OREANDA-NEWS. December 03, 2015. Experts of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre have presented preliminary results of Russia’s first research of “family offices”, the structures servicing the financial and other needs of capital owners. The presentation took place on the campus of the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO, within the second annual Wealth Knowledge Day conference which is becoming a traditional meeting place for the wealth management industry professionals. Ruben Vardanyan, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, Chairman of Expert Council of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre, took part in the Conference.

The event has brought together, on the SKOLKOVO campus, more than 250 participants: experts, clients, leading practitioners, and solution providers.

Opening the conference, and welcoming the guests, Ruben Vardanyan noted: “In the next 20–25 years, we will be going through a very interesting stage in Russia: for the first time in the century, hundreds of thousands of capital owning families will be confronted with the legacy transfer issue: to whom they should trust their wealth, how to legally arrange the matter, and how to prepare the heirs for that. It is evident that we will have to make complicated decisions which will seriously change the economic landscape of our country. Therefore, the matters we will be discussing today are relevant not only to particular families but also to the society as a whole. I believe it is extremely important to think about the next 20–25 years rather than focus on immediate problems. It is hard but I am sure that we can achieve this together. I hope this conference will constitute an efficient platform to exchange expert opinions, professional experience, and stories of successes and failures, because only together, in a dialogue, we will be able to choose a correct vector of development of this industry which will definitely have an impact on the quality of our life tomorrow.”

The plenary session of the conference was focused on presentation of results of the “family offices” research; during the presentation, experts of the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre considered various approaches to classification of these structures, featured the existing business models of “family offices”, and defined their role in financial and non-financial aspects of the family’s life.

Discussion of the research results continued within seven business laboratories dedicated to the following subjects:

  • Finance: Could we expect a protection from the inflation and long-term growth of financial assets under management?
    • Successors: Is the new generation of Russian wealth possessors just a legacy of existing "family office" clients or new clients with new needs?
  • Deoffshorisation and Family Dynamics: How can family dynamics interact with post-deoffshorization structures?
  • Ventures Investments: Can family offices find a billion dollar-startup?
  • Human Capital in “Family Offices”: Is there such a profession as a “family office employee”?
  • Philanthropy Banking: Can philanthropy service be profitable?
  • Information Security: How can wealth possessors, their families and "family offices" be protected from cyber threats?

UBS Bank which supports the SKOLKOVO Wealth Transformation Centre presented its expertise at each of the sessions.

The business laboratories’ speakers also included more than 60 industry experts representing such companies and institutions as Credit Suisse, Sberbank Private Banking, BINBANK/MDM Bank, Gazprombank, Lombard Odier, Coutts, NorthGroup Company, EY, PwC, ALRUD and EPAM legal firms, Rioni Capital, Phoenix Advisors, Europe Finance, SILVERPEARL Capital, UFG Wealth Management, Future Matters Venture Capital, Prostor Capital, RVC OJSC, Future Biotech, FPI Partners, Genezis Technology Capital, Sherpa S Pro, Group-IB, Social Finance Israel, the Higher School of Economics National Research University, the New Economic School, the SKOLKOVO Institute for Emerging Market Studies, and the SKOLKOVO Business School Investor Club.