Samsung Securities said on the 14th that its family office business reached 200 client families and 55 trillion won ($38 billion) in client assets as of early last month.
The family office is an ultra-high-net-worth wealth management service for clients with at least 100 billion won in financial assets. Its client base is broadening from traditional corporate owners to founders of newer companies and ultra-wealthy individuals. Clients classified as exit owners, who secured large amounts of liquidity through company sales, have roughly tripled from three years earlier. Individual investors holding more than 100 billion won in financial assets separate from corporate stakes are also joining as a new client segment.
Samsung Securities has expanded its wealth management framework to match the more varied demands. Its flagship Investment Management Model has private bankers work alongside investment management specialists at headquarters to manage client assets. The service provides a structured investment management process for clients with large holdings or with temporary liquidity from a business sale.
The brokerage also runs committees, dedicated advisory units staffed by in-house specialists and assigned to individual families. Through regular meetings and ad hoc consultations, the committees review each family's asset position and key tasks, then work with investment, tax and succession specialists to draw up tailored solutions. An outsourced chief investment officer service, which applies investment processes used by institutional investors, is offered as a family-specific asset management solution.
The firm is also expanding its search for global investment opportunities. Samsung Securities works with global alternative asset managers including Apollo, Blackstone and KKR, as well as Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, to source opportunities that Korean ultra-high-net-worth investors rarely have access to. Those opportunities are then matched to each client's investment goals and portfolio composition.
Cultural and arts programs, private conferences and global networking events are also part of the offering. The aim is to use Samsung Group's infrastructure to deliver an experience that covers clients' interests and personal networks as well as financial asset management.
"What matters more than the number 200 is that we have built up solutions for the differing concerns and needs of clients with more than 100 billion won in financial assets," said Yoo Jung-hwa, head of the family office division at Samsung Securities. "Clients preparing to sell a company or who have newly secured large-scale liquidity need structured planning that covers not only asset allocation and investment management after the exit, but also succession and heritage."
"Drawing on the experience we have accumulated managing 55 trillion won in client assets, our global partnerships and Samsung's infrastructure, we will work with families on their most important decisions and their future, and develop into a family office that designs wealth and legacy across generations on a foundation of principle and responsibility," the executive added.