Family Office Exchange, the research and consultancy firm, is planning a two-day workshop to help family offices prepare for the changes in the regulatory environment wrought by new rules under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Designed to help family offices cope with regulation from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the workshop is entitled “Preparing for the New Era of Family Office Regulation,” and will run on 7-8 September in New York City.

The bill includes a review of the major regulatory and legal changes affecting the industry, as well as guidance on developing a customized compliant response, FOX said.

As well as explaining what it takes to qualify for the family office exemption, the workshop will explore options for those offices which do not comply, including: becoming a qualifying family office, removing the investment function from family office control, reorganizing the office as a state-regulated family-owned private trust company, or seeking an exemption from the SEC.

“Non-compliance is not an option,” said Mariann Mihailidis, managing director of FOX. “Every office needs to know where they stand. If they do not qualify for the SEC’s family office exemption, they will either have to register with the SEC as a registered investment advisor or make some significant changes.”

The SEC rules, which impose strict limitations on exempt family offices, are already prompting changes in the industry. Recently the legendary investor George Soros became one of the first to react by returning all non-family money in his hedge fund to investors and converting to a qualifying family office.

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