Why can't the rich find enough people to manage their money

Home offices will grow rapidly with super rich personalized services to handle their wealth. But they are trying to find a currency manager.

According to recent statistics from Deloitte, as of September last year, 8,030 home offices around the world managed $3.1 trillion in assets. By 2030, the number of home offices is expected to grow to $10,720, with assets under management of $5.4 trillion.

"We estimate that by 2034, at the current consultant productivity level, the (wealth) consultant workforce will refuse to come to the industry face a shortage of about 100,000 consultants," McKinsey said in February.

According to a North American Home Office report released by Royal Bank of Canada and Campden Fortune last September, many home offices reported that hiring was a “significant challenge” and expressed difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff. The same goes for European home offices.

Meanwhile, home offices at Asian wealth hubs such as Singapore, such as Singapore, are turning to automated workflows and outsourcing due to talent shortages in city countries.

Home offices must also compete with banks, private equity firms and hedge funds for top talent.

However, the talent austerity is not only attributed to the lack of qualified candidates, but also the selectivity of home offices.

Trust issues

While potential candidates find it difficult to get into the home office trend, some home offices can also be special when it comes to choosing the perfect fit. Key criteria: Trust.

"Why do the boss give accountants money? Because they have a lifelong relationship," said Tobias Prestel, managing director of the Partner Family Office meeting.

“In a home office space, it’s not usually the best people to find a job, but people to trust,” he told CNBC. “If you have $500 million, who do you trust? Do you give everyone the key? It’s not an easy decision.”

If you have $500 million, who do you trust? Who are you giving the key to all the content? This is not an easy decision.

Tobias Prestel

Prestel and Partner Home Office Meeting

Reto Jauch, partner at SZ&J, said some families tend to place trust factors seriously compared to other standards. He added that while this may be a good thing, it can be harmful to the job at times.

Home Office Iris Xu, founder of accounting and corporate services firm Jenga, said that roles such as Cum CFO, often hope to combine, and they hope to find the ideal right-handed person.

"It's a very difficult task, or there are few professionals willing and capable of covering all of these areas," she said.

But the rich are strengthening their game to pursue the talents they want. Sometimes this means willing to pay a “trust delta” or salary premium, especially if family members want someone to work for them, especially in a climate where the home office is willing to pay up to $190,000 for executive assistants.

Another report by Campden Wealth and HSBC shows that European home offices are raising compensation packages by offering bonuses and other incentives such as co-investment opportunities and share of investment management profits to retain and attract talent.

Home office “is there a risk?”

Industry experts told CNBC that young employees are reluctant to work in home offices, including a lack of a clear corporate structure and how it is widely regarded as a “retirement job.”

Jenga's Xu said that home offices may appear "adventurous" given their relatively informal structure, unclear reporting lines and undefined career development.

Xu added that investment-related family positions tend to be more difficult to fill than other roles, with most of their turnover between one and two years to a large extent.

"In the corporate world, at the end of the day, everything is very replaceable, including the CEO," said SZ&J's Jauch.

In an environment like this, there is a different personality: You have to keep checking yourself to work in a home office environment.

He explained that this is different from working in a home office where he works, explaining that he has hiring and inheritance plans for the home office. Working for a family and working on Baker requires a complex balance, which is not always easy to strike.

"In an environment like this, there is a different personality: You have to keep checking yourself to work in a home office environment, but you also have to have enough confidence to make your opinion stand out," Jauch explained.

He added: "It's a balance in being able to talk to the family as a consultant, with the role of the family, but also understanding that it will always be the family's decision in the end. It won't go away."

That's why John, a mid-40s lawyer, didn't want to share his name, refused to work as general counsel in the Singapore family office, and said it was similar to "putting all eggs in one basket".

He said: “Maybe you got along well with that person, maybe you are not.

John also cited the potential lack of transparency and process around compensation and promotion discussions, which are other reasons for rejecting roles.

Lawyers who worked at an investment bank at the time also worried that working in a home office at a relatively early stage of his career would make it more difficult to return to the business world.

"You need to be part of something," Zucker said. "If your progress depends more on content, maybe even on quality and professional aspects, but not necessarily in terms of career steps."