The problems it is built for
Bordier sets out the difficulties family offices actually run into, which is a useful frame for what follows:- Having the most suitable structure. Setting a family office up is not simple, and it is hard to build one with appropriate governance that stays relevant across generations.
- Consolidating data. Centralising global assets into a unified database is difficult, and rising cybersecurity threats make data privacy and security harder still.
- Managing complexity. Evolving regulation and changing expectations leave families navigating a web of assets, entities, financial relationships and legacy decisions.
- Balancing insourcing against outsourcing. Deciding what to run internally is complex and costly, and finding genuinely qualified professionals adds another layer.
- Achieving scale. Leaner teams struggle for economies of scale, and limited operational capacity drives costs up.
The four services
Choose one, or a combination.1. Investment governance
Together the family and the bank set the rules, and then keep them.- Define an Investment Policy Statement tailored to the family’s goals.
- Establish and run an investment committee or advisory board.
- Oversee all assets held across multiple banks, custodians and holding structures.
2. Outsourced Chief Investment Officer
An independent CIO aligned only with the family. Bordier’s framing is that the CIO has become one of the most critical roles in a family office, serving as its investment compass. Beyond managing assets, the CIO defines and executes the family’s investment philosophy, balancing strategy, risk and liquidity while keeping performance sustainable and aligned to long-term objectives. Bordier delivers this by aligning its investment team to act as the family’s dedicated CIO function. In practice that means building the strategic asset allocation, adjusting the mix through tactical allocation and rebalancing, and steering the portfolio with discipline and transparency. The cycle is deliberate and repeating: establish the investment profile, set the strategic asset allocation, run consolidated portfolio analysis, rebalance and take tactical action, then review and realign periodically.3. Portfolio consolidation
One clear view of everything the family owns.- Consolidated reporting across bankable and non-bankable assets.
- Secure dashboards and deep analytics.
- Normalised, reliable data for a full wealth perspective.
4. Custody and banking
The infrastructure only a bank can provide: safekeeping of assets, cash management and liquidity, and lending solutions when needed.What distinguishes the model
- The family retains control as powerholders.
- No need to change existing banking relationships, and no new accounts required.
- It operates inside a regulated banking framework, with multi-custody capability and open architecture.
- Conflict-free and independent advice.
- A cost-efficient, scalable alternative to a standalone single-family office.
- Behind it, 182 years of independent, family-owned operation. Bordier has run its own succession across five generations, which is the same problem its Family Services clients are solving.
Setting up in Singapore
Bordier & Cie (Singapore) Ltd supports families through the process of establishing a family office in Singapore, and holds a full banking licence there. See Bordier in Singapore.Related
- The Continuity Compact, the framework this operationalises.
- Institutional memory, on what a family loses when knowledge sits in one head.
General information only. Not investment advice, not a solicitation and not an offer. Availability, eligibility and terms differ by jurisdiction and by client. Speak to your banker about your own circumstances.