FAQs:
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Every family has a different perspective, structure, and unique set of goals and challenges that define who they are and where they want to go. We are pleased to share some answers to frequently asked questions on how we are a resource to support the family, the family office staff, and their trusted advisors.
Xylogenesis is the process of ring creation during the natural life of a tree. In the family enterprise context, Xylogenesis is a metaphor for our family systems, which are similar to the rings of a tree, and from them we can learn.
If you’re the “family” in your family office, you can feel secure about partnering with Xylogenesis to provide you with the independent, candid, and actionable recommendations and processes to achieve multi-generational family harmony, operational excellence, and financial prosperity.
Xylogenesis’ clients include : (1) existing single family offices that seek optimization, modernization, improvement or are in transition of some type; (2) conceptual/theoretical/startup family offices due to a recent or pending liquidity event; (3) families with operating businesses that have employees providing embedded or personal family services who recognize this structure is either not sustainable or creates a business performance challenge due to distraction, overstretched or unqualified internal staff, and lack of privacy and confidentiality, and want to optimize the impacted business’ performance; and (4) trusted advisors who serve these complex and sophisticated families yet do not have this specialized knowledge and operating experience.
At Xylogenesis, we understand firsthand. As an independent family office consulting firm, we are led by Rich Wolkowitz and supported by a team of others, who have decades of experience living and working inside of family offices. Our singular goal is to help the family envision, design, structure, optimize, and operationalize the family office (of whatever type) in a fully integrated manner to achieve durable family harmony, financial prosperity, and operational excellence.
Our consultative service offerings are designed and customized to support families and their family offices, and include: family office readiness health assessments; consulting services to integrate and operationalize the services needed to support the family; annual sustainment reviews and audits; family and non-family leadership assessments; mentoring and coaching; business support services; and triage and crisis management.
Yes! We appreciate and understand how to navigate and nurture sensitive multigenerational and multi-branch relationships within a complex structure that almost always includes both family and non-family members. We have stood in your shoes from both perspectives as a principal of a multigenerational family enterprise and as a non-family leader of other single family offices, embedded family offices, and multi-family offices. This is in our DNA, and not a theoretical exercise to us.
No, Xylogenesis does not provide any of the services (i.e., legal, wealth management, investment management, banking, accounting, insurance, IT, etc.) of a family office; it is engaged to ensure that the multidisciplinary services are methodically and consistently delivered properly using best practices and processes.
Yes, Xylogenesis collaborates with the family’s full team of trusted advisors (in-house and external). Xylogenesis is a trusted advisor and part of the team, but is often called upon to serve as the “general contractor” to design, support, oversee, integrate, and coordinate the family’s comprehensive team of trusted advisors. Xylogenesis focuses on leveraging the full team of multidisciplinary trusted advisors in a collaborative and additive manner and to enable them to deliver and leverage their services in a best in class, coordinated manner.
Yes, since Xylogenesis does not provide any of the services required by a family or their family office, and does not receive remuneration from anyone except the family, Xylogenesis is truly independent, and is uniquely 100% objective and conflict-free. Our recommendations are based upon what is in the best interests of the family and from the same perspective and same side of the table as the family sits.
Yes, Xylogenesis has a deep bench and reach of best-in-class global relationships and third-party resources (from the traditional to the obscure) to support the full continuum of needs of a family and their family office system. We remain curious and ever-learning too, so if we do not know it already, we will problem solve to figure it out and remain active globally to learn what others are doing.
Yes, Xylogenesis serves non-US families and brings the US experience, perspective, and acumen to families on a global basis. Many families, and their family offices, are already global or international and may not realize it. These families require and desire the proactive support of Xylogenesis’ experience and network. On the personal and family side of a family office, family members themselves are living abroad, working abroad, traveling abroad, and owning, leasing, and chartering personal and real property. The family may have cross-border married-ins, children, and grandchildren, which increases complexity, as well. Families also engage in various philanthropic, business, wealth, and investment endeavors on an expansive, diversified global basis, as well.
