Monaco Investment Summit for Global Family Offices : Article by Marianne Burkhardt
The 9th Global Family Office Investment Summit, hosted by the 600-year-old Ritossa Family Office, is to take place from the 18th to 20th June 2019 in Monaco. Investment summit attendee numbers are so high that the event has been moved to the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel to accommodate a record-breaking number of guests.
In this district of the tiny Principality where many Monaco property investments are made, billionaires, sheikhs, royal families and business leaders representing $4 trillion in investor wealth will debate and discuss world events and top-tier investment opportunities. The summit, which is a private forum, will be held under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco. Investment summit attendees will explore the theme “The Rise & Rise of Family offices”.
“Financial titans”
Anthony Ritossa, Chairman of the Ritossa Family Office, observes that family offices are booming and becoming a disruptive force in the market-place.
“The combination of continued global uncertainty, new investment opportunities and multi-generational wealth preservation sets the scene for sustained growth in the family office sector,” he says. “The biggest have become deal powerhouses, capable of competing with global banks and private equity firms on big transactions. Family offices have become financial titans.”
Mr Ritossa was inspired to create the summit after attending many other for years. He says he “cherrypicked” the best aspects of the different conferences when he hosted his first family office summit in Dubai in December 2016, which was attended by 60 delegates. The Monaco investment summit will count more than 400.
A busy agenda in Monaco: Investment, Philanthropy and More
The main theme of the summit is intended to serve as a bridge between European families and their Middle East, US, Asian and Latin American counterparts to meet, network and exchange information and ideas.
A vast programme of panel sessions, keynote speakers and interactive round tables include topics such as “The World’s Most Powerful Women”, the “Secrets of Award-Winning Investment Managers, “Profiting from Today’s Blockchain Boom”, “Impact Investing” and “Investing in Art”. Other noteworthy topics on the agenda are “Family Office Outlook for 2019 and beyond” and “What Today’s Savvy Global Leaders Hope for the Future of Philanthropy”.
Among the more than 100 speakers and guests of honour are HRH Prince Michel of Yugoslavia, HH Prince Francisco de Borbon von Hardenberg, Spain and UK-based Elizabeth Bagger, Director General at the Institute for Family Business. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of EasyJet and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, will give a keynote thought leadership presentation.
A Passion Project
Anthony Ritossa points out that there is an understanding that those with the most resources have the biggest responsibility for improving the world.
“For this reason, I carefully curate my events and I spend a lot of time getting to know the attendees. The waiting list is long and I need to make sure that every participant is a perfect fit, that they share similar core values with other members,” he says. “Being part of a family office myself, understanding what is important to families and corporations and including this in the conference agenda creates a unique environment and a lovely ambiance.”
Mr Ritossa says the global family office investment summits are his “passion project”.
“I love hearing the stories that come out of these events,” he says. “It’s really interesting bring wonderful people together. It’s an honour to have the support of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and today we are the world’s largest and most exclusive gathering of family wealth – I am very grateful for this.”
