With direct investing in portfolio companies, more family offices are seeing cost savings and better control over their investments without having to pay private equity firm management and performance fees. This trend has its appeal for both buyers and sellers, and is cementing a new way of investing for family offices.
Direct investing allows family offices to deploy their industry expertise, and their proven experience building their own companies, to plan long-term investments with greater returns. Without the involvement of private equity firms, family offices are able to spend more time being thoughtful and selective about long-term projects, and less time worrying about the traditional fees and fundraising headaches that come with the traditional private equity model.
Family offices are also increasingly looking for sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) opportunities. The Financial Times reported in 2015 that family offices are allocating an average of 17% of their assets to SRI investments.
Accordingly, family offices are hiring investment professionals to build their own direct investing capabilities, saving them money on fees and creating a new career path for investment professionals who want their careers to grow outside traditional private equity.
Nixon Peabody is focused on the private equity industry, always watching for and acting upon trends affecting our clients. We help family office professionals acquire portfolio companies, close financing transactions, address day-to-day legal issues and ultimately exit portfolio companies in the future.
Through our Nixon Peabody Capital Connector® (NPCC) program, a complimentary referral service, we source proprietary deals and share these investment opportunities with our family office clients and prospects. With a national network of institutional investors including specialty lenders, growth equity firms, family offices, private equity firms and others, the NPCC facilitates flow within the deal ecosystem by sourcing investment opportunities on behalf of these important investor relationships.
Financial Poise | March 24, 2021
Chicago Corporate partner Gary Levenstein contributed this article on the growing prevalence and sophistication of family offices, and best practices for managing and operating a family office.
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