The Monaco Yacht Club (YCM) has marked another very successful year for its sailors who have competed in events across the world.
HSH Prince Albert, the club’s president, told members at the annual YCM Awards-Trophée Credit Suisse, on December 20, that the club is resolutely turned towards the sea.
“You are its proud representatives. In the yachting world, sailing is our showcase, and your performances are a reflection of that.”
The Club’s 2,000 members voted Pierre Casiraghi as YCM Sailor of the Year for 2017. Casiraghi, the Yacht Club’s Vice-President, launched himself into offshore racing on board Malizia II, an IMOCA 60’, which joined the Monaco fleet in June 2017. The debut season for Princess Caroline’s son proved to be very successful, including third place in the prestigious Rolex Fastnet Race.
The awards ceremony celebrated the younger generation’s achievements. Logan Viciana won the YCM Youth Awards-Trophée Credit Suisse for the sum of his results at the head of the 23-strong Monegasque Optimist team, which included qualifying the Club for the World Championships in Thailand.
For the second year running, Jérémy Moutout was recognised for his performances during 2017, his first year in the Olympic Laser Standard class. Third in the French Internationals at Quiberon, he also won the seven-stage Mediterranean Championship.
The evening brought families together at the Club and welcomed 40 new full members.
AS Monaco Vice-President Vadim Vasilyev has dashed the hopes of several English football clubs with their eyes on star player Thomas Lemar.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have been rumoured to be ready to pay close to €100 million for the 22-year-old Monaco midfielder this January.
“Departures of important players are not on our agenda. We have never talked about the possibility of a departure in January,” Vasilyev told French football journal l’Equipe.
Monaco are struggling in second place in France’s Ligue 1, nine points behind Paris-Saint-Germain and fell out of the Champions League contest in the qualifying stages after a series of high-profile late transfers, including that of Kylian Mbappe to PSG.
Low morale among French border police has resulted in many walking off the job claiming sickness.
In the most recent case, eleven Border Police Officers (Police aux frontières, or PAF) in the Alpes-Maritimes have been on sick leave since Wednesday, December 27, to protest against working conditions on the Italian border, according to the union Unity SGP-Police.
The officers, from a Menton unit, were posted along with one more, in a mountain outpost at the Fanghetto border crossing in the Roya Valley, an entry point increasingly used by desperate migrants who have been unable to get into France along the coast.
Unity SGP-Police said the officers concerned are “simply tired and exhausted”. Their outpost has no running water or heating, despite the cold temperatures. Meanwhile, the
Prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes told AFP on Thursday, December 28, that it would follow “with great attention the PAF situation in Menton and the question of the working conditions of the police officers”.
While an investigation gets underway, the “sick” officers have been replaced by other national police normally posted in Nice.
Red tape is threatening the success of the French ski sector in the face of strong competition from other countries, according to a number of local officials and leaders of industry groups. Once the world’s most popular ski destination, France has been overtaken by both the US and Austria in the last two seasons.
Michel Bouvard, deputy head of the Savoy departmental council, said France must strive to encourage more investment, and this involves removing bureaucratic hurdles. “French resorts face growing competition. If France wants to stay in the race, it must meet three challenges: it must renew its customer base, increase investment and adapt to the lack of snow. Today, administrative issues are causing us to lose years. Bureaucratic procedures must be simplified so we can be more flexible,” he said.
France is struggling to attract skiers from Germany, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, who often go to Austria. Laurent Reynaud of the skiing industry body, Domaines Skiables de France, told the UK’s Daily Telegraph: “Skiing is the national pride of Austria and the Austrians are making huge efforts to develop it.”
Austrian resorts are more easily accessible, and France needs to do more to improve transport links, critics say. The country also has an image of being expensive and upmarket, with resorts such as Courchevel, Val d’Isère or Mégève taking the limelight over cheaper destinations.
Other critics blame both the government and the industry for years of complacency. Dominique Marcel, head of the ski resort operator Compagnie des Alpes, said: “For a long time, we thought it was enough to have the Alps, Mont Blanc and snow to be sheltered from any shortcomings. But that doesn’t work any more. Problems of accommodation, transport, crowds and the quality of restaurants are all factors that are important to customers.”
Red tape and an over-eagerness to tax short-term lets are also a problem, Mr Reynaud said: “More than half the number of beds at French resorts are in holiday homes that are only occupied for an average of three weeks a year. Each year the number of beds available for rentals goes down by about 3,000. We must make it easier for people to rent out their apartments.”
In our previous White Paper on “When does it make sense to set up a Family Office” we explored the huge and unprecedented era of transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, as the world’s most affluent individuals approach retirement and contemplate their succession and wealth planning issues.
The needs of these families are extensive, complicated, and require expert advice, so many are considering a Family Office to help them manage this transition and provide a crucially provide a framework for the Next Generation (Next Gen).
The problem is especially difficult for many advisers is that they are ill-equipped to connect with these Next Gen clients who are technology savvy and expect a very different service experience than their parents did.
Getting started: Ensure a smooth transition with Next Gen Engagement leads to stronger relationships. Education coupled with strong communication results in a more empowered and engaged Next Gen. Conceptually it’s simple. In practice, it’s not.
Old-fashioned trumps high-tech Millennials, Gen Y, Gen X – all names for the Next Gen – are often described as tech savvy, data-driven and social media-obsessed. However, when it comes to engaging with their advisors, they prefer face-to-face meetings. 82% of those in the 2016 Veritage Next Gen study said they prefer in-person engagement, followed by phone (72%), and email (68%). Communication through social media and internet/video/skype weren’t particularly sought out, with a mere 15%, and 5%, respectively, seeking such interactions.
Start early Building relationships takes time. More than half (54%) of the 2016 study respondents began working with their Family Office advisor when they were under 20 years old, and 38% did so in their 20s. Initial discussions often centre on who the advisor is and what she does for the family. Over time, advisors become more sophisticated in maintaining the level of disclosure with which the matriarchs and patriarchs are comfortable. Much can be shared without putting specific dollar amounts on expected family wealth or inheritance.
Forge bonds with educational programs It’s crucial to identify a manner to reach out to the Next Gen, whereby the older generations are comfortable and the Next Gen are interested. General education fits that bill. Gatherings including members of different families are particularly attractive. Approximately 75% of the 2016 study participants said they would be interested in attending a Next Gen program hosted by their Family Office advisor. Next Gen members need the most support with investments.
Appeal to a sense of social consciousness A hallmark of the Next Gen is that they tend to be socially conscious. Discussions around mission-related investing, philanthropy and making an impact are ideal to generate interest and engagement. All of the subjects can be used to teach about wealth management and as a stepping-stone to getting them more involved in learning about managing their wealth.
Understand family values The majority of the Next Gen has similar values as their parents. A key to engagement is to find out what’s important to them—how they view wealth and its purpose.
Education is Key There’s a direct correlation between how educated, and by association, how empowered, a Next Gen family member is, and her comfort and happiness with the Family Office advisors and wealth plans. By establishing relationships with the Next Gen and helping them learn about their wealth, family offices will significantly increase their ability to retain their roles as trusted advisors.
Article first published April 12, 2017. Mark Estcourt is CEO of Cavendish Family Office in London. For more information, see cavfo.com.
Noriko Katayanagi-Bonadfede,
IEFTA Founding Board Member & family owns Castelroc restaurant
ML: How did life lead you to Monaco? NK-B: When I was still living and working in San Francisco as a clinical Psychotherapist, my friends invited me to come to France and Switzerland for a ski vacation, where I met my now ex-husband who happened to be from Monaco, a Monegasque from an old Monegasque family.
I fell in love with him at the first sight, and the new story had begun.
ML: What were your first impressions compared to the life you knew in Japan and was it easy to integrate in Monaco? NK-B: It would have been easier to adopt Monaco’s family life if I had come straight from Japan, instead of arriving directly from the US, especially from liberal West Coast.
In the end, my traditional education from my family in Japan helped me to value traditional family life style in Monaco, I guess.
After all, a good balance of self-assertiveness and politeness helps me to surf through Monaco’s traditional social and family life.
ML: What is the one thing you never get tired of in Monaco? NK-B: A view of sea and mountains all in one.
ML: You eat every week at your favourite restaurant in Monaco, Castelroc, which your family owns, but where do you like to have a coffee with friends? NK-B: The best cafe has been Case de la Cafe for casual meetings with friends for a good tasse of cafe. But the Hotel Metropole would be the best place to feel lucky, where I’m happy to be me. I do all my business meetings there. And not to forget that it is a favourite place for special aperitif.
ML: You have your own company, K.i.C. Business & K.i.C. Entertainment. What does K.i.C. stand for? NK-B: Katayanagi International Consulting, my maiden name…
ML: Tell us about the different Business and Entertainment sides? NK-B: Basically I do everything – everything that I like and everything that helps other people.
On the business side, currently, I work for various Japanese companies in European major cities for some intentional events, various meetings and/or negotiations with European companies.
Once I realised that many Japanese companies need more than just an interpreter but also a negotiator since they tend to be taken advantage of when dealing with Westerners, I started my business. It’s a cultural difference. Sometimes they need a tough woman like me who speaks directly and understands the cultural contexts to move towards reaching the objectives. For negotiations, I make the best deals, and make French people work efficiently for Japanese clients. I am good at that.
I also export a Champagne brand and other “intelligent lifestyle items” to Japan.
For entertainment, I represent/promote artists like painters, musicians, DJs, photographers or beauty aestheticians.
Now, looking forward to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, I’m consulting lots of Japanese companies on how to intelligently welcome foreign visitors. I also promote hotels and restaurants from Japan for international visitors, including making a short presentation video with my new production company.
My work seems to be an extension of my hobby.
ML: Would you say the Japanese travel easily and adapt easily to new cultures?NK-B: Over all, no, I don’t think so.
Especially now, less young people want to leave home. They are highly satisfied with their domestic community and prefer a small and simple life.
Or they tend to not have enough time to travel, too much work.
I have many VIP Japanese clients visiting Monaco and all Cote d’Azur in general. Sometimes, I need to educate them how to behave in public to be smarter and more elegant. It is simply a lack of experience. For example, Japanese men in general have never served drinks to woman…. I insist on it in Europe.
ML: What’s the hardest part of running your own business? NK-B: Accounting.
ML: You are a founding Board Member of IEFTA, the Monaco-based NPO that helps filmmakers from developing countries. What is a typical day for you? NK-B: At 6:30 am, I make a BENTO (lunch) BOX for my daughter for her university study.
By 8:00 am, correspondence starts with Japanese clients – they have been awake, working and waiting for me to get up – and time flies in front of my Mac. Most of the time – in thick glasses, no make-up and baggy pants! – I am typing proposals, presentations, answering emails and researching for my clients’ projects.
By 6:30 pm, I try to meet up with friends for an apèro, before returning home to cook dinner.
ML: You sing in a band? NK-B: Yes, again. yes.
ML: Have you always been a singer? NK-B: I guess you could say that. At 14, I started to sing in an all-boys heavy metal band.
I was a target of bullying at school. No girls ever spoke to me for about 10 months due to social pressures. I guess because I was acting like a princess, I stood out with luxury dresses and family cars. My parents owned fashion department stores when I grew up. I was a victim of luxury marketing family life! So some of the girls thought I was too snobby to be a friend.
So I had no choice but to play with boys: football during lunchtime, Kendo, and rock bands after school. I remember I even shaved my hair very, very short at that one point.
But I was happy to be in a band. Playing music filled my empty heart.
Eventually I joined only girl bands, and there I played drums.
ML: Tell us about your band NK-B: This summer, I will sing in our band in Japan. Three years ago, we got together again after 30 years of a long break … The GOTEN (meaning the Japanese-style palace) is a hard-rock cover band, and we play a lot of music from Anne Lewis and Boøwy.
Then this year, I will play drums again with our girls’ band… I am so happy that we can do this. This is also hardrock and original music, too.
ML: You also practice Kendo. What does it teach you? NK-B: Kendo is a philosophy, not a sport, and it teaches me everything about myself, and my desire to do better. We practice at an elementary school gym at blvd des Jardin Exotique
ML: One app or device you cannot live without? NK-B: “LINE”, a Japanese communication app, that helps me keep in touch with my friends in Japan.
ML: One thing you miss most about Japan? NK-B: Beside my childhood friends, it has to be (real) Japanese cuisine.
ML: What is the best part of ageing as a woman? NK-B: The best part is that I don’t give a damn about the little things anymore and don’t feel guilty about it.
ML: What is something you’ve always wanted to try or do? NK-B: Gazelle rally in Morocco (Rallye Aicha des Gazelles).
ML: Greatest piece of advice another woman gave you? NK-B: “What a f**k are you waiting for? Jump in or he will be taken by other woman!”
Noriko Katayanagi-Bonadfede,
