Wren Investment Office seeks out London’s super-rich families
Wren Investment Office has launched into an increasingly crowded market serving the super-rich, offering wealthy clients the chance to tap into a network of multifamily offices around the world with approximately $10bn under management.
Backed by US company WE Family Offices and MDF Family Partners, based in Spain, the core team at Wren comprises former members of Lord North Street Private Investment Office, which merged with SandAire in March 2014.
Wren will open the office in London’s Westminster at it attempts to tap into the capital’s status as a centre for global wealth.
Clients who access multifamily office services typically are worth more than $50m, with the average net worth pegged at about $200m. They differ from the estimated 10,000 single family offices, which only manage the affairs of one family or individual.
Services provided by both MFOs and SFOs range from wealth management to succession planning.
Wealth-X, the data provider that tracks the super-rich, estimates that the wealthy will pass on more than $16tn of assets over the next 30 years. A recent survey by UBS and Campden Wealth Research of 242 family offices revealed they held almost $184bn in assets.
However, questions have been raised recently about the number of different companies chasing the same super-rich clients, with private banks, wealth managers, multifamily offices — and even High Street banks — all attempting to lure wealthy customers.
“It’s becoming harder on the client side to know the trees from the woods, as there are so many different firms offering the same things but under the guises of different selling labels,” said Matthew Norman, deputy chairman of the Family Office Council.
Consolidation among the smaller companies was likely, he added. “Multi-family offices need to build assets under management in order to be viable under all the regulations, so consolidation is the name of the game.”
Private equity firms keen to get into the market have also recently been circling smaller wealth managers.
Michael Parsons, Wren’s chief executive, said consolidation had provided an opportunity, as there were now fewer MFOs in London than a few years ago. Key to Wren, he added, was to look at clients’ assets as “a wealth enterprise”.
“It’s not just about managing their investments, but it’s about defining a clear strategy for the overall wealth, which encompasses investments as well as property, their art collection and the company they still run and own,” he said. “It’s about understanding the overall purpose.”
The investment committees of WE, Wren and MDF will be integrated, with the alliance also sharing investment research as well as back-office systems and reporting.
“While the team in London will manage the organisation, we are going to be on the board,” said Mel Lagomasino, chief executive of WE. “We are going to be responsible at the strategy level and at a fiduciary level.”
Ms Lagomasino said the average client assets overseen at WE was just under $100m. “That’s around the target we are looking for in Wren,” she added.