Michael Zeuner in Family Wealth Report: How WE Sits on the Client’s Side of the Table
June 15, 2020
In March 2020, WE Family Offices was named Best Multi-Family Office from $5 billion to $15 billion AUM/AUA at the 2020 Family Wealth Report Awards. In response to this achievement, Family Wealth Report sat down to speak with WE Family Offices Managing Partner Michael Zeuner to learn more about the factors that contribute to the firm’s success.
According to Zeuner, WE Family Offices has become a successful, award-winning firm largely because of the team’s desire to be a different kind of multi-family office. Unlike many other firms, they do not sell any products and act as a fiduciary to their clients, which enables the firm to align their interests with their clients and puts them at the buy-side of the table. WE Family Offices is also able to stand out among their peers through their fee structure, which is based on a transparent flat retainer as opposed to most other firms that charge a fee based on assets under management.
In addition to WE’s business model, the lens through which they view family wealth is also key to the firm’s – and their clients’ – success. By managing wealth like a business, Zeuner explains, families are more likely to overcome the many challenges associated with multi-generational wealth sustainability. This means establishing a clear purpose for their wealth and managing it with a long-term strategy. It also means having an effective decision-making process with transparent governance structures in place.
Finally, Zeuner discusses the firm’s recent certification as a B Corp, making it one of the few in the industry. Instead of focusing solely on profit, factors like social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability are all considered.
“We founded WE with the idea that our whole mission and purpose is to support financially successful families to be able to sustain their success – both their human capital and financial capital,” says Zeuner. “In order to do this, we’ve created a culture of service woven into every part of the company. For everyone we touch, including our clients, employees and industry peers, and everything we do day to day – it’s all about making the world a better place and improving the lives of those we serve.”
Click here to download and read the entire Family Wealth Report article featuring Michael Zeuner.
