Last year, the Hong Kong Government issued a policy statement to develop family office businesses in Hong Kong to create a conducive and competitive environment for the businesses of global family offices to thrive in Hong Kong. To support Hong Kong’s global positioning, HSUHK is doing its part in promoting study and research, and providing professional training in family wealth management.
Research on family succession
In 2020, the Chinese Family Succession Research Centre (CFSRC) was established under the School of Business as a leading research platform to generate and disseminate new knowledge on family succession. The Centre undertakes research on Chinese culture and family succession, family business, family governance, family wealth and estate management, and family as a brand. It also provides consultations to family business and organises seminars, trainings, and workshops to promote best practices in family wealth management.
Dr Kenneth Kwong, Co-Director of CFSRC, elaborated on the activities at the Centre, “Recently, the Centre was involved in a pioneer research on family wealth under the domain of family succession to better understand family wealth as a combination of financial capital, intellectual capital, social capital, and human capital, collectively known as the FISH framework. This research initiative will explore what predecessors pass to next generation and how family succession is done.”
Professional training on family wealth management for practitioners
In 2024, HSUHK’s Institute of Knowledge Exchange (IKE) launched the Global Family Office and Wealth Management Hub to nurture family office management professionals with international perspectives, professional skills and innovative thinking by providing rich educational resources, research opportunities and industry exchanges, to help Hong Kong become a leader in the global family office and wealth management sector.
As a cradle for nurturing family office talent, the Hub is establishing partnerships with international professional institutions to provide industry certification and professional qualifications. These activities will provide professional training in family office and wealth management, impart in-depth industry knowledge, as well as cultivate and attract top-notch talent in the family office industry.
Earlier this year, IKE and Sun Life Hong Kong Limited launched a training series to give industry practitioners a platform to share their professional knowledge, discuss family wealth succession, family offices, and other areas that pertain to high-net-worth individuals’ financial needs. Over 500 practitioners have taken foundation-level training courses, and more courses on advanced and professional levels have been planned for May 2024 onwards.
Promotion of family succession knowledge
HSUHK and Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited solidified a two-year partnership to propel the field of “Chinese Family Succession”. Through a series of radio and online programmes, this collaboration enhances public awareness of family succession, and gives HSUHK the recognition of being one of the few universities that is actively involved in research on Chinese family succession. Episodes air every Sunday, and feature dialogues between HSUHK professors, family heads, successors, and practitioners on family wealth management.
