Passion Investments

Impact investing is at a stage where family offices can get involved without having to chart unknown territory, according to a new appointment at Trusted Family, who previously worked for LGT Venture Philanthropy.

Wolfgang Hafenmayer became the new head of impact advisory at Trusted Family in January, and will be responsible for expanding societal impact solutions for business-owning families that are part of the online network.

From the outside, few industries look more glossy and alluring than superyacht building. Insiders would shake their heads at such naivété.

“Avoid getting carried away by the glamour, or seduced by the hype,” says one eminent UK consultant. “Some make it - most don’t.” In Viareggio, Italian yacht builder Maurizio Balducci agrees: “The boat business is strange. It’s not straightforward – it’s not like making bread. Sometimes the best commercial strategy is simply not possible.”

For almost a century people had walked through the library of one New England family every day without ever really thinking about the books on the shelves. Over generations a large collection of antique books had been accumulated, but had mostly remained in the library of the main family home.

Those who followed Republican Mitt Romney’s run for the 2012 US presidential elections will remember the multi-millionaire’s bumbling attempts to connect with the working classes. So imagine the Democrats’ glee when it emerged his wife was the co-owner of a million-dollar dressage horse, Rafalca, which was preparing to compete at the London Olympic Games. The couple, it emerged during the campaign trail, spent $77,000 (€61,300) annually on the German-bred mare – $50,000 more than the average US salary.