The initial question that may come to mind is what on earth is a Family Office? The second is similar to the first in “why would I care about a Family Office?”

The reason you should care about a Family Office is because this is what allows the Rich to become Wealthy and stay wealthy in the process. In a simple definition a Family Office Manager, Facilitates and adds wealth for the betterment of a family. For example, Paris Hilton is known to be in the tabloids causing chaos. But have you wondered how the Hilton family maintains their wealth?

No, it’s not from their hotel ventures or the escapades of Paris. Instead it is a dedicated team called the Hilton Family office, whose sole purpose is to add assets and growth to the war chest of the Hiltons year after year and quarter after quarter. Most of these family offices perform acquisitions and corporate takeovers in the dark so that they public is never aware.

Pretty neat right?

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Every family office is different just like every family is different.

“But, as one U.S. Supreme Court justice said about pornography, you might not be able to define it but you know it when you see it.”

The same can be said in reference to a family office. The goal is to grow the wealth year after year so that they family or heirs are not responsible to handle these demands.

What makes a Family Office different from what the average American worker uses on wall street?

Well… it’s pretty simple. The average american does not have someone who has their back when it comes to investing. As a matter of fact, the average American does not even have a fiduciary.

The beauty with a family office is that it is a team of bright top graduates from highly sought after Ivy League universities. Not only are these people the best at what they do, they’re also compensated proportionally. The best part of it all is that in the event that a member of the Family Office team loses revenue or wealth for the family … they are personally responsible with their own personal assets…. TALK ABOUT PUTTING IT ALL ON THE LINE!

Yes.. these professionals are responsible for the money that they manage all the way to jail and bankruptcy.

The average American simply does not have people like this on their side, they would not know where to begin to receive that type of expertise or assistance to grow their wealth.

In order to start your own family office you must have a minimum of $50,000,000 in liquid cash reserves.

These same family office representatives are the reason why people are able to get in on IPO’s before you hear about it, local developments before it hits the newspapers and political swings that push our economy.

How do I know this???

Well one of my mentors is a manager of a Family Office.

Believe it or not the average American does not have an excess of $50,000,000 to start a Family Office in order to advance their family forward for generations to come. However I can give you an unfair advantage by letting you know some of the tricks to the trade I’ve learned from Mentor.

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Building wealth takes time, often obtaining asset values of $2-$3,000,000 added to your portfolio can take as little as two years. The key to this is the understanding of assets vs. liabilities and how liquid and non-liquid assets play their individual role.

If you have a 401(k) or are thinking about a 401(k) then this video is for you. Many people don't know the in and outs of a 401k and how it works.

There is a ton of noise out there about where to place capital and what to expect. The truth is no matter what you do there are few foundations that you should make sure that you're aware of. That's exactly what we cover with this video.

If you're planning on increasing your portfolio you have to buy real performing assets. In order to purchase you need to have the proper agreement. That is exactly what we cover in this video. A detail walk through the proper components of a contract agreement to purchase your next asset. ​

Not too long ago, syndication was a hot topic of discussion for many investors. It's a method used to purchase assets such as commercial buildings; shopping malls, apartments, housing etc. It's also a great tool used when it comes to purchasing businesses. Like everything, syndication has a few draw backs. We discuss how syndication can be compared to when you choose to purchase the asset yourself instead of leveraging others.

You have to admit for the financial services industry, this is a pretty cool name for financial product. But not to worry, this is nothing out of the ordinary. ROBS are not a new instrument that you have to be concerned with. In fact, ROBS or ROB is an acronym for Rollover for Business StartUp Program). It's also known for by it's more common names such as; IRA Rollover and Self Directed 401(k).

The beauty in this is that you are able to use either of these vehicles to invest in the following;

• Existing Business (For re-capitalization)
• Purchase Franchise
• StartUp or Start a Business
• Purchase Existing Business

What makes this very beneficial is that you won't have to worry because you are able to utilize these funds Tax-Deferred and penalty free.

​Most startup businesses rely on the use of lines of credit or start up loans called "micro" lending. But through ROBS these equity injections are not considered loans at all.

Business owners, friends and colleagues can now use this financial advantage to invest or offer capital to partner, grow or sustain an existing business. In the past in order to do this you would inherit a ton of liability and fees associated with adding capital to another business.

Flexibility through diversification. By being able to take control of your retirement you can now pin point the assets or businesses that you would like to invest in. This could be your local small business coffee shop or your grandson's new start up business. You can know back your business and retirement.

You'll be surprised on how many middle age clients that we speak to who want to start a business once they leave corporate America. For many they are captured to leave their money in the rollercoaster of stock options and their ex-employer's holdings. ROB grants the opportunity to go out and bet on yourself. Start that business you always wanted.

You're now given the same ability that you had in investing as a employee to your company just like that of another corporation, franchise or small business.

Like many things in finance, you want to make sure that you have everything structured properly. So here are some key factors to be aware of;

• C Corp - You may want to speak with one of our advisors about forming a C-Corporation. Due to the IRS mandate, rules etc. A C-Corp is the only entity that ROB will work with .
• Planning is always important no matter if it is for life, business or just your retirement. You want to make sure that you establish the type of retirement account that you want to use. Your plan should also have much to do with the business/entity that you want to use for your ROBS.
• This is not a retirement funds distribution, so no taxes or penalties are assessed against you when you use a ROBS.
• ROBS funding can be used for any business expense, including paying your employees.
• ROBS can and are often used in conjunction with other types of funding such as SBA loans, personal savings/cash injection, funding from business partner or other investor in the start up business.
• Rollover funds from a personal retirement account plan to the company 401(k) plan – The transfer of your personal retirement funds to the company retirement plan must be done using funds not through your current employer’s plan (if you are still employed by another company and have not separated from that company). Once you separate from your current employer you can use your retirements funds for a ROBS. Other types of qualified retirement funding options that can be used with a ROBS include standard/traditional IRA, KEOGHS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP-Military), Annuities, 457, 403b, SEP and Pension Plans.
• The new Corporation 401(k) plan uses funds to purchase stock in the C Corporation – The new retirement plan can now purchase stock in the new C Corporation. Typically the number of shares that are given to the retirement plan are equal to the percentage of the funding the plan is providing for the business.
• Proceeds from the sale of the stock are used to start up a new business or franchise, purchase an existing business or recapitalize a business – The new C Corporation now has access to the funds it needs to launch and the journey of business ownership ensues.

It is without surprise that many of us bid Toys R Us farewell. The retail giant now is in a swift liquidation process as the writing of this article.

The year of 2017 has been the bearer of so many companies that have filed bankruptcy. Here is a condensed list:

• The Limited. ...
• Wet Seal. ...
• Eastern Outfitters. ...
• BCBG Max Azria. ...
• Vanity. ...
• Hhgregg. ...
• RadioShack. ...
• Gordmans.

You can see a full list of this from the CNBC Financial Segment.

If you look closely there is a trend to majority of these "Fortune 500" companies going bankrupt. Most retail giants have great store fronts that are apart of their of the business model. This business model highly revolves on the ability and habit of the customer. These customers have a great interest in visiting a store to feel, touch and try various products before purchasing. 

The number one lesson that any business owner can learn from Toys R Us.

https://anchor.fm/lee-chandler/episodes/Toys-R-Us---1-Lesson-for-any-Business-Owner-e16l6m/a-a2nhdc

Because of this business model many people believe that these retail giants are falling. But this is not the primary reason of their downfall. In fact, the biggest catalyst of their downfall is that of their operating expenses. For many retail giants they are the anchor tenants in various shopping malls and centers. 

A large retail giant with supurb credit as a retail renter consist of; 
- Starbucks
- AT&T
- Verizon etc.

Operating expenses is what is needed for every business to operate. The average fortune 500 company has the following view of operating expenses from Toys R Us.

As you can see the rent liabilities have crippled Toys R Us and many retailers because they lose the ability to scale small when needed for tough times. How can we learn from this? It's important that if you plan to grow a brick and mortar business to do one of the following:
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1. Purchase your office location do not lease.
2. If you must lease, then you should agree to a short term lease. A short term lease may be a higher monthly rate, however it will allow you to have a definite exit without the need of bankruptcy.

Fannie Mae recently closed on a controversial $1 billion loan with the Blackstone subsidiary Invitation Homes. It likely won’t be the last time one of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) bankrolls a loan to a major Wall Street player in the single-family rental market, analysts say. 


The Invitation Homes loan has drawn controversy for several reasons. Fannie has previously only done loans in the single-family rental market involving 10 properties or fewer, and typically with small investors. Invitation Homes is one of the nation’s largest landlords, and is owned by a multinational private-equity firm, the Blackstone Group. 


The loan, which was originated by Wells Fargo, covers more than 7,000 homes scattered around the country. These are properties that were bought at rock-bottom prices during the foreclosure crisis. The deal, which received a lot of negative press coverage when it first became widely known in January, closed on April 28. 


Invitation Homes will use the proceeds to refinance a portion of its preexisting debt. By lowering its debt costs through Fannie’s guarantee and the ultimate backing of U.S. taxpayers, the company can potentially earn more profit from the properties. There is nothing in this deal that requires Invitation Homes to lower the rents charged on any of the properties. 


Another controversial aspect of this deal is that the rentals tend to be located in more affluent areas than Fannie’s typical single-family rental deals. On most previous GSE deals with investors in single-family rental properties, the rents on the majority of properties were affordable to people earning 100 percent of the median income in that area. In the Invitation Homes deal, the median monthly rent for the properties was $1,470, the Urban Institute estimated in a recent analysis of the deal. Just 67 percent of the 7,204 properties would be affordable to people earning the median wage, according to that study. 


Fannie Mae executives say the Invitation Homes deal is a test case. Larger investors entered the market for single-family rentals only recently in 2011. Single-family rentals are also a growing part of the overall rental market. The share of single-family rentals has risen to 57 percent, up from 51 percent in 2005, according to the Urban Institute study. 


“This market traditionally has been very fragmented, made up of mostly mom-and-pop investors,” Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Tim Mayopoulos said this month during his first-quarter earnings call with the media. “And here was an opportunity to work with a large and sophisticated investor in this space because we really want to learn more about how we could, you know – what the opportunities were to better support the market.” 


Push back from Realtors


Realtors hate this deal, however. The powerful real estate lobby, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says it makes no sense from a public policy standpoint. During a time when home inventories are extremely tight, NAR says Fannie has infused $1 billion into the market to subsidize Blackstone’s rental profits. 


“Realtors have no issue with institutional investors making moves in the single-family market,” said NAR President William Brown in a prepared statement for Scotsman Guide News. “What’s more perplexing to us is Fannie Mae’s support.”


Brown questioned why Wall Street investors need a break on their financing, when it is homebuyers who could benefit from lower loan costs. “Instead of helping big investors compete with average consumers and taking inventory off the market in the process, the GSEs should maintain their focus on broadening access to credit by lowering fees and helping prospective buyers become homeowners,” Brown said. 


In a brief published this month, however, the Urban Institute said it was appropriate for Fannie to test the market. Other institutional investors that bought up distressed properties during the downturn will likely try to refinance to increase their targeted yields, said Karan Kaul, a research associate with the Urban Institute. Kaul noted that it will be harder for investors in rental properties to earn yields in the single-family market. Increasingly these companies will look to boost their profits through leverage. 


“Regardless of the missteps that the financial sector and Wall Street engaged in during the crisis, these guys came in and they bought these properties at a time when house prices were in a free fall,” Kaul said. “They took a risk and they have been rewarded handsomely for that, and now they own these properties and, as an industry, are just trying to create a viable, long-term business in this market.”


Despite snapping up 300,000 homes during the last downturn, institutional Investors still only control around 1.7 percent of the entire single-family rental market, Kaul said. Fannie and Freddie could potentially have more impact through deals with mid-sized private investors that have fewer financing options. 
Fannie is guaranteeing 95 percent of the loan. Ultimately taxpayers will be on the hook should it fail. Regarding loan risk, however, the underwriting was conservative, and there was more than sufficient rental revenues and value in the properties to support the debt, according to the Urban Institute analysis. Fannie has also transferred a portion of the risk. 


Apart from purely business considerations, Kaul said GSE deals with large Wall Street investors, as well as mid-sized investors, can make sense from a public-policy standpoint, if the financing subsidy helps address rental shortages and control rent costs. Kaul said that if Fannie and Freddie plan to do more of these deals, guidelines are needed to ensure a percentage of the rentals remain affordable. 


“That is what we think needs to be straightened out moving forward, and the policy focus ought to be not whether this kind of financing should exist or not,” Kaul said. “It is how we make sure the benefits of this financing flow to the renters.” 

This article is written by: Rob Diodato
Rob Diodato is the president of York Commercial Finance, a commercial mortgage advisory company with offices in Dallas and New York. Diodato arranges financing for commercial real estate transactions nationwide for all property types and is an expert in Small Business Administration 504 and 7(a) loans. Diodato has more than 26 years of experience in the commercial and residential mortgage industries.