• Ocorian study reveals governance as the top challenge for family offices, cited by 86% of respondents
• Family offices are turning to specialist regulatory support to navigate increasingly complex global environments

New global research* from Ocorian, a market leader in private client, funds, and corporate services, reveals that family offices are significantly stepping up their focus on governance. In a study conducted amongst more than 300 family office professionals managing a combined $155 billion in assets, 86% ranked “having the right governance in place” as their biggest challenge, as regulatory demands and multi-jurisdictional complexities continue to grow.

As family offices become more professionalised, the emphasis on governance has intensified, with a clear majority identifying it as a key concern. This focus is reflective of the broader industry trend toward enhanced scrutiny and regulatory oversight, as family offices — many of which operate across different jurisdictions — face diverse and increasingly stringent compliance obligations.

Michael Harman, Commercial Director – Private Client at Ocorian, commented: “Governance has become a principal focus for family offices, and it is something that consistently comes up in conversations with my clients. They are increasingly reassured when a service provider, like Ocorian, connects them with leading regulatory and compliance professionals to guide them through this evolving landscape. Our strategic relationship with Bovill Newgate allows us to offer exactly that, helping family offices ensure their governance frameworks are both comprehensive and compliant.”

In response to the growing complexity of the regulatory environment, family offices are seeking independent, expert guidance to ensure compliance across multiple jurisdictions. Bovill Newgate, a regulatory consultancy and an Ocorian company, plays a critical role in providing such support.

Cilla Torode, Head of Bovill Newgate Guernsey, added: “The findings of this study align closely with the challenges we’re seeing across the broader financial services sector. Whether it’s family offices or alternative fund managers, governance remains a central concern. In fact in a study we commissioned earlier this year in partnership with Ocorian**, two thirds (65%) of alternative fund managers admit being subject to governance related fines or sanctions during the last two years and nine in ten (90%) see their organisation’s focus on governance increasing over the next 24 months.

“With regulatory frameworks continuing to evolve, particularly for family offices operating across different jurisdictions, the need for robust governance practices has never been more pressing. At Bovill Newgate, we recommend a three lines of defence approach to help family office professionals protect their businesses. This involves creating strong frontline processes, continuous monitoring, and ensuring rigorous independent audits of governance frameworks to mitigate risks effectively.”

Ocorian’s three lines of defence approach to tackle risk and compliance challenges:

• Line one: create clear and robust frontline processes and procedures, supplementing this with both online and face to face training programmes for staff.
• Line two: build and empower a comprehensive compliance oversight function which monitors and assesses the processes and procedures, as well as advising and supporting staff and senior managers to comply with the firm’s obligations.
• Line three: seek review and challenge of the firms AML framework via annual independent audits.

About Bovill Newgate, an Ocorian company 

Bovill-Newgate is an Ocorian company and specialist financial services regulatory consultancy with a global offering across the UK, the Channel Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mauritius, and the Americas. The firm helps its clients meet complex and evolving regulatory obligations, providing certainty and peace of mind. Its clients are firms of every size across the financial services sector. Bovill Newgate supports its clients in managing regulatory change and dealing with regulatory scrutiny. Providing advice on regulatory change and preventing financial crime, applications to regulators, building or enhancing regulatory frameworks, conducting compliance investigations or diagnostics, training and fulfilling prescribed roles Bovill Newgate have experts based across all the world’s key financial centres who operate globally, acting as one team. 

ENDS

Notes

Please note that the above release is intended to provide a very general overview of the matters to which it relates and is provided for your convenience. It is not intended as legal or investment advice and should not be relied on as such.

*In July 2024 Ocorian commissioned independent research company PureProfile to interview 309 family office investment managers working for family offices which use third-party private client services providers to support in the preservation and protection of their clients’ wealth. The investment managers interviewed are collectively responsible for assets under management of around $155 billion and include 201 working for multi-family offices. The global study interviewed family offices in Bahrain, Bermuda, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, the UK, US, Cayman Islands, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Jersey and Guernsey

**Bovill Newgate and Ocorian commissioned independent research company PureProfile to conduct a global study (across the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Turkey, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius) of 101 senior executives, regulation and compliance executives working at alternative fund manager firms (including private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, renewables and hedge funds) during January 2024. 

About Ocorian

Ocorian is a global leader in fund services, corporate and trust services, capital markets, and regulatory and compliance support. 

Unlocking new value for its clients across jurisdictions and service lines is Ocorian’s priority; it manages over 17,000 structures on behalf of 8,000+ clients including financial institutions, large-scale international organisations, and high-net-worth individuals.

Ocorian provides fully compliant, tailored solutions that are individual to clients’ needs, no matter where in the world they hold financial interests, or however they are structured. 

The group offers a full suite of corporate, fund and private client services across a network of offices spanning all the world’s financial hubs. Locations include Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, UAE, the UK, and the US.

To find out more about Ocorian and its services, including regulatory information, visit www.ocorian.com