patriarch

Family offices in North America have seen their wealth and returns soar past Asia-Pacific and European contemporaries, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, as their expanding vehicles act on their confident economic outlook and eye cannabis investments and fintech transactions.

However, North American families want to cut their exposure to fixed income investments next year, believe their cyber security measures need improvement and fall behind global peers in formal succession planning.

Families in Asia-Pacific are leading the world at their pace of establishing and evolving family offices as their wealth rockets, the need for succession plans becomes acute and investment returns outperform North American and European family office peers.

Marc Puig Guasch, third-generation principal of the global $1.8 billion Spanish family-owned fashion and fragrance business Puig, hails his father as a “titan with a human touch” who led by listening and brought out the best in people.

The chief executive and president of Puig went on to tell CampdenFB why the family is determined to retain control and grow the enterprise but discourage its fourth generation from management.

In the family council meeting in a city in India, the patriarch of the fast-moving consumer goods family business proudly proclaimed: “I have blocked a bed, nurse, doctor, oxygen cylinder and injection, which will be available for anyone of us if we fall prey to Covid-19. I’m not taking any chances.”

A hand went up: “Uncle, what if more than one of us needed it at the same time?” He smiled and said not to worry.