Horn of Plenty

Blackhorn Family Office capitalises on being a bridge between the world and Mainland China.

Family office business now represents a fast-growing segment in the asset and wealth management industry and plays a vital role in the financial services ecosystem. Blackhorn Family Office was established in Hong Kong in 2021 to capitalise on the city’s financial connectivity and infrastructure. It draws upon the expertise of parent company Blackhorn Wealth Management to provide a wide range of services under one roof for a fully integrated approach to wealth management. Alongside its internal advisory board, its partnerships with leading private banks and insurance brokers enable Blackhorn to tailor solutions that preserve wealth for generations to come.

A Premier Hub for Family Offices

Blackhorn Family Office founder Yugi Lee feels there is ample potential for family offices to grow in Hong Kong. “The city is the leading international financial centre in Asia,” Lee said. “It is a preferred place for family offices to set up. With the support of the Hong Kong government in participating in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, policies are being implemented to initiate cross-border financial services and products. We believe it will attract more potential clients interested in exploring family office services.”

Currently, more than 90 percent of Blackhorn’s clientele are based in Hong Kong. Lee believes that the city offers a number of advantages as the gateway to Mainland China. Coupled with the experience and strong network of its team, Hong Kong allows Blackhorn to source the most suitable international investments for its clients. “Geographically, Hong Kong is close to Mainland China and allows us easy access to potential clients there,” she noted. “At the same time, Hong Kong has comprehensive and efficient links to other financial centres all over the world. We are the only place that truly applies a bilingual system with both Chinese and English as our official languages. This provides a unique legal and judicial system for international and Mainland Chinese enterprises. Like Hong Kong, Blackhorn acts as a bridge between Mainland China and the rest of the world.”

Leveraging Hong Kong’s Talent Pool to Accelerate Expansion

The company has been focusing on steady growth in the two years since its inception as it builds its platform and fine tune its service quality. With economic activities picking up post-pandemic, Blackhorn Family Office intends to expand both its front and back offices. “Ideally, we wish to double the size of our investment consulting team to around 20 professionals by the end of 2023,” revealed Mary Chiu, Blackhorn’s other founding partner, noting that her company recently relocated into an office with double the space of its previous premises. As for filling new vacancies, she is optimistic. “We find that there are still a lot of professionals in the Hong Kong financial industry to maintain its competitiveness as an international finance centre. There are also a lot of opportunities here to attract or keep talented people.”

As for Hong Kong itself, Chiu enthused that “it is unquestionable that the city is a very good place to work and live. It is a multicultural city — a convenient and safe place.”