Michael Bapis, Private Advisor at VIOS Advisors, Rockefeller Global Family Office joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, at the CAIS Alternative Investment Summit to discuss investing as a family office.
The Rockefeller Global Family office was one of the original family offices, established 150 years ago. Five years ago, the conversion to a multifamily office welcomed external clients. While many families struggle to retain wealth beyond the third generation, the Rockefeller family has preserved wealth across multiple generations and has attracted families with second, third, and fourth-generation wealth. The Rockefeller name gives clients a comfortable feeling while the firm feels like a boutique.
A key part of the office’s practice is its sports and entertainment practice. Financial literacy has improved in this sector over the last twenty-five years. Wealth management of these high-profile investors is of utmost importance, as money is earned in large chunks, but careers can be short. Athletes, especially, need to save a large portion of their income to fund the next phase of their career and their retirement.
The value of alternative investments was strongly demonstrated in 2022, when many alternative investments were able to preserve or grow portfolio values at a time when both stocks and bonds declined in value in the same year. The reputation of the Rockefeller family provides access to more exclusive and differentiated deal flow in alternative investments, some of which originated within a network of family offices. As such, many investors hold 25% to 30% of their portfolios in alternative investments, while others might hold traditional investments elsewhere and hold nearly all of their assets at the family office in alternative investments.
Resources:
Rockefeller Capital Management
Rockefeller Global Family Office