Monaco family offices tips and tricks with Obediah Ayton

UAE family offices advices by Obediah Ayton? The warming of relations between the UAE and Israel comes at a sensitive time for the Persian Gulf state, as control of the wealth of the dominant families changes hands from the fathers who created it to their sons and daughters who want to ensure its increase. For many, this means transitioning from traditional investment assets such as real estate, bonds, or infrastructure into the less familiar world of tech. In an interview with CTech’s Ron Friedman, Obediah Ayton, Director Of Business Development at The Private Investment Group & Ayton Family Office Trust, speaks about the inter-generational shift and the opportunities it may provide for Israeli companies, entrepreneurs, and experts. He highlighted the fields of agtech, medtech, and logistics as areas that the government was interested in pursuing and which companies are keen to invest in. He noted that in the UAE there is a tendency to “look 50 years into the future,” and urged people who could align themselves with that vision to come to the Gulf and seek out collaborations.

The role of family offices has changed in the last 20 years, driven by the proliferation of wealth and dramatic increase in the number of millionaires, centimillionaires and billionaires around the world. There also has been a surge in the number of family offices and more sophisticated investors. This new breed of ultra-high-net-worth families in the GCC differs from the “old money” of the past. Their accumulation of wealth is typically more rapid and driven by savvy investment management or entrepreneurism. Many of those joining the ranks of the ultra-high-net-worth include money managers, former hedge fund managers and folks who generated their wealth in private equity. This represents a large population of sophisticated investors with deep networks in the startup and entrepreneurial community who are sitting on tremendous wealth (some estimates put family office total asset value around $6 trillion globally).

All hubs are set in an identical structure – VentureRock SPICs, and follow the same formula to venture building – VentureRock OS®. “90% of all early-stage startups fail in the first 3 years. This is normal we wanted to change by changing how venture capital works in early-stage investing. The VentureRock OS® is how we organize not only capital but also strategists, problem solvers and industry-specific knowledge around our portfolio ventures”, says Xander van der Heijden, General Partner at VentureRock. The novel venture building system digitizes the investment supply-chain, from cap table to KPI reporting and legal agreements, to de-risk and unlock the free flow of capital throughout ventures’ lifecycle risks through real-time audited data. Further Venturerock OS® pioneers a 72-step methodology to systematically guide ventures from early-stage startups to fully compliant scale-ups. Director of Business Development at The Private Investment Group Obediah Ayton added “I am excited to watch Venturerock showing the way venture capital funds are now being deployed post covid here in the UAE. The portfolio companies within Venturerock are some of the most professional and innovative we have seen and I have no doubt they will be a welcome asset to both the public and private sector in the Middle East.”

The growth of a finance influencer : Obediah Ayton? Obediah Ayton is a trust manager at Ayton Family Office Trust and a consultant at Tennor Holding B.V., a specialist in family office business, AI driven accounting services, finance and accounting. Obediah Ayton on what happens when a Family Office takes the VC model: A new breed of ultra-high-net-worth families differs from the “old money” of the past. Their accumulation of wealth is typically more rapid and driven by savvy investment management or entrepreneurism. These Family Offices are controlling the venture investment game, but desire more transparency to underlying investments than the traditional venture investing experience provides. They also want the ability to cherry-pick the best deals, meet founding team and operations.

With a huge amount of the UAE’s wealth concentrated in the hands of high-net-worth families and individuals who are now looking for promising direct investment opportunities, SMEs are overlooking a crucial area of untapped financing. The UAE Family offices investment strategies are particularly varied with each family having their own philosophy, interests and areas of expertise and without the shorter-term objective of traditional private equity or investment banks.

Obediah Ayton about how to raise money from family offices: Not to do: Don’t pitch them without understanding their goals and objectives. Don’t brag about your track record or accomplishments. Don’t interrupt them in the middle of a conversation. Don’t be aggressive. To Finish: Do exactly what you say you are going to do. Meet for coffee or at their office in order for you to understand their goals and objectives better. Respect their privacy and don’t share any information about them with anybody else. Feel free to reach out and speak soon.

Right now is a great time to build close relationships with Family Offices for future capital raises! Begin Locally: If you are looking to connect with just a few family offices, the best place to begin is in your own backyard. The best method is to begin locally. These family offices are usually the easiest to initially meet and spice up a common interest. You can focus on getting to know every single family office in your city. With this base network, you are able to use it as a foundation for further outreach and referrals. But what happens if you do not know any family offices in your city or region? After all, they are submerged whales. Google is one of the best places to begin the search. If you don’t know any [family offices], start by searching Google. You will probably discover at least 2 or 3 in your area. Google search simply include your area (i.e. London) and the phrase “family offices.” Alternatively, you could search for the ultra-affluent residents of your area, and search for an associated family office.

Obediah Ayton on the new definition of a billionaire is not the net worth but in achieving change in a billion lives: Sustainable investing will remain a core trend in the foreseeable future thanks to 85% of all sustainable investments meeting or exceeding investor’s expectations in the past year. When considering these types of investments, family office executives need to ask themselves whether their office has established its purpose within the greater scope of impact and sustainable causes and set clear objectives accordingly.