【Hong Kong Family Office Series · Part 2】 An Immersive Week Inside a Hong Kong Family Office (Mon-Wed) | Jadewell Family Office

In recent years, the government, industry, and media in Hong Kong have all been actively promoting the idea of “Family Offices (FO).”

Yet many people still only have a hazy understanding of what an FO actually does — some even assume we spend our days just “trading stocks for rich people.”

So in this article, I’d like to give readers an immersive look into my real day‑to‑day life at Jadewell Family Office, where I am both the boss and the person who handles everything from strategy to the smallest operational details.

We are a multi‑family office, serving several families with their own wealth‑management needs. Beyond the skill set I built over years in private banking, we also rely on close collaboration with partners across different professional fields.

Monday - Next Gen Investment Meeting

Like many office workers, my week starts with a Monday morning meeting.

Every Monday, I spend three hours with the Next Generation (“Next Gen”) of our “Client No. 1.” You might wonder: What could possibly take three hours every week?

Quite a lot, actually.

This Next Gen client is around my age, so our weekly meeting is both a “compressed market‑trend briefing” and a “scenario planning session” for the family’s investment portfolio.

For example, when Google launched TurboQuant and memory‑chip stocks plunged, my job was to explain the entire chain of events in a clear, digestible way — from KV Cache to the differences among HBM, DRAM, and NAND — so the client could understand how market movements affect the portfolio and make informed decisions.

And market analysis is only part of it.

With geopolitical tensions rising and volatility increasing, structured products with 50% knock‑in conditions have resurfaced. As an FO that does not charge transaction commissions, we have no pressure to push products. Instead, we can objectively assess whether the volatility‑curve pricing and those seemingly “client‑friendly” coupon features truly compensate for the embedded negative convexity — the cliff risk if the 50% barrier is breached.

It’s not that such products should never be used; rather, we must ensure they genuinely fit the client’s overall strategy, instead of blindly chasing yield in turbulent times.

On top of that, the client gave me homework last week: restructure the family’s AUD exposure. I prepared several proposals with different risk profiles, and once the plan is finalized, we still need to rehearse how to present it to the family elders — anticipating every possible question in advance.

And just like that, three hours fly by every week.

Tuesday - The Long Search for the Right Solutions

Tuesday is my full day of meetings with different fund managers.

Partly to learn from them and keep my market knowledge sharp; partly to source suitable opportunities for clients with different risk appetites.

The day starts in Central with a breakfast meeting hosted by an emerging‑market macro fund. Then I head to Landmark to meet a Japanese fund that calls itself a “friendly activist.” Lunch is a meet‑and‑greet with a bank’s Fund of Funds team.

In the afternoon, I visit a Chinese Quant Fund in Admiralty to discuss the possibility of designing a customized product for a client. On my way home, I squeeze in a coffee with industry peers — market insights are important, but hearing about the “pits” others have stepped into is even more valuable.

It’s a day packed with information, but the takeaways are substantial.

Wednesday - A Difficult Meeting: Eliminating Information Asymmetry

I woke up unusually early on Wednesday. The upcoming meeting had kept me awake the entire night.

Last month, while reviewing the monthly statements for “Client No. 2,” I noticed that a bond had been purchased at a price significantly above market levels at the time. The FX conversion used to settle the trade was also badly executed.

On top of that, I discovered several instances where the Relationship Manager failed to convert money‑market funds into cash in time, causing temporary overdrafts — and unnecessary interest charges on the client.

After reporting these findings to the client, he asked me to accompany him to the bank today to grant me additional authority so I can monitor these operational details in real time going forward.

To be fair, having worked in banking myself, I understand the immense pressure of sales targets. Some readers may think: “Private‑bank clients are so wealthy — surely they don’t care about a bit of extra commission or interest.”

Wrong.

In my experience, people who accumulate significant wealth are smart. They are happy to pay for good service and good advice. But if fees are charged carelessly or deliberately above market levels — even small amounts — they won’t tolerate it.

That said, checking statements and verifying prices are tedious tasks clients naturally don’t have time for. That’s when a trustworthy Family Offices becomes invaluable — the person who says: “You focus on what matters; leave the details to me.”

(Week not yet finished — to be continued.)

As a Family Office, we work behind the scenes to help clients master the fundamentals of wealth management — from market research and investment proposals to price monitoring and daily cash‑flow planning — so they can focus on what truly matters.

If you’d like to experience FO services, feel free to contact Jadewell Family Office.

We do not charge commissions or take kickbacks. Our fees are transparent, and our stance is pure. Because we believe the best advice should feel like that of an old friend — trustworthy and sincere.