As tech advances and the number of high-net-worth individuals and wealthy families increases, concierge service providers are evolving to meet changing demands. Services that were once limited to all-access passes to events like the Grand Prix and Golden Globes now include experiences that are genuinely out-of-this-world, such as booking trips to the moon. This insight focuses on family offices’ lifestyle and concierge services and how they have expanded to keep up with the times.
Family offices and lifestyle management
The modern family office is starting to recognise the importance of lifestyle management. Apart from traditional private wealth management, they are broadening their range of services to adopt a more holistic approach and focus on their clients’ non-financial needs. Taking a more holistic approach provides several benefits. It strengthens loyalty and reinforces relationships, making family office services even more valuable to family members. For example, organising private dinners for family business stakeholders or arranging childcare services can leave clients feeling well cared for and truly supported.
The expansion of family office concierge services
Today, family offices are experiencing a shift in values as the future generation begins to take over. Younger family members prioritise experiences, sustainability, and social responsibility and place less importance on material possessions. So instead of a sizeable investment in a fleet of luxury sports vehicles, it’s more likely that they will indulge in unique travel experiences or opt to drive a Tesla. As a result, the family office lifestyle and concierge services have undergone a significant shift. The traditional image of a luxurious hotel staff attending to every whim of the wealthy is fading away. Nowadays, family office lifestyle managers are going beyond the usual tasks of arranging private jets or finding French tutors. To keep up with the changing times, their services are expanding to include new luxury investment services and covering emerging fields such as medical healthcare and cybersecurity. Below are some of the latest concierge services:
Luxury investment advice
An adaptation to traditional concierge services is offering art as a luxury investment. As family offices diversify from conventional investments to expand their portfolios, investing in fine art is proving to be a more fulfilling personal experience. And less about acquiring another material possession through a transaction. For instance, an alternative to navigating through the throngs of people at Art Basel, family offices can utilise concierge service providers such as Veltracon Lifestyle to gain priority access. These providers can facilitate exclusive entry to galleries and events that they organise in collaboration with the artists. That not only offers a chance to preserve a piece of history but also provides an avenue to store wealth in a medium that will only appreciate over time.
Expanding on this luxury asset management is property management, and luxury properties in particular. Rivard Management offers an extensive array of luxury real estate management services for property investors with high-end properties in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, service providers such as Voly, streamline the management of multiple luxury assets, such as aircraft, yachts and even property.
Healthcare advisory
After the pandemic, a Julius Baer family office survey found that health replaced regulation as a top-three priority – after wealth planning and family governance. As a result, an increasing number of family offices are incorporating wellness and healthcare support into lifestyle concierge offerings. Just like hiring an independent wealth manager to advise on financial matters, family offices are turning to ‘health advisors’ to mitigate medical risks and increase the physical vitality of their clients. For example, Better Health Advisors is an independent health advisory firm that helps individuals, families, and small corporations navigate the healthcare system. They provide personalised support that includes managing new diagnoses, assessing treatment options, and coordinating care. Similarly, Private Medical acts as a specialised medical care concierge for family offices and high-net-worth individuals. They proactively manage all aspects of health, emphasising prevention and excel at diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of urgent and emergent concerns – locally and anywhere around the world.
Cybersecurity
As family offices shift towards a more digital approach, they are exposed to the threat of cybercrime. Such criminal activities are now a major concern for family offices, given the significant financial and reputational risks linked to a security breach. Family offices are using the services of specialist concierge companies to examine family office cyber-security needs and offer guidance on people, processes, and systems. Cyber Concierge, for example, specialises in family office cyber security. They secure family residences and conduct a thorough security assessment to identify major vulnerabilities in IoT and CCTV systems. The Cyber Concierge team then implements defence-in-depth security controls. This included scraping through personal information on the dark web and marketing sites which we weren’t comfortable with; the team successfully removed the data.
To sum it all up, the evolution of lifestyle concierge services for family offices has seen a shift from traditional luxury offerings to more personalised and experiential services. As younger generations take over, their priorities are changing, with an emphasis on experiences, sustainability, and social responsibility over material possessions. This shift has led concierge services to adapt their offerings accordingly.
Instead of solely focusing on luxury assets and material possessions, lifestyle concierges are now diversifying into areas like art as a luxury investment, providing access to exclusive art events and previews. Moreover, health and wellness have become top priorities, especially after the pandemic. Overall, lifestyle concierge services for family offices have evolved to cater to the changing needs and values of their clients, offering a broader range of services that encompass unique experiences, personalised healthcare support, and cybersecurity guidance.