Women in Family Offices
St. Peter Port, Guernsey
Why research this topic
As a specialist finance centre at the forefront of family office services, Guernsey is well placed to assess the role and representation of women, and the impact of governance. The island not only has an above global average of female representation in financial services, but a reputation for advising on achieving and maintaining good governance.
Guernsey Finance commissioned Family Capital to conduct research into the representation and role of women in global family offices, with particular focus on the impact of governance, and on the investment decision-making process. The research also focuses on the representation and role of women in Middle Eastern family offices,with notable interest in the Gulf region.
In this brochure we aim to distil some of our key findings from our research for readyreference. The focus is placed on three particular issues...
The current state of the market Governance structures
Women in Middle Eastern family offices
St. Peter Port, Guernsey
Current state of the market
Top positions held by women, relative to other industries, show that women are under-represented in family offices globally
4% of single-family office principals are women compared with 11% of the worlds billionaires
3.5% of single-family office CEOs are women compared with 7.5% of Fortune 500 companies
While findings suggest that senior positions, from a global perspective, are heavily dominated by men, there is a trajectory toward greater female representation at all levels.
20% of senior investment roles are held by women
Governance Structures
Beirut, Lebanon
The Current impact of governance structures
Findings suggest that on average, 80% of global family offices have no gender diversity governance structures – such as quotas or levers...
...although 75% of respondents also felt that their family office was doing enough to ensure gender diversity in senior roles.
Quotas are not useful...
Charlotte Thorne, Founding Partner at Capital Generation Partners, thinks "box-ticking exercises" to promote broader diversity are not helpful.
...We need tangible change
Thorne instead suggests that genuine changes made at grass roots level is what will drive forward an improved gender balance. One example she proposes is more men taking significant parental leave, to enable women to spend more time in the office.
Women in Middle Eastern family offices
“Until you see more women owning businesses in the region, male-oriented succession will continue to dominate the wealth sector in the region.”
A Beirut-based female wealth owner
Female representation in Middle Eastern family offices
Due to the cultural and societal norms of much of the Middle East – particularly the Gulf region – men hold much of the family wealth.
However, a first glance can be misleading. Women appear to hold a much larger role than an outsider's initial glance would suggest. Often women hold de facto roles, influencing the decision making of close male relatives. In addition, the trajectory appears to match that of the global trend; more women are being represented in official senior roles and are holding larger sums of wealth.
Similar to the global perspective, the rhetoric boasts of a trend toward gender balance.
According to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, women manage almost $800 million in assets in the Gulf region.
However, this is just 13% of the region's total wealth.
Yet out of Family Capital's database of 30 singlefamily offices in the Middle East, only four had female managers.
65% of respondents in the Middle East think women providing wealth advice is more accepted than it was five years ago.
St. Peter Port, Guernsey
25%+ of directors and senior managers are women Guernsey’s gender balance in financial services
Women make up more than 25% of directors and senior managers of Guernsey fiduciaries – much higher than the global average
Guernsey’s strengths on goverance
Guernsey specialists are world renowned for their ability to advise on, and enable the achieving and maintaining of, good governance...
Aligned investment powers and fiduciary responsibilities
Sustainable structures, with ensured longevity
Established, effective decision-making framework
Alternative dispute resolution processes to preserve harmony
An outlined investment strategy incorporating objectives
