Côme, Family Office of the Year : une vision contemporaine du family office

On February 10, Côme Maison Financière was named "Family Office of the Year" at the Luxembourg Wealth Management Awards.

This recognition not only acknowledges the emergence of a player that is now well established in the Luxembourg marketplace, but also, and above all, an approach to family office that breaks with historical models. More open, more international, more aligned with the realities of contemporary wealth management.

In an environment where families and entrepreneurs move between multiple jurisdictions, asset classes and time horizons, the role of the family office is no longer limited to management: it becomes structuring, coordination and vision. In this interview, Pascal Rapallino looks back at the foundations of the Côme model, the structuring choices that have guided its development, particularly in Luxembourg, and his reading of the profound transformations in the profession.

What does the title of Family Office of the Year mean to you, both for your teams and for the families and entrepreneurs you support on a daily basis?

First and foremost, this title represents validation. Validation of a choice we made from the outset: to build a family office that is not folded back on a century-old model, but open to the realities of the XXIᵉ century. For our teams in Paris, Luxembourg and beyond, this is the recognition of a demanding collective effort. We coordinate complete wealth ecosystems: engineering, investment, real estate, governance with constant attention to coherence and alignment with our clients' interests.

For the families and entrepreneurs we support, this award confirms what they already know: that they have chosen a House that not only manages their wealth, but shapes it with them. A firm that understands that their assets are living, moving, multi-jurisdictional. And one that knows how to structure this complexity with clarity and rigor.

But we don't see this award as a consecration. It's a responsibility. It's a responsibility to continue rethinking the contours of wealth management, to make Como an ever more useful, ever more international platform.

In an increasingly structured and competitive ecosystem, what are the pillars of your unique family office model and the quality of your global support?

Our uniqueness rests on three pillars.

• First, an entrepreneurial spirit. More than half of all high net worth individuals are entrepreneurs. At Côme, we're not just managers: we're entrepreneurs ourselves. We understand the energy that drives those who build, whether they have earned, inherited or invented their fortune. This intellectual proximity enables us to anticipate their needs and structure solutions that correspond to their reality.

• Secondly, openness. We break down silos. Between finance and real estate. Between generations. Between simple and complex assets. Between local and international. This permeability isn't just talk, it's an operational architecture. It's what enables us to coordinate complete ecosystems rather than manage assets in isolation.

• Third, total alignment. Our advice is unbiased. We don't sell in-house products to generate commissions. We identify the best opportunities for our customers, whether they come from us or elsewhere. This independence is our credibility.

And it's all based on one conviction: wealth management in the 21stᵉ century can no longer be local. It must be international by design, aligned by conviction, open by necessity.

New generations are redefining wealth expectations: performance, impact, governance, transmission. In concrete terms, how are these changes transforming your investment strategies and the way you support families over the long term?

These changes don't transform our strategies, they confirm them. From the outset, Côme was designed to serve assets as they exist today and tomorrow, not as they existed yesterday.

In terms of performance, we don't promise extraordinary returns. We build diversified portfolios, balanced between listed and unlisted, debt and equity, with a long-term horizon. Our entrepreneurial clients understand that true performance is measured over decades, not quarters.

In terms of impact, we have created Côme Ensemble, our endowment fund dedicated to equal opportunity. But we go further: we integrate ESG dimensions into our investment selection criteria, and we help our clients structure philanthropic vehicles aligned with their values.

In terms of governance, we help families to formalize their operating rules, prepare for generational transitions and create clear decision-making bodies. Governance is not a luxury, it's an infrastructure.

When it comes to succession planning, we work with a multi-generational vision. Our customers don't build for themselves, they build for those who will come after. Our role is to structure this continuity with intelligence and foresight.

You launched Côme Luxembourg at the beginning of the year, marking a key stage in your European development. Why this strategic choice and how does this location strengthen your ability to structure complex international estates?

Luxembourg is not simply a geographical location. It's the operational heart of our international dimension.

Why Luxembourg? Because our customers no longer think in terms of borders, but in terms of opportunities. They have assets in France, investments in America, structures in Luxembourg, projects in the Emirates. They demand a platform capable of coordinating this complexity with clarity, rigor and legal certainty.

Luxembourg provides this framework. A stable, recognized environment. Regulations adapted tointernational assets.An ecosystem of experts - lawyers, trustees, custodian banks - who share our high standards.

In concrete terms, Luxembourg enables us to structure international holding companies, optimize capital flows between jurisdictions, house private equity or private debt investments in regulated vehicles, and coordinate the governance of multi-country family structures.

This is not an extension of our Paris-based business, but a fundamental building block in our architecture. Luxembourg makes Como a truly international firm, capable of intelligently circulating capital where it creates the most value.

With Côme Athletes Office, you are targeting profiles with very specific challenges. How does this initiative illustrate your modern vision of the family office, combining protection, structuring, performance and long-term vision?

Côme Athletes Office perfectly embodies our approach: identifying specific needs, structuring tailor-made solutions and providing support with a long-term vision.

Top-level athletes face unique challenges: income concentrated over a few years, complex international tax issues, the need to anticipate career transition, and the need to organize the transfer of assets at the start of a career. They need support that understands these realities and knows how to structure their assets accordingly. That's why we welcomed Vanessa and David Douillet as partners in Côme Athlètes Office. Their experience and understanding of the pathways and issues specific to top-level athletes are invaluable assets.

Our approach is based on four pillars:

• Protection: securing income, structuring contracts, organizing social and insurance coverage.
• Structuring: creating appropriate holding companies, optimizing international taxation, coordinating the various players (agents, sponsors, clubs).
• Performance: invest career income intelligently, with a diversified allocation between listed, unlisted, real estate and debt.
• Long-term vision: prepare for the post-career period, support career transition projects and organize the transfer of skills to future generations.

What's true for athletes is true for all our customers: they don't come to Côme for financial products, they come for a coherent wealth architecture, global support and a shared vision.

This is our definition of the modern family office: combining the personal attention of a House with the operational rigor of an international platform. 

This article has been automatically translated using Breeze, powered by DeepL.