Interview with: Eva Law, Founder & Chairman, Association of Family Offices in Asia

1. Interview with: Eva Law, Founder &
Chairman, Association of Family
Offices in Asia
“Wealth preservation is not just about
investment management,” says Eva
Law, Founder & Chairman, Association
of Family Offices in Asia. “A lot of times
it is other factors that cause a family to
fall and not investment loss,” she
believes.
Law is a speaker at the marcus evans
Private Wealth Management APAC
Summit 2018, taking place in Macao,
16 - 18 April.
How can family offices build a
shared vision for the family
fortune?
Communication between the sharehold-
ers, top management and the board of
directors plays a key role. Well
structured families have a family council
or assembly, where thoughtful
discussions can take place between all
parties.
Meaningful dialogues, willingness to
understand and accept or even consider
other family members’ ideas is vital in
relationship upkeep, liberty of thought
and action, etc. All of these are key
elements that contribute to binding the
family together. They also support the
creation of common visions and elevate
shared values. With shared visions and
cohesion, the family has its vibrant
force pursuing success and legacy.
What does a robust family govern-
ance framework entail?
Apart from the soft-elements, some
conventional tools are frequently
deployed in managing family govern-
ance.
Firstly, regular family assemblies are
needed, so all members have a choice
to talk. The family council meetings will
also provide training and create policies
on generating consensus on strategic
and important agendas, finalising
decisions and managing family wealth
and assets.
Secondly, the family constitution should
be set. This is very basic but critical, as
it is about the vision and values that will
regulate every family member’s
relationship with the business. It can be
short or long, simple or detailed
depending on what the family prefers,
but I believe every family will benefit
from having such a mission statement.
What would help ensure the family
philosophy is mirrored in the
investment strategy?
No matter if the family investment is
managed externally or internally, the
family needs to communicate what it
wants and its specific constraints and
requirements. For example, if it wants
to get involved in impact or ESG
investing, it should discuss with the
investing team the appropriate
screening it needs to do. The other
critical strategy is to ensure proper
monitoring. The family should review
performance of the managers and
monitor whether the managers followed
the investment guidelines that were
fixed in the mandates.
How can they ensure the family
philosophy passes on to the next
generation?
The CEO of the family office and/or the
senior and respected person within the
family usually arranges ongoing
meetings with the patriarch, the next
generation and key stakeholders to
discuss the business ownership,
investment preferences and require-
ments, and other family issues.
The crux of success is effective
communication among all stakeholders
and keeping the whole family informed.
Having the family reach a consensus
decision is an art. Very difficult but
important for harmony in the family.
The next generation needs to really
understand the patriarch’s expectations
on how to run and grow the business,
and manage the family wealth.
What are the main causes of family
conflicts and how can they be
avoided?
There are so many different reasons, it
depends on the family. It can be about
different values or management style.
The first generation may be too
controlling. There could be many people
with varied interests involved. Also,
members always have diverse views on
investment and divesture, some
members may want to sell an asset
while others do not want to.
Finally, what do you consider
absolutely critical for asset preser-
vation?
There are two main areas to think
about. One is about managing the
investment, as wealth loss may be due
to excessive risks being taken. A lot of
times it is other factors that cause a
family to fall and not investment loss.
The entire wealth can disappear
because of fighting and/or failure of the
family business.
To preserve wealth, families need to
consider what may cause potential loss
that does not stem from investment
loss. They need to have the know-how,
legal counsel and a wealth preservation
strategy. Setting a family trust or
foundation to build a firewall between
family and business assets is recom-
mended for safeguarding the family’s
wealth.
The crux of
success is effective
communication
among all
stakeholders and
keeping the whole
family informed
Establishing a Robust Family
Governance Framework

2. The Investment Network –
marcus evans Summits group
delivers peer-to-peer information
on strategic matters, professional
t r e n d s a n d b r e a k t h r o u g h
innovations.
Please note that the Summit is a
closed business event and the
number of participants strictly
limited.
About the Private Wealth Management APAC Summit 2018
The Private Wealth Management APAC Summit is the premium forum bringing elite
buyers and sellers together. The Summit offers regional SFOs, MFOs, wealth
advisors, and international fund managers and consultants an intimate environment
for a focused discussion of key new drivers shaping wealth preservation and
investment strategy. Taking place at the Conrad Macao, China, 16 - 18 April 2018,
the Summit includes presentations on designing a flexible asset allocation model to
deliver attractive long-term portfolio performance, engaging wealth holders across
generations to empower stewardship amidst rapidly changing family dynamics, and
embracing novel tech opportunities and keeping up with cross-industry innovation
to rejoice portfolios.
www.pwmsummit.com
Contact
Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager, marcus evans, Summits Division
Tel: + 357 22 849 313
Email: press@marcusevanscy.com
For more information please send an email to press@marcusevanscy.com
All rights reserved. The above content may be republished or reproduced. Kindly
inform us by sending an email to press@marcusevanscy.com
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss
strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to
individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, case studies, roundtables and one-to-one business meetings.
For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
Upcoming Events
APAC Investments Summit - www.apacinvestmentssummit.com
European Pensions & Investments Summit - www.epi-summit.com
Private Wealth Management Summit (North America) - www.privatewealthsummit.com
To view the web version of this interview, please click here:
http://events.marcusevans-events.com/pwmapac2018-eva-law