We look after your interests

(+34) 93 626 47 75

Torres Sarrià, Carrer de Can Ràbia, 3-5, 4ª Planta BCN 08017

(+34) 91 794 19 82

Pº de la Castellana, 93 2nd floor MADRID 28046

Category: wAsesoramiento Mult-Family Office

Cluster Family Office on GurusBlog

I am pleased to inform you that as of this week, we are publishing articles periodically in the prestigious GurusBlog. There we will be able to reach an audience that until now did not know us, and therefore our work of disseminating our way of seeing wealth management will have a wider reach. We will not always publish all the articles there and here in duplicate, but some posts will be published only in one of the sites. However, we will always try to publish short notes referring to our articles published in GurusBlog. I hope you enjoy it and here is the first one: «Who moved my Value? The compass of the New Normal«

The Mediocrity Criterion in figures

There is no greater failure than that of someone who gives up on success. Something similar happens to investment funds that stick to their benchmark indices, confident that, despite their mediocrity, the firms they work for will have no trouble marketing these funds on a massive scale, and will never blame them for failing to shine. A bank’s commercial capacity is directly proportional to the mediocrity of its investment products. Perhaps it’s because Necessity is the mother of invention, and fund managers at independent fund management firms (which do not belong to banks, at least not directly) can only compete for a place in the investment sales arena by demonstrating sheer quality and superior returns compared with their competitors. (more…)

The schizophrenia of the banking industry

There is something worse than being poor and insolvent, and that is having to hide one’s poverty whilst feigning opulence and grandeur. Woe betide anyone who has to pretend to be rich, when they are not, just to keep their business afloat! For insolvency and poverty, when faced with sincerity and honesty, become more dignified, more hopeful and less miserable. The fact is that working in a sector such as banking—which necessarily requires those in the business to feign wealth and stability in order to win the trust of their customers—is something one can live with when the bank is genuinely wealthy and solvent. But when the business goes awry and the leverage inherent in banking itself completely erodes the solvency and soundness of the institutions, that façade of opulence becomes a macabre lie, resulting in the schizophrenic loss of all contact with reality (as we said inEuroschizophrenia) on the part of the salespeople. It’s like crossing the desert wrapped up warm, without any water, and having to act all cocky and haughty as if the heat, the exhaustion and the thirst didn’t exist. Surreal.

(more…)

On the hunt for the Spanish elephant

We are in the eye of the storm. But not because of injustice or envy of our northern neighbours—no—but because of our own foolishness. That foolishness which has led us in the past to vote for governments of both political stripes, yet with one thing in common: an inability to manage the Spanish economy. We have missed a golden opportunity, given that economic growth and the surge in job creation in the Eurozone allowed us to boast of macroeconomic figures that made even those of France itself pale in comparison. And so Zapatero proclaimed on occasion, although today it is the Mercozy duo who must stifle their feelings in the face of the grotesque and surreal tragicomedy of the current periphery. «Spain is doing well,» we proclaimed to the four winds just a decade ago. Those were years when illusions of grandeur led the presidents of Spain and Portugal to meet in the Azores with the very presidents of the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Aznar, Barroso, Blair and Bush together shaping the plans that were to govern the New World Order. That was only nine years ago, but it seems so long ago…

(more…)

What do you want from Spain, Mr Market?

In many talk shows and in the press, we are hearing voices proclaiming the irrationality and delusion of the markets regarding the state of the Spanish economy. It is argued that the fact that Mr Market penalised Spanish bonds before the most austere budget in Spanish democratic history was made public, and continues to do so after the cuts, is irrefutable proof of the markets« madness. They say this is proof that this country’s economic policies must be set regardless of what the markets might think. That »the dictatorship of the markets’ is something we must ignore and fight against… But no. Let’s look at some of the reasons why we must not, and cannot, ignore Mr Market: (more…)

The perversion of counselling

First of all, we must tell you that the subject we are going to deal with today is complex and may offend some professional sensibilities. But that is not our intention at all, but rather our interest is focused on clarifying a situation that is currently generating a lot of confusion and, more importantly, is damaging families with a certain amount of wealth. Both large fortunes and small savers. We will therefore discuss, for example, Santander's convertible bonds, the recent inflammatory statements by Greg Smith (ex-Goldman Sachs), the types of assets that a properly diversified wealth should contain, the Spanish and Luxembourg regulators, banking, EAFIs, Family Office, or how to distinguish between a perverse advice and a perverse advice. comme il faut. We apologise for the length of the post, but we have chosen to publish it in its entirety so as not to lose the thread in the middle of the reflections that follow. (more…)

Customer Risk: Cause or excuse for bad management?

This week I came across an article published in FundsPeople titled «Client risk in private banking management«. These are obviously arguments put forward by bankers and former private bankers, which already distorts considerably the reality of what wealth management in general and financial investment in particular should be, as we said back in 2008 in «...".«The unbearable lightness of management»(private banking). We advance this warning because the FundsPeople article only deals with the management of bank investments, i.e. money invested in bank investment products, shares handpicked by the bankers and ex-bankers on duty and other investment funds listed in the bank's sales catalogue. We want to make it clear that there is a fundamental deviation from the way we should treat families' money, which should include investments in unlisted companies (private equity), real estate investments and other assets in which, in order to invest, the money must come out of the bank's account. Obviously, private banks do without such investments, as their mission is to keep their clients' money in the bank that generates their income at the end of the month.

(more…)

The Financial Tarot for 2012

Knowing which types of assets or which companies’ shares are going to skyrocket in the coming months is the pipe dream of those who, rather than investing, speculate. Of those who are hoping for a windfall to bail them out of the financial difficulties they have got themselves into through their own foolishness. But even if Lady Luck were to smile on them, their poor judgement would remain just as bad. Consequently, they will believe themselves to be shrewd investors rather than merely lucky, and their cycle of financial difficulties, windfalls and further difficulties will repeat itself, at best. In the long run, the result for most of them is that their forays as speculators (even though they describe themselves as investors), far from supplementing their income, cost them a significant portion of the wages they have earned through the sweat of their brow over the years. And if at any point they were to make an objective calculation of their gains and losses—something they consciously or unconsciously avoid doing—the balance sheet would reveal the harsh reality: that throughout their investing lives, a large part of their own and their families’ well-being has been taken by Mr Market. (more…)

Corralito 2.0

Just a few days before it was announced the news In the wake of Argentinian president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's cancer, a new "corralito" is sweeping the South American country. Illegal outflows of US dollars from Argentina have been a constant in 2011, reaching 20-year highs. According to the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), this year will end with approximately 24 billion dollars in outflows. The volume is also increasing every quarter, which is why the government of Kirchner's widow has taken certain measures that are reminiscent of the corralito that occurred a decade ago. (more…)

What to do with the lottery jackpot. Will I be able to hold on to my fortune?

«Lottery, inheritance, fortune, wealth, management, advice, investment, money, money, money… These are coveted words that can turn into real nightmares. The million-dollar question – the one that’s vital for a new lottery winner – is: »What should I do with the prize and with my life?’” That’s how it began one of the many articles which we have published on the management of windfalls, whether they be inheritances, lottery winnings or various other windfalls. On the day of the Christmas lottery draw, I mustn’t forget to mention the all-too-easy self-deception to which RTVE invites us.

The public broadcaster’s website invites us to take part in a rather dangerous bit of fun. As you’ll see in sifueramillonario.rtve.es, any dreamer who wants to visualise the far-fetched growth of their lottery windfall over time can have a play with this app. But you’d be better off not giving any credence to the conclusions calculated by this website, because managing a fortune or wealth goes infinitely beyond the handful of simple and unrealistic calculations used by that site, which will no doubt be receiving tens or hundreds of thousands of visits these days. Let’s see why. (more…)

Shall we help you search?

Cluster Family Office

We care about transparency both in management and in our own way of working. Leading wealth management and family offices company

Do you need help in capital and wealth management?

How can I avoid the negative effects that my fortune may have on my children?

How and when should I talk to my children about family wealth, and what relationship should they have with money throughout their adolescence?

How can I measure the real risks of my investments and protect my assets adequately?

Do I have sufficient liquidity and stable income to cover my needs on a permanent basis?

Security Notice

We have been made aware of phishing and spoofing attempts involving fraudulent email addresses and domains that closely resemble our official company communications. These unauthorized communications are not sent by our company and may falsely impersonate our employees or representatives.

Our company is not responsible for communications, requests, or transactions originating from fraudulent or unauthorized email addresses or domains. Please verify that all communications originate from our official email domain before responding or sharing any information.

If you receive a suspicious email claiming to be from our company, please do not respond, click any links, or provide any information. Contact us directly using the contact information published on this website to verify its authenticity.