The financial services industry in Malta should work harder to attract more family offices to the country, according to Joseph Zammit Tabona, a long-time industry professional who currently chairs the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council.

A family office is a personalised wealth management firm servicing ultra-high-net-worth clients.

They can be single or multi family, typically having a focus that goes beyond traditional wealth advisory services. For example, they are often also specialised in succession, insurance, charity, and lifestyle services.

Commenting during a podcast episode hosted by FinanceMalta, Mr Zammit Tabona said that the niche could even start by servicing local wealthy families.

“There are at least 30 families in Malta who would benefit through the set up of a family office,” he said, inviting practitioners to identify them and start building experience in the field.

Noting that Hong Kong is spending HK$10 million to attract family offices, he described these efforts as a “clear indication” of why they’re so important.

Malta also has an advantage, he continued, in that it is already a popular jurisdiction for the registration of superyachts.

“We have over 1,000 superyachts registered here. These belong to very rich families. What we need to do is somehow go beyond just registering yachts by offering them other services.”