The ‘Super-Rich’ Mantle For Family And Business Connects

The complexities of sustaining and aligning personal wealth, business, and family strongholds within ultrahigh- net-worth (UHNW) business families comes with its own trials and tribulations. While traditional family hierarchy or the patriarchal lineage lends an ‘arm’ to iron out some disputes and differences within super-rich households, the concept of ‘Family Office’ has gained ground globally. However, recent times have also seen ‘nascent’ growth of such professional consortium of UHNW individuals in India too. Recent reports have tagged IT pioneers Amit Patni and Arihant Patni-led Campden Family Connect, philanthropist and Wipro Founder-Chairman, Azim Premji’s PremjiInvest in managing assets that specifically serve UHNW investors. Corporate Citizen interacted with Amit Patni – Director, Campden Family Connect (CFC), a venture between Amit and Arihant Patni led- RAAY Investments and Campden Wealth, UK. CFC is a formal family office setup that supports a premier global membership community for UHNW families in India

Families have begun to structure their wealth to ensure it is divided equally and eventually percolate down to many generations. There are family constitutions being set in place and value systems are being planned in documented ways,” said Amit Patni, Director, Campden Family Connect (CFC), a venture between RAAY – the family office of Amit and Arihant Patni and Campden Wealth, UK.

Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve UHNW investors and differ from traditional wealth management services by offering a comprehensive outsourced solution in managing financial and investment aspects of an affluent individual or family.

While the concept of a Family Office has been a familiar feature for many decades amongst fully owned formal family office setups across UK, US, and Europe, most businesses remain ill-acquainted with the ideal structure, function, and benefits offered by such family offices.

The Patni family, pioneers in global IT outsourcing business for over four decades have mobilised their concept of CFC in the past four years providing knowledge, insights, and vital business intelligence to UHNW families. The services help proprietors in managing their business, wealth and families via proprietary research, knowledge forums and regular publications. Having established their family office in 2016, the Patni brothers have had their groundwork cleared in terms of knowledge and expertise in running CFC in India.

Corporate Citizen shares insight with Amit Patni on running family offices in India via the CFC model.

CC: What is the concept of ‘family office’ with reference to India?

Amit Patni: In the last couple of years, the family office space in India has evolved considerably. Through knowledge forums like Campden Family Connect (CFC), while families have begun to understand the importance of a formal family office set-up, multi-generational families and businesses have also started to realise the role a family office in aspects of managing and conservation of wealth, succession planning and grooming the next generation. There has been a rise in the number of family offices in India in the past four years with many business families setting up single dedicated family offices too.

CC: What is the working model of a typical family office?

Family offices are now more advanced and formally designed. These offices have started taking professional help, like going to legal advisers and knowledge partners to set up structures and trusts to avoid unforeseen situations, like a sudden death in the family or death of the patriarch before distribution of wealth. We run an annual forum-‘Indian Family Office Conference’ which is dedicated to the ‘Family Office’ space that deliberates on the offerings, benefits, challenges, and evolution of the services that goes beyond the gamut of wealth management alone.

CC: How relevant is the concept of Family Offices in modern business scenarios?

Family Offices provide access to veterans from multi-generational legacy business families within exclusive closed-door forums and garners the business community towards a platform for knowledge exchange and sharing of ideas for running successful businesses. While the CFC platform delivers both local and global networking opportunities, it also opens up access to international best practices in family businesses and Family Offices. In addition, members are supported by globally flavoured initiatives via peer-to-peer networking and knowledge forums, through pioneering research work, progressive publications, and advanced global education programmes.

CC: Does CFC India fulfil both advisory and ‘networking’ needs for UHNW individuals/business families?

CFC is purely a knowledge and networking platform for UHNW Individuals founded in 2016. It is a venture between RAAY – the family office of Amit Patni, Arihant Patni and Campden Wealth, UK and forms a part of the larger Campden Club - a global community of over 1400 members (Principals and NextGen) functioning across five continents and 37 countries. Since its inception, CFC has organised 37 knowledge and networking forums in India.

CC: How does CFC enrol its members? Is membership based primarily on wealth potential of its members?

The Campden Club has very strict eligibility criteria for membership and is offered based on legacy and nature of multi-generational family-run businesses and/or their single-Family Offices, to large Private investors and to the next generation of business families. One of the important qualifying parameters is that they must possess a net worth of Rs.250 Cr and above. Since the Campden Club is a global community, once a family enrols with the club, they have access to all global and local forums, research, publications, and advanced global education programs offered to its members.

CC: Has the membership for CFC India increased since 2016?

Yes, in the last four years, we have grown to an 80+ member community of principals and the NextGen of business families.

CC: Do share a few Family Office forums conducted under CFC.

We have dedicated annual forums like the ‘Indian Families in Business Conference’, which caters specifically to the business sector with legacy business leaders sharing their insights,- journey, and challenges of running a successful business. The ‘Alternative Investment Conference’ engages key Family Offices and sector experts sharing their views on different investment avenues.

Handholding the ‘Super-Rich’

CC: What are the primary growth objectives for CFC viz UHNW that goes beyond networking?

Having mobilised over 30+ knowledge and intelligence forums since its inception in India across key cities, CFC believes in bringing together families across industries on a single platform to share experiences and learn from each other. CFC’s highly interactive co-investment workshops engage families and private investors to congregate and enable co-investments with like-minded peers. Other than networking and knowledge forums, Campden Club also makes available advanced global educational programmes, pioneering research, and publications to our members.

CC: How do family-run businesses in India gain from CFC’s consortium?

The forums organised by CFC are very private, exclusive and by invite only and this encourages families to open up and share their personal or business-related concerns. CFC members interact on several key discussions within themselves on various sensitive issues such as succession planning, grooming the next generation, managing of conflicts within the family, carrying forward the legacy of family, professionalising the business and such delicate issues within these restricted forums.

CC: How does CFC manage to toe its line as a ‘network’ source for UHNIs?

CFC does not provide advisory or solicit business directly or on behalf of our members. We primarily facilitate a member to get connected to another family or business within the network. While we help to introduce members within our restricted and elite circle, it is their onus to take their individual dealings forward without any intervention from CFC. However, we do have professional partners on board who can help our members in case they are seeking specific professional know-how. CFC can connect our member to the respective professional partner, thereon these individuals can take their ties forward on a one-on-one basis.

The ‘Super-rich’ Challenge

CC: What are the prime challenges faced by UHNW business families in the Indian business environment?

One of the main concerns with UHNW business families despite the professional manner in operating the business; has been in shifting of gears from a promoter-driven company to a shareholder and board-run company. The concept of Family Offices is still very nascent in India and families need to have more awareness on the nuances and benefits of setting up a formal Family Office.

"One of the important qualifying parameters is that they must possess a net worth of Rs.250 Cr and above. Since the Campden Club is a global community, once a family enrols with the club, they have access to all global and local forums, research, publications, and advanced global education programs offered to its members"

CC: What are the prime concerns with the next generation UHNW individuals and CFC’s role in mitigating these conflicts?

The key concern of grooming the next generation of the family is very vital. Conflict in ideologies of the patriarch and the next generation has been a common/regular trait across the world. These days, many next-generation members prefer to venture out on their own rather than taking on the reins of the family business. The, grooming, therefore has to be planned within specific parameters that syncs in with each family member and to their goals and aspirations. CFC helps address these areas of concerns by getting veterans in the sector to share in-depth knowledge as well as their experiences that facilitates the learning curve for other affluent families with similar concerns.

Global Connect

CC: How is CFC India linked to the Campden Family International forum?

CFC India helps members from the Indian community to connect with the international audience by enabling them to access relevant international forums across continents as well as connect them to like-minded global business families based on their business or family objectives.

Pounding the Pandemic

CC: Did CFC reach out to its members during the Covid-19 outbreak?

CFC has proved to be most beneficial for our members in the current times wherein through our webinars, they got to learn how other business families are coping with the crisis posed by COVID19 - their best practices et.al. Families also got connected to other like-minded families to build solutions together in recovering from the crisis.

CC: What is CFC’s role in combating business challenges post the Covid-19 crisis?

CFC has been playing a major role in aligning business challenges by getting business families across industries and sectors and Family Offices on our platform where they discuss and share the best practices to steer through a crisis. Especially on strictures of staying relevant in the current times, on how families are restructuring their portfolios, their investment avenues. Most primarily, CFC lends support on how to balance mental health and well-being during the lockdown and such other issues.