ranging from wealth management to wine appreciation. A family office of a single first-generation wealth family most likely act as a "private" office, which deals with personal and household matters and includes such concierge-like services. 

Within these trusted advisers, specialist "T-shaped" advisers with a broad skill sets ranging from legal, tax to investments in the industry would be attractive to newly established private family offices in China. In particular, law firms with wealth planning and tax expertise with adequate investment management advisory experience would have an added advantage as lawyers are generally perceived to have more rounded skills particularly, through dealing with case laws affecting families businesses in general. These advisors are ideal to work closely alongside private family offices. 

Generally, Chinese families prefer to work with their internal team within these private single or multifamily offices that cater only for families who know each other well. The goal of these private family offices is to generate returns that at least exceed inflation plus office charges. The wealth plans are therefore structured closely based on the values and objectives of the families, taking into consideration their individual risk profiles, income capital, family distributions and time horizons. The family can choose to keep as much or as little control of those structures they want to – depending on the tax jurisdiction, some structures are better than others. 

By and large, tax advisory would form a starting point as a major part of the families’ wealth spread across different countries and asset classes. Tax planning is very important and is often viewed as a sort of a rate of return for savings. Despite the growing wealth of Chinese families, their risk appetite is rather conservative. This again goes back to the nature of the family businesses, when you have a company that has so many family members, for most of the time you are not able to take high risks as it could easily get complicated especially for a family business that is already in the next generation and which involves multiple families. 

A more holistic approach when structuring a family office's services would therefore is to look into three perspectives – family, business and wealth management and in that order. Family harmony is key as if the family business is having problems, it would be difficult for the family to focus on investment returns. 

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Structure

As China’s wealth transitions, different region’s rising generations, who are more business savvy than their predecessors - either through their educational or professional background, are more receptive towards the establishment of "formal" offices to help manage the family assets. This will help underpin growth in the industry. 

Although Hong Kong China and Singapore are the two prime locations for the Chinese super wealthy to set up at least the principle family office, there are not yet explicit “family office” laws and regulations. Regulatory exemptions would be applicable only if the internal funds and the family offices are structured correctly. 

Whatever form the family office takes, the key is to structure it right to suit the particular needs of the ultra-high net worth family and meet the relevant regulatory requirements. Some Chinese families want to pursue unique strategies to invest in private deals or alternative asset classes. Their family offices would act as manager or adviser to the family’s internal funds. The popular tools to organize the family’s investment platform include limited partnership, standalone corporate fund, segregated portfolio companies, and unit trusts usually created using offshore laws (mostly Cayman), and occasionally Singapore law. 

Another increasing popular tool, which works well as part of a family office type structure, is the Foundation Company  (FC) – a hybrid between a company and a trust,  established to be trustee of a trust, or a group of family trusts, and they are usually created using offshore laws (such as those of Cayman, Jersey, Guernsey or BVI). The key attraction is that the settlor of the trust, and other family members can sit on the board, and where there is a family office this can provide professionals as directors too. Thus the founder and family of their choice retain control in the structure. 

声 明

本文仅代表作者本人观点，不可将其视为中闻律师事务所及其律师出具的正式法律意见或结论。如需转载或引用文章中的任何内容，请邮件联系我们：[e-mail]；如您有意就该议题进一步交流或探讨，欢迎在公众号后台留言。