Advising Family Office Clients on Recurring Legal, Tax and Business Issues
Navigating Investment Adviser Act, Employment, Executive Compensation, Tax and ERISA Issues
Note: CPE credit is not offered on this program
Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will discuss legal issues attendant with advising family offices established typically by high net worth individuals and families. The program will discuss the Investment Adviser Act as well as employment and executive compensation, and U.S. and foreign income tax issues.
Outline
- Family offices: types and structures
- Regulatory compliance
- SEC Family Office Rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and its application
- CFTC registration
- Exchange Act reporting obligations
- Employment/executive compensation issues
- Establishing investment vehicles for club deals, sidecars, etc.
- U.S. and select overseas tax issues
- U.S. domestic: deployment of qualified capital (e.g., Keogh, IRA, pension plan, etc.) and related issues; the increased popularity of IDFs (insurance dedicated funds); related ERISA issues
- International: families with individuals in multiple jurisdictions; overseas holdings
- Basic special estate tax issues
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the regulatory compliance issues for counsel assisting in structuring family offices?
- What is the scope of the SEC exemptions for family offices registering as an investment adviser?
- What are some of the key domestic and overseas tax issues for family offices?
Faculty

Efrat Y. Avigdor
Managing Director
Andersen
Ms. Avigdor has served as trusted advisor to families and family offices for nearly 20 years. Acting as a dedicated... | Read More
Ms. Avigdor has served as trusted advisor to families and family offices for nearly 20 years. Acting as a dedicated resource and sounding board for ultra high net worth families and family offices, she partners with her clients to provide holistic family office services, bridging multiple service lines. From tax and wealth planning, to financial reporting and back office accounting support, philanthropy and risk management, succession planning and governance, to just about everything in between, Ms. Avigdor works with her clients to identify and provide the critical family office services they need. She understands the complex opportunities, operational issues, and family dynamics that are often at play, and strives to be a productive and dynamic resource for any family.
Close
Carl C. Fiore
Managing Director
Andersen
Mr. Fiore has significant experience with tax and financial matters affecting high-net-worth individuals and families.... | Read More
Mr. Fiore has significant experience with tax and financial matters affecting high-net-worth individuals and families. He has worked with numerous families and closely held businesses to develop and implement wealth maximization plans through the use of family entities, income tax planning, stock option planning, charitable giving strategies, and effective gift and estate tax planning.
Close
Philip S. Gross
Partner
Kleinberg Kaplan Wolff & Cohen
Mr. Gross is a partner and the chair of the Tax Department at Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C. His practice... | Read More
Mr. Gross is a partner and the chair of the Tax Department at Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C. His practice focuses on the taxation of hedge funds and private equity funds, including domestic funds, offshore funds, funds of funds, and real estate funds. Mr. Gross counsels clients on structuring (and restructuring) funds, structuring investment managers and general partners, compensating managers and employees, investing in funds, and seeding managers or being seeded. He also advises clients on insurance dedicated funds and private placement life insurance, and other international, federal, state, and local fund tax issues. Mr. Gross has been selected as a New York Super Lawyer for six consecutive years (2014 - 2019). He is a frequent speaker and author on fund tax issues and a member of a number of key industry organizations, including the New York State Bar Association (Tax Section, Committee on Taxation of Financial Instruments), Managed Funds Association (Tax Section), New York State Society of CPAs (Taxation of Financial Products Committee), New York City Bar Association (Taxation of Business Entities Committee (of which he was a former chair)), New York Tax Study Group and The Tax Club. Mr. Gross earned his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and B.B.A. from The College of William & Mary , Beta Gamma Sigma. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Close
Joseph Iskowitz
Partner
Kleinberg Kaplan Wolff & Cohen
Mr. Iskowitz forms and represents domestic and offshore investment funds, including private equity and hedge funds. He... | Read More
Mr. Iskowitz forms and represents domestic and offshore investment funds, including private equity and hedge funds. He also counsels fund managers, investors and third-party marketers of private investment pools. Mr. Iskowitz assists clients with structuring joint ventures between multiple investment managers, seeding arrangements, registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and continuing compliance with SEC and the CFTC regulations. He advises private investment funds and their managers on securities and futures regulatory matters arising under the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act, the Investment Advisers Act, the Commodity Exchange Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Close