https://foalmanac.com/blog Editorial writing on governance, succession, structuring and the advisory market for family offices and UHNW families. en-GB Fri, 24 Jul 2026 07:11:44 GMT https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-citywealth-transatlantic-select https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-citywealth-transatlantic-select Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Citywealth has unveiled its Top 30 Transatlantic Select: Advisors and Managers 2026, naming the lawyers, tax specialists and wealth managers who serve families with assets on both sides of the Atlantic. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-goldman-sachs-private-markets-platform https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-goldman-sachs-private-markets-platform Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Goldman Sachs has pulled its private-market activities into one unit aimed at family offices who want direct stakes in late-stage private companies, plus a way to trade them. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-healey-chancellor-tax-clarity https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-healey-chancellor-tax-clarity Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT John Healey became the UK's sixth chancellor in just over four years on 20 July 2026. Advisers want an end to constant speculation on inheritance tax and pensions. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sawiris-nns-oci-take-private https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sawiris-nns-oci-take-private Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT NNS Holding, the private family office of Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, has lifted its combined stake in OCI Global above 55% as its all-cash bid to take the chemicals group private advances. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sfo-alliance-ceo-departs-seven-months https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sfo-alliance-ceo-departs-seven-months Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Jeroen Vetter has left the invite-only single-family-office club SFO Alliance under seven months after taking the top job, the second CEO change in under a year. Founder Lex van Dam remains executive chairman. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sothebys-record-first-half-2026 https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sothebys-record-first-half-2026 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Sotheby's reported $4.4bn in sales for the first half of 2026, its strongest six months, with auction sales of $3.4bn, record private sales of $826m and estate collections selling through at 96 per cent. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-stonehage-fleming-name-retired https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-stonehage-fleming-name-retired Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT From 15 July 2026 the Stonehage Fleming website is offline and the business trades as Corient, ending one of the oldest brands in European family office advisory. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-blackrock-uk-family-office-head-departs https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-blackrock-uk-family-office-head-departs Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Spear's reports that Victoria Matthews, managing director and head of UK family offices at BlackRock, has left the firm, with no replacement announced. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-caprock-venturi-private-wealth-acquisition https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-caprock-venturi-private-wealth-acquisition Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Boise-based multi-family office is adding an Austin firm with about $4 billion in assets, its first purchase since the 2024 Grey Street Capital deal. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-elborne-home-loan-scheme-iht-ruling https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-elborne-home-loan-scheme-iht-ruling Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT On 13 July 2026 the Court of Appeal dismissed HMRC's appeal in Elborne, holding that a 2003 home loan scheme kept a £1.8m family home outside the estate for inheritance tax. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-ipo-wealth-wave-family-offices https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-ipo-wealth-wave-family-offices Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The largest IPO in history, with Anthropic and OpenAI expected to follow, is creating suddenly wealthy employees in numbers the family office world has not handled before. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-lambert-family-home-estoppel-claim https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-lambert-family-home-estoppel-claim Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A son who gave up his career to care for his mother is suing his father over the family wealth. The case shows what happens when family promises never make it onto paper. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-private-chef-salaries-household-staff https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-private-chef-salaries-household-staff Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A Morgan & Mallet study finds private chefs earning up to $300,000 and estate managers among the fastest-rising roles, as the wealthy staff more homes across more countries. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-charles-russell-speechlys-new-york https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-charles-russell-speechlys-new-york Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The London private client firm has opened offices in New York and Connecticut, hiring a six-partner team from Withers to build its first North American base. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-citywealth-top-75-trustees-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-citywealth-top-75-trustees-family-office Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Citywealth published its 2026 Top 75 Trustees and IFC Family Office list in early July. It rests on peer and client references rather than a fee, and it tracks a trustee role that keeps widening. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-hedge-funds-best-first-half-family-offices https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-hedge-funds-best-first-half-family-offices Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT PivotalPath data shows the hedge fund composite returned 7.3 per cent in the first half of 2026, its best start since 2013. The gains land as family offices weigh a return to a strategy many had trimmed. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-julius-baer-wealth-lifestyle-report https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-julius-baer-wealth-lifestyle-report Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT The bank's 2026 Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report puts the cost of a premium lifestyle up 10.2% in dollar terms, with exchange rates reshaping the city rankings for globally mobile families. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-deutsche-bank-dubai-det-family-offices https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-deutsche-bank-dubai-det-family-offices Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Deutsche Bank's Private Bank and Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism have agreed a client-introduction partnership to bring family offices and UHNW individuals into the emirate. The interesting part is who introduces whom, and on what terms. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-arnault-lvmh-tax-ruling https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-arnault-lvmh-tax-ruling Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A French administrative court has upheld tax assessments of about €22.5m against Bernard Arnault and his wife, tied to payments from a holding structure connected to their LVMH stake. Arnault will appeal to the Conseil d'État. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-bbva-independent-multi-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-bbva-independent-multi-family-office Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT BBVA Private Banking has opened a multi-family office for fortunes of €30–300 million, structured as a separate company with open-architecture custody. The word doing the heavy lifting is 'independent'. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-south-africa-rejects-wealth-tax https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-south-africa-rejects-wealth-tax Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Parliament the government is not planning a net wealth tax, arguing income tax raises far more and that a levy would push the top tax base to relocate. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-uk-advice-firm-consolidation https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-uk-advice-firm-consolidation Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Clifton Wealth Partnership added Morgan Law Financial Services on 1 July 2026, the latest in a run of UK advice-firm deals. What the pace of consolidation means for families choosing a private-client adviser. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-vanilla-callan-family-office-partnership https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-vanilla-callan-family-office-partnership Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT A US multifamily office has made a strategic investment in estate-planning technology firm Vanilla, with a joint roadmap aimed at the complex structures that standard planning software struggles to model. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-corient-letus-acquisition https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-corient-letus-acquisition Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Corient has agreed to acquire Letus Private Office, a Paris-based multi-family office overseeing about €4.1 billion, its latest European deal after Stonehage Fleming, Stanhope and Bedrock. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-evertern-vontobel-family-office-alliance https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-evertern-vontobel-family-office-alliance Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A first-year US multi-family office has signed a referral alliance with Vontobel Swiss Financial Advisers, adding Swiss custody, multi-currency banking and allocated gold storage rather than building the capability itself. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-ocorian-family-offices-alternatives-risk https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-ocorian-family-offices-alternatives-risk Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A global survey of 200 family office professionals managing $119 billion finds that 75 per cent expect to take on more investment risk over the next 12 months, with private equity leading the shift into alternative assets. https://foalmanac.com/blog/cnbc-elite-advisors-list-2026 https://foalmanac.com/blog/cnbc-elite-advisors-list-2026 Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT CNBC's 2026 Elite Advisors list names 25 US advisory firms serving clients with $25 million or more. It is another entrant in the crowded business of ranking advisers — useful as a signal, limited as a verdict. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-family-office-security-report https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-family-office-security-report Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The State of Family Office Security 2026, a study by Presage Global and Nines, finds that most family offices apply institutional rigour to investments and tax but leave the home largely unmanaged. Sixty-two per cent of household staff receive no security training at all. https://foalmanac.com/blog/how-families-choose-advisers https://foalmanac.com/blog/how-families-choose-advisers Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT How wealthy families should vet advisers: reading past the rankings, why recognition across several independent sources matters, and the questions to ask. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sanders-family-office-sec-suit https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-sanders-family-office-sec-suit Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The SEC has sued a firm called Sanders Family Office, alleging it sold around $40 million in promissory notes without a broker licence. The case is a reminder that the label carries no regulatory weight. https://foalmanac.com/blog/henley-wealth-migration-2026-methodology https://foalmanac.com/blog/henley-wealth-migration-2026-methodology Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026 has abandoned its precise count of millionaires on the move, dropped its sole author, and replaced the headline number with a competitiveness score. The UK figure it once put near a doubling now reads as a 15 per cent rise. https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-uk-probate-court-fees-rise https://foalmanac.com/blog/2026-uk-probate-court-fees-rise Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The Ministry of Justice will raise the grant of probate fee from £300 to £526 on 13 July 2026, a rise of about 75%, alongside wider court fee changes. https://foalmanac.com/blog/cross-border-families-residency-and-non-dom https://foalmanac.com/blog/cross-border-families-residency-and-non-dom Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Wealthy families are more mobile than ever, and tax regimes are moving under them. Why residency planning is now a continuous discipline, not a one-off. https://foalmanac.com/blog/partners-group-family-office-split https://foalmanac.com/blog/partners-group-family-office-split Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Urs Wietlisbach is creating an independent investment arm within PG3 AG, the family office shared with his two co-founders since 2013. Succession planning is the stated reason. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-governance-that-holds https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-governance-that-holds Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Most family constitutions gather dust. What separates governance that actually holds a family together from the borrowed templates that quietly fail. https://foalmanac.com/blog/what-belongs-in-a-family-charter https://foalmanac.com/blog/what-belongs-in-a-family-charter Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT A family charter is only worth the behaviour it changes. What to put in one, what to leave out, and why the drafting matters less than the conversation. https://foalmanac.com/blog/corient-stonehage-fleming-merger https://foalmanac.com/blog/corient-stonehage-fleming-merger Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The largest independent UHNW wealth manager in the world now exists. Corient completed its acquisitions of Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital on 1 June 2026. https://foalmanac.com/blog/winston-taylor-private-wealth-launch https://foalmanac.com/blog/winston-taylor-private-wealth-launch Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT The merger of Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing UK went live on 1 June 2026, creating a £1.2bn firm that positions private wealth as one of four defining capabilities. https://foalmanac.com/blog/liechtenstein-trust-law-reform-2026 https://foalmanac.com/blog/liechtenstein-trust-law-reform-2026 Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT A new Liechtenstein trust statute takes effect on 1 July 2026, requiring every private trust to appoint an information rights holder. Existing trusts must comply by 31 December 2027. https://foalmanac.com/blog/single-vs-multi-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/single-vs-multi-family-office Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Single family office or multi-family office? The trade-offs around control, cost and alignment, and an honest way to decide which fits your family. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-offices-closing-despite-wealth https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-offices-closing-despite-wealth Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running a single family office costs $6.6 million a year for a $1 billion portfolio. Some families have decided the numbers no longer work. https://foalmanac.com/blog/andrianakos-estate-dispute-melbourne https://foalmanac.com/blog/andrianakos-estate-dispute-melbourne Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Melbourne property billionaire Nick Andrianakos died in Greece in March 2025. His children are now fighting over which version of his will is valid. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-employment-relatives-in-the-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-employment-relatives-in-the-family-office Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Employing relatives can deepen commitment or quietly corrode the office. The difference is whether the same rules apply to everyone. https://foalmanac.com/blog/security-privacy-and-reputation-for-families https://foalmanac.com/blog/security-privacy-and-reputation-for-families Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Wealth makes a family findable. Protecting it is less about gadgets than about habits, discretion and who you let close. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-offices-ai-gap https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-offices-ai-gap Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Two thirds of family offices say AI is a priority investment theme. Fewer than a quarter use it internally. The gap between allocation and adoption is wide. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-office-investment-allocation-to-direct-deals https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-office-investment-allocation-to-direct-deals Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT From asset allocation to direct deals: how family offices invest, the pull towards co-investment, and the governance that keeps investment decisions disciplined. https://foalmanac.com/blog/solorz-liechtenstein-foundation-ruling https://foalmanac.com/blog/solorz-liechtenstein-foundation-ruling Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Polish billionaire Zygmunt Solorz transferred founder's rights in his Liechtenstein foundations, tried to revoke the next day, and lost. His media empire now belongs to his children. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-office-operations-data-cyber https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-office-operations-data-cyber Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Operations, data and cyber risk are the unglamorous backbone of a family office, and the area wealthy families most often neglect until something breaks. https://foalmanac.com/blog/preparing-the-family-for-a-liquidity-event https://foalmanac.com/blog/preparing-the-family-for-a-liquidity-event Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Selling the business turns operators into investors overnight. The families who handle it well prepare the people, not just the deal. https://foalmanac.com/blog/buy-to-leave-london-non-doms https://foalmanac.com/blog/buy-to-leave-london-non-doms Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Non-doms leaving the UK are not selling their London properties. They are holding them vacant, managing tax residency around the 90-day threshold. https://foalmanac.com/blog/choosing-a-multi-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/choosing-a-multi-family-office Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT A good multi-family office buys you scale and expertise without the burden of building. The hard part is telling a good one from a polished sales process. https://foalmanac.com/blog/beckham-brand-empire-drjb https://foalmanac.com/blog/beckham-brand-empire-drjb Sat, 04 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT DRJB Holdings, David Beckham's licensing vehicle, is now generating close to $100 million in annual revenue. The business was partly sold in 2022 and has grown fast since. https://foalmanac.com/blog/murdoch-family-trust-settlement https://foalmanac.com/blog/murdoch-family-trust-settlement Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Rupert Murdoch tried to rewrite a 1999 family trust to give Lachlan sole control of News Corp and Fox. A Nevada court blocked the move. A $3.3 billion settlement followed. https://foalmanac.com/blog/preparing-the-next-generation https://foalmanac.com/blog/preparing-the-next-generation Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Succession is not a single handover. How families prepare the next generation for real responsibility, and the mistakes that derail the transition. https://foalmanac.com/blog/financial-education-for-the-next-generation https://foalmanac.com/blog/financial-education-for-the-next-generation Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Heirs are handed wealth and expected to steward it with no training. What real financial education looks like, and when it should start. https://foalmanac.com/blog/staffing-a-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/staffing-a-family-office Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Who to hire first in a family office, the traits that matter more than the CV, and how to avoid the key-person risk that quietly threatens small teams. https://foalmanac.com/blog/blackrock-geopolitics-family-offices https://foalmanac.com/blog/blackrock-geopolitics-family-offices Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT BlackRock's 2025 survey of 175 single family offices found near-universal concern about geopolitical risk but surprisingly stable portfolio allocations. https://foalmanac.com/blog/philanthropy-foundation-daf-or-direct https://foalmanac.com/blog/philanthropy-foundation-daf-or-direct Tue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT The vehicle is the easy part. The harder question is what the family is actually trying to change, and who decides. https://foalmanac.com/blog/what-is-a-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/what-is-a-family-office Tue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT What a single family office really is, what it is for, and when a wealthy family actually needs one rather than a private bank or a multi-family office. https://foalmanac.com/blog/issa-brothers-asda-eg-group-split https://foalmanac.com/blog/issa-brothers-asda-eg-group-split Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who together bought Asda for £6.8 billion, have divided their business interests. One is stepping back; the other is eyeing a US IPO. https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-councils-and-meetings-that-work https://foalmanac.com/blog/family-councils-and-meetings-that-work Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Most family meetings are either rubber-stamping or warfare. What separates a family council that holds real decisions from one that meets, minutes and changes nothing. https://foalmanac.com/blog/uk-non-dom-abolished-fig-regime https://foalmanac.com/blog/uk-non-dom-abolished-fig-regime Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT After more than two centuries, the UK abolished the non-domiciled tax status from 6 April 2025. The replacement is a four-year relief for new arrivals and a transition facility for everyone else. https://foalmanac.com/blog/safra-sarasin-saxo-bank-acquisition https://foalmanac.com/blog/safra-sarasin-saxo-bank-acquisition Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Months after settling its inheritance dispute, the Safra banking dynasty made its biggest acquisition in years, buying a majority stake in Denmark's Saxo Bank. https://foalmanac.com/blog/true-cost-of-a-single-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/true-cost-of-a-single-family-office Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT The real cost of running a single family office goes well beyond salaries. What families underestimate, and the point at which an SFO stops making sense. https://foalmanac.com/blog/trusts-and-succession-questions-that-matter https://foalmanac.com/blog/trusts-and-succession-questions-that-matter Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Families reach for a trust before they have answered why. The structure should follow the intent, not the other way round. https://foalmanac.com/blog/safra-banking-dynasty-succession https://foalmanac.com/blog/safra-banking-dynasty-succession Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Joseph Safra's death in 2020 triggered years of litigation within one of the world's wealthiest banking dynasties. The dispute is over. The family has restructured. https://foalmanac.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-single-family-office https://foalmanac.com/blog/how-to-set-up-a-single-family-office Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT A practical guide to setting up a single family office in the UK: where to start, the order most families get wrong, and how to assemble the right advisers. https://foalmanac.com/blog/hinduja-geneva-conviction https://foalmanac.com/blog/hinduja-geneva-conviction Sun, 23 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT Four members of the Hinduja family were convicted in Geneva for exploiting domestic staff at their villa. The sentences range up to four and a half years.