UBS' latest offering could be vital for those looking to set up a family office, it says.

UBS has rolled out its Family Office Compass, a new toolkit designed to help ultra-high net worth families efficiently preserve wealth and successfully pass it on to future generations. 

The latest offering from the world's largest wealth manager, developed in conjunction with the Cambridge Institute for Family Enterprise, helps families navigate the process of setting up a family office, and also offers a perspective on the role of a family office beyond short-term wealth management, UBS says. 

According to the bank, nearly 70 per cent of family offices expect a generational transfer within the next 15 years. Despite this, just 37 per cent think the next generation seek to play a more prominent role in managing their family's affairs. UBS says this reluctance is often not due to lack of interest, but an inability to identify ways to be a part of the decision making process.

“For many families, placing trust in potential successors can be a challenge,” UBS said in a statement. “Family offices can find it equally demanding to maintain relevance with the younger generation.”

As a result, UBS' made its Family Office Compass to help families overcome these obstacles, and ensure generational transitions are successful. 

“A strategic family office – which plans and anticipates the changing nature and activities of the family, its environment, and wealth strategy - can be a unique competitive advantage for families of Great Wealth,” said Josef Stadler, head of global UHNW at UBS. “Currently, only 30 per cent of generational transfers are successful, so we urge families to think strategically about how they can use a family office to support continued wealth preservation and growth across generations.”

UBS' and PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2016 Billionaires Report found that there were 1,397 billionaires in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The firms estimate that 65 per cent of European billionaires have a family office, compared with 50 per cent of those in the US, and 34 per cent in APAC.

A number of banks such as UBS, HSBC, Credit Suisse and Citi Private Bank have dedicated units focused on serving family offices. In 2014, for example, a report from Credit Suisse, EY, and University of St.Gallen, entitled, The Family Office Dynamic: Pathway to Successful Family and Wealth Management, set out a guide to setting up a family office and best practices within the sector.