Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at dlemoine@abbygroup.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

What are the requirements for a family to join The Abernathy Group II Family Office?

We are privileged to serve clients with a minimum asset base of $5 million with $3 million of that available for investment. 

How do I know which services I need?

The Abernathy Group II Family Office realizes that some families will need all of our services and others may only need a few. We consider the depth and breadth of our service offerings to be a menu from which families may choose exactly what they need. We also understand that, over time, a family’s needs will likely change and different services may become more important at different stages of their lives. 

Is your firm only serving the needs of those in the U.S., or, or do you serve people in other countries as well?

The Abernathy Group II Family Office’s approach to financial services has always been global in perspective, as we are capable of servicing the needs of both U.S. and international clients. 

Why is a Family Office better than what I may already be doing for my family and myself?

Chances are you have a series of advisors working for you, but they are not working in concert with one another. They most likely include: an accountant, an estate-planning attorney, a corporate attorney, several investment advisors, and an insurance salesperson. Some of these advisors may be working in your best interest while others are interested mostly in generating commissions or fees for themselves. In either case, it is unlikely that their collective advice is coordinated and integrated before they discuss it with you. Therefore, they are probably not making recommendations that fit together and support an overall strategy designed specifically for your family. Because of this lack of coordination and integration, their recommendations may actually conflict with each other, thus decrease your chances of achieving your family’s financial goals.

Our Family Office offers an integrated, team approach which will be led by your family’s assigned Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will be responsible for communicating with you and coordinating all of your services. Our experts act in concert to develop a single overarching strategy for your wealth management goals. Your CFO coordinates their efforts on your behalf to maximize the strategy’s effectiveness.

How does a Family’s decision maker determine if an advisor is a professional investor with the experience needed to offer intelligent advice?

Professional investors have audited track records. Without an audited track record, there is no proof an advisor has the ability to offer intelligent and valuable advice.

Since the late 1980s, The Abernathy Group II and its predecessors have been managing the assets of professionals and their families. During this time we have managed individual accounts, retirement accounts, Trust accounts, Limited Partnerships such as hedge funds, private equity investments, and Family Office accounts. Our firm has been profiled in numerous articles, and we have published over 100 articles in the major U.S. and global publications as experts on Investing, Legal Asset Protection, Risk Management, Retirement Planning, preparing a family’s heirs to receive their inheritance, Family Alignment Sessions, and the Financial Services Industry (see our Published Articles section for more information). We have also received numerous accolades within the industry as well as national media coverage for what we do. We even trademarked an investment process called Collaborative Investing® related to our work in healthcare.

Is the Abernathy Group II Family Office right for me?

If your family has assets of greater than $3 million dollars, there may be more you can do to better protect and invest your assets. 

Find out if we are right for you!

Can the Family Office help me organize my financial life?

Yes. You and your family will always have access to an up-to-date balance sheet. This comprehensive list includes every asset your family owns (from your individual accounts to your real estate holdings, and everything in between) and every liability your family owes, enabling you to understand your family’s net worth at all times, and therefore make better financial decisions. We build this for you in the form of a secure and private family website, which will update your account balances daily, so you no longer need to worry about collecting statements in the mail or remembering the usernames and passwords for dozens of financial websites.

Your customized website will track your investment progress against your family’s goals and objectives so you will understand if you are on track to fund your child’s education, or your upcoming retirement. It will also alert you if there needs to be any changes made to your portfolio.

We will also help you understand the implications of unexpected events and your resiliency to them, such as an early death or disability, a bear market, or a period of high inflation.

In addition, we create an electronic vault for your family, where you can store important documents such as passports, wills, trusts, partnership agreements, and tax returns. This level of organization will help you make better decisions, and can give you peace of mind knowing that if you or your spouse are stricken by a medical emergency, your heirs will know where this vital information is at all times.

What services do you offer?

The Family Office combines Asset Management, Legal Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, and Tax Planning, along with many other services coordinated and integrated with our comprehensive team approach. We work with your tax attorneys, accountants, estate planners, portfolio managers, and other experts to develop a single overarching strategy for your wealth management goals. We coordinate their efforts on your behalf to maximize the strategy’s effectiveness. If you do not have counselors in each of these areas, we will recommend several experts in each business category. (Note: we do not get paid or share in any compensation paid to any outside advisor, period.) 

What are the costs of a Family Office?

 Our Family Office charges an annual management fee for overseeing your family’s assets with a minimum account size of $3 Million in investable assets. The fee may vary according to the amount of assets we must advise as well as the amount of work required. Our services include: Asset Management, Financial Planning, Legal Asset Protection, Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Banking, Real Estate as well as Concierge services. When you compare the 1-2% in fees you are paying your brokerage firm to receive a small fraction of these services from an advisor who is not a professional investor, we believe the case for using a Family Office becomes crystal clear. 

How does the Family Office work?

The Abernathy Group II Family Office combines Asset Management, Estate Planning, Legal Asset Protection, Financial Planning, and many lifestyle-oriented services. Normally you would need to retain unaffiliated experts in each of these areas to advise you. However, when their independent strategies are not coordinated, their recommendations could be in conflict and hinder you from meeting your financial objectives. We oversee the coordination and integration of these separate categories as well as the management of your wealth goals. Family Offices revolutionized wealth management by acting as stewards of wealth; we are legally bound to protect our clients from actions which could erode their assets, such as salespeople and brokers whose primary goal is to sell products and earn commissions. We sell no products and earn no commissions. We always act as a legal fiduciary, advocating for our client’s best interests.

With over three decades of experience, we understand that our members often have little time to dedicate to optimal management of their financial affairs and planning needs. Our Family Office offers a team approach where our portfolio managers, along with our clients’ tax attorneys, accountants, and other experts act in concert to develop a single overarching wealth management strategy. We coordinate their efforts, on our clients’ behalf, and maximize effectiveness.

How does a Family Office differ from a traditional Wealth Management Firm?

The Family Office is quite unlike a traditional wealth management company. We work directly for you. We do not sell any products or earn any commissions. So we have no conflicts of interest. Clients think of us as the private Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of their family. Our recommendations and analysis are based on the family’s overall best interest.

Traditional wealth management firms may be subject to conflicts of interest. It all comes down to “SUITABILITY” vs. “FIDUCIARY”. Many brokers, wealth advisors, and insurance representatives are salespeople; they are often paid to sell products with the highest commissions, or might make recommendations to produce needless activity in the account. These “advisors” are only obligated to provide you with advice that is “suitable” rather than advice that is truly in your best interest. At the Family Office such conflicts of interest never exist. We act as the CFO to your role as the CEO.