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Family Offices Increase Reliance on FON Webinars to Identify Investment, Philanthropy & Luxury Opportunities


Family Offices Increase Reliance on FON Webinars to Identify
Investment, Philanthropy & Luxury Opportunities

An Interview with Family Office Networks CEO & Founder Andrew Schneider

Family Office Networks (FON) continues to see unprecedented demand for its Family Office Webinar Series with a record number of private deals seeking new ways to use the latest webinar technology to secure funding.  In addition, many philanthropic organizations, service providers and luxury companies have also received great value from FON webinars.

CEO & Founder Andrew Schneider shares his insights on FON’s innovative webinar platform and why technology is shaping the future investment patterns for family offices.

Q. Why have family offices been using FON webinars more today than ever?

The health pandemic has changed most industries forever and impacted high end finance, luxury, and philanthropy. Typically, they would attend live conferences which have not been held this past year. Webinars have been more efficient at getting in front of a large number of interested investors in a short period of time without travel and entertainment expense. For more information on hosting your own FON Webinar click here.

Q. Just how popular are webinars these days with family offices?

During 2020, FON hosted almost 100 webinars for philanthropies, issues seeking to raise money, service providers (law firms, CPAs, etc.). 2021 is already on track to surpass that milestone. Our family office members understand the importance of using technology to learn about private deals, conduct due diligence, co-invest with other families, and connect with trusted advisors. The demand is incredible and is continuing to expand exponentially. The demographic age group of FON’s network is over 60 years of age and many are not traveling now. Plus, with borders closed, international business has moved to the Internet.

Q. Why do you think this is the case?

We’ve had great success hosting webinars spotlighting private deals and FON’s webinars are also popular among attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers and other firms seeking to access family offices that are often difficult to reach. Hedge funds, venture capital funds, private equity, direct deals, PIPES, and anything that falls under the definition of a private placement also represent ideal webinar topics. The demand on behalf of families is the single most compelling reason that we get so many inquiries from interested webinar hosts in these categories and more.

Q. Why are family offices increasingly relying on webinars to access deal flow and identify leading fund managers with which to invest?

During the 20 years I have been working with family offices, a common complaint is lack of access to good deal flow, alternative investments, and other services families traditionally seek. Many family offices have accounts at the biggest banks which may be too big to take advantage of the best private deals. FON webinars provide family offices with the ability to connect with other families as a backdrop for future co-investments while at the same time educating and informing in a new way.

Q. Why did you decide to ramp up FON’s webinar platform at this time?

During the last year’s health pandemic, we saw a seismic shift in the way family offices were doing business. This trend toward using technology has continued to increase – even now that in-person meetings are more and more the norm. For example, a recent event we hosted in New York City attracted just 10 family offices while a webinar that same week had 150 attendees.

Q. Who are the Family Office Networks members?

We currently have over 200,000 members and about 15,000 family offices both domestic and global. We reach the top four percent of the global population in terms of income with an audience that has a median age of 54, including 72 percent male and 28 percent female.  The average family office is between $50 million-$500 million net worth. The average age is going down as more and more people are making bigger decisions online – especially our children and grandchildren.

Q. Who is the audience for FON webinars?

Depending on the topic, our audience may include representatives from the following audience categories:

  • Family Offices – 15,000+ single and multi-family offices with $50-500M net worth, plus 60,000+ UHNW investors
  • Issuers – Hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, blockchain, RIAs, private and public companies
  • Service providers – Legal, accounting/tax, cost segregation, fund administration
  • Luxury – Yachts, private aviation, luxury cars, art, jewelry, butler services and luxury experiences
  • Philanthropy – Charities and family foundations

Q. How does the webinar process work?

Hosting a webinar with FON is a simple process supported by one-on-one training from FON’s dedicated team which sets up the webinar and trains the hosts. A team member is always on hand during the webinar to answer any questions that may arise. Family office investors who sign up to participate may ask questions via chat which are typically addressed by the presenter at the conclusion of the presentation. Attendees receive a video of the webinar the day after along with any handouts and webinars. The webinar is hosted on the FON website afterwards, which is valuable for post-webinar marketing to a group of quality leads.

Q. Do webinars work for luxury companies?

Definitely. That is a great question. In fact, family offices are the biggest consumers for luxury products and services such as private aviation, yachts, art, collectibles, fashion, vacation homes, etc. With this in mind, we rolled out a luxury newsletter four years ago that received a tremendously favorable response. That was followed by a quarterly luxury magazine. The reason we added luxury to our topic list for webinars is to help drive more traffic and quality families.  In addition, with today’s global macro conditions we have seen changes to almost all the major events, conferences and shows.  If you are looking to buy, sell or rent any luxury products, a webinar is often the most efficient way.

Q. If I am a company trying to raise money, what are the benefits of hosting a FON webinar?

Any company seeking to work with family offices realizes that they are often difficult to reach. Webinars are a great way to reach family office decision makers who are dedicated to best in class relationships. By utilizing the latest webinar technology, we make it easy for family offices to conduct due diligence and share recommendations with their like-minded peers.  Legal services, administrators, accountants and marketing experts that specifically deal with family offices are in high demand. If you host a webinar, we also promote it in our weekly newsletters, on the website, and via email and word of mouth to leading family office investors.

Q. Why are you so bullish about the future for Fintech and FON’s webinar series?

I feel that the industry was already moving further away from traditional wealth management and our ability to make changes and adapt to situations like this will really help companies like ours to grow tremendously as the demand for good deal flow continues to grow.  As travel will be more inconvenient, more and more companies looking to raise money will be doing so online and via phone so webinars are a great option.

Q. I’m seeking to raise $25 million in the next three to six months for my company. Can an FON webinar help me accomplish my goal?

Absolutely.  By hosting a webinar, we position you in front of as many qualified family offices as possible which have expressed interest in that strategy or space. Due to our extensive network of relationships, webinars are a very cost-efficient way to market your product to the family office community.

Q. How can anyone interested in an FON webinar get more details?

If you have an opportunity that is a good fit for the family office community, please visit https://familyofficenetworks.com/events/.  For information about Family Office Networks, contact Andrew Schneider at andrew@familyofficenetworks.com. If you are interested in an FON webinar please contact stephanie@familyofficenetworks.com