Insights on the state of family offices in 2026
LA Times Studios interview highlights with Christian Scali
USA
Recently, leaders across industries, including Christian Scali, Managing Shareholder of Scali Rasmussen, gathered as part of a LA Times Studios roundtable discussion to exchange perspectives on the evolving landscape of family offices and private capital. The conversation touched on governance, succession planning, cross-border compliance, privacy, and liquidity events, and highlighted how sophisticated families are navigating increasingly complex considerations in long-term wealth stewardship.
To read the full article, visit the LA Times Studios website here.
How are advisors helping families balance operational efficiency with privacy and discretion?
Chris: Advisors can provide the most value to family offices by advising them to engineer operational efficiency and privacy and discretion together, rather than treating them as competing priorities. The most effective family offices are redesigning governance and information flows so sensitive data moves through structured reporting channels rather than informal communication. That includes defined access permissions, centralised reporting systems, and secure digital infrastructure that limits who can see information and when.
Advisors are also helping families simplify entity structures and reporting lines so fewer people handle sensitive data. In today’s regulatory environment, privacy is not achieved by avoiding disclosure; it is achieved through disciplined governance, cybersecurity, and carefully controlled information management.
What compliance risks are family offices underestimating?
Chris: We find that our family office clients often underestimate how quickly regulatory exposure grows as structures become more sophisticated. What begins as a private investment platform can evolve into a multi-entity organisation with cross-border activity, employees, and diverse asset classes, each carrying distinct regulatory obligations. Compliance risk often comes at the intersection of securities regulation, tax reporting, employment law, sanctions rules, and data security.
Because family offices operate outside many institutional compliance frameworks, they must build their own internal systems. We advise our clients to treat compliance as an element of enterprise risk management rather than an administrative task. Having an advisor who is managing compliance across different jurisdictions is key to creating an internal system that covers each jurisdiction.
How are cross-border families navigating increasingly complex global reporting requirements?
Chris: Cross-border families are operating in a financial system where transparency has become the global norm. The most successful families address this complexity by centralising oversight of their global structures and coordinating reporting across jurisdictions. Advisors typically begin by mapping every entity, trust, and ownership interest throughout the family’s structure, and aligning documentation across legal, tax, and fiduciary advisors.
Treating global reporting as a coordinated governance function, rather than a series of isolated filings, helps families meet regulatory obligations while preserving flexibility in investment strategy and long-term planning. The most successful families have a main advisor who coordinates advisors across jurisdictions, and who is tasked with coordinating the team’s efforts to ensure they are all aligned under one common goal.
Christian Scali has a diverse practice that includes advice and counsel and complex and high stakes litigation. His clients are in a variety of industries, including restaurant and hospitality, property management, entertainment, clothing manufacturing and ecommerce, but the majority of them are in the retail automotive industry. Contact Chris.
XLNC member firm Scali Rasmussen, PCLos Angeles, CA, USAT: +1 213 239 5622
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