Meet Thierry Crovetto, President and Founder of TC Stratégie Financière, who brought the 2016 law on the creation of Multi Family Office (MFO) activities to Monaco.
One year after the promulgation of the law, can we take stock of the MFOs?
We have 8 Multi Family Office creations since this law was adopted by the National Council. These MFOs have all been granted approvals without financial activities (financial advice and order reception and transmission), hence they are not approved by the CCAF (Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières – Financial Activities Control Commission). Thus they can propose administrative, tax, legal, custodial and wealth consolidation consulting offerings, among others.
Like other professionals in Monaco, the banks can be partners of these MFOs. Working with these organisations serves as a leveraging tool for financial institutions to develop their business. The Monegasque banks are increasingly dedicating specialised teams to them to meet the particular needs of Family Offices (Single and Multi).
Some Single Family Offices (SFO) are contemplating joining together in order to pool their expertise (private equity, art, property, financial investment etc.). This is positive!
When TC Stratégie Financière was established, you emphasised your distinctiveness: academic validation of models…
Indeed, our work focuses on financial advice for Institutional clients, Single and Multi Family Offices or Asset Managers. This is our core target. We have the best answers for this customer base. We provide our expertise in asset allocation and funds selection, making extensive use of academic research and quantitative models. Our investment strategies are innovative and adapted to tomorrow’s challenges.
The present environment requires us to adapt and to reinvent portfolio management. The aim of our research is to develop new investment solutions we can offer our customers in different forms. Our investment philosophy is largely directed at preserving capital and seeking absolute performance. Our objective is to understand and assess the risks of different investments well and ensure there is proper remuneration for these risks. Let us not forget that risk-return optimisation is the main objective of portfolio management!
We are therefore service providers of SFOs, MFOs, other management firms and even banks, indeed we can offer them bespoke investment solutions, with niche strategies.
There is much talk of Blockchain in Europe and elsewhere. What do you think about it?
Is it an opportunity for Monaco?
Blockchain technology will be just as disruptive as Internet was! Monaco needs to be a favourable settling ground for innovative companies working with this technology. That is why the National Council passed a bill on this subject last December.
Estonia is one of the precursors in this field. As a Blockchain laboratory in the world, the country uses this technology to attract capital by facilitating the establishment of foreign companies on its territory.
In France a ruling allows use of technologies like Blockchain for the exchange of some financial securities. The use of Blockchain technology would simplify exchanges of unlisted financial securities and render them secure. Luxembourg has already carried out securities operations registration tests via Blockchain.
The financial sector is the one with the most patents for this technology. There are numerous applications. It is a race against time. Monaco can play a role in this field, but we must act quickly!
