CampdenFB

More than half of the world’s leading family office principals say they expect a market downturn to start in 2020 and are considering how to safeguard against potential losses and capitalise on new opportunities.

Nearly half (45%) of principals surveyed said they were re-aligning their investment strategy to manage risk or take advantage of opportunistic events (42%). Another two-fifths (42%) said they were increasing their cash reserves, while a fifth (22%) are reducing leverage exposure within their investments.

Europe’s leading business families were hailed for their sustainability and stewardship by their peers at the glittering European Families in Business Awards 2019 this week.

Henkel, the €19.9 billion ($22.4 billion) German chemical and consumer goods giant, won the highly prized honour—Top Sustainable Family Business of the Year—at the exclusive and private gala dinner and awards presentation at the Four Seasons Hotel, Milan on Tuesday.

In 2006, as Ford Motor Company headed towards a $12.7 billion loss, the worst in the company’s 103-year history, Bill Ford, chief executive and great-grandson of the legendary Henry Ford, realised he needed help.

In an email to staff, Ford introduced his new top man: former Boeing transformation master Alan Mulally, who over the next eight years executed a revitalisation which saw the automaker’s stock appreciate more than 1000% from recession lows, and Mulally remembered as one of the all-time great business leaders.