Alternatives

Fabrizio Arengi Bentivoglio's key findings from the 18th Family Alternative Investment Forum

By Glen Ferris

Over two days at London’s County Hall, members of ultra-high net worth financial families took part in a series of revelatory presentations, workshops and sessions in which the future of alternative investment was discussed.

Fabrizio Arengi Bentivoglio, chief executive officer of private investment family office Fidia Holding, chaired the proceedings and here takes us through his key findings:

During an intensive, collaborative and eye-opening two days at County Hall on London’s South Bank, members of prestigious families, principals and trusted executives of private family offices gathered to hear from a variety of informed voices around the subject of Capturing Growth – Adapting your portfolio for a dynamic investment environment.

Many of the key findings from the forum chimed with Campden Wealth’s European Family Office Report 2021 in which 56% of respondents revealed they were looking for new investment opportunities and 43% were interested in diversifying their portfolios, while 35% were realigning their portfolios to chase more growth opportunities.

 

The forum discussed how higher interest rates and market volatility are changing the game, while an increasingly competitive market continues to demonstrate why it’s simply no longer enough to have exposure to private markets. As such, diversification and discipline are essential to future investment strategies.

As stated in Silicon Valley Bank and Campden Wealth’s report, Family Offices Investing in Venture Capital, impact investing is of increasing importance to next-gen family members but, as a family office, there need to be aligned strategies on how to make the best impression and garner effective results. However, all family members, principles and advisors tend to agree that there should be no compromise on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in all current and future investment.

Wealth-holder planning for the next generation was also a big subject with a general consensus that alternatives are essential to mitigate risk. As shown in the European Family Office Report 2021, family offices’ approach to cryptocurrency was one of caution with the digital currency accounting for, on average, only 1% of European portfolios. However, as 17% planned to allocate more in 2022, (compared to US peers allocating 24%, Asia-Pacific 35% and the global average being 25%), many European family offices are starting to realise that the key to crypto is to take money off the table as part of an adaptive and diverse portfolio.

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