We make sure your family values and personal needs are well taken care of. We provide tailor made solutions and personalized services. We are dedicated and focused on each client personally and discreetly.
VISION
MISSION
VALUES
We are a Multi Family Office headquartered in Montevideo (Uruguay) with partner offices in Buenos Aires and Zurich.
We attempt to offer a full range of services and give our clients equitable, customized solutions for the administration, structuring and management of family holdings and its assets.
In each of the jurisdictions we aim to work within the ruling regulatory framework through our respective partner companies.
We offer integrated wealth planning, family governance and structuring services.
Our mission in Orion Advisors is to offer your family a successful management of its values and assets from generation to generation.
Our working philosophy is based on discretion and confidentially, providing independent advice to our clients.
Our independent advice encompasses 3 dimensions: Investment, Legal & Tax, Administration & Family professional
Integrity – We give independent advice, ensuring personal and collective accountability.
Dedication – We expect nothing less than the best from our professional team.
Excellency – We acknowledge merit and offer constructive feedback.
Teamwork – A team who works alongside with our clients to deliver sustainable solutions.
Our services are provided on a recurrent basis and are custom-made to fit each client!
Each structuring and management strategy is carefully defined with the client, seeking sustainable solutions.
This concerns legal and tax issues as well as corporate solutions. We provide you with the gap analysis, concept, implementation, execution, risk control as well as management solutions for your family holdings and assets.
We offer our clients advice and ideas and instruments for their family planning strategy. We assist our clients from resolving strategic (i.e. risk control) day to day problems regarding the administration and management of their corporate family holdings and assets.
We offer the coordination and consolidation of the flow of information and management, defining one single point of contact.
Many of our clients are global mobile families with multiple residencies. We help our clients to evaluate and select their residencies with all that it entails: fiscal analysis, properties, resident permits, insurance coverage, club memberships, schools and universities for family members etc. in a variety of countries and jurisdictions.
We make sure our clients have a wide range of options for their family interest and objectives. We offer the set-up and structuring of a variety of solutions, including private listed funds, private equity funds, direct and real estate investment vehicles, up to family trust and foundation solutions.
We provide a comprehensive service including governance and legal oversight, cataloguing, coordination of purchases and sales, logistics, insurance, and planning for the future.
We also organize unmatched insurance of jewellery and art collections.
Giving back to society is at the heart for many of our clients. Philanthropy benefits the family, the community they live in, the environment and creates an impact on their wealth and legacy.
We have extensive charitable experience in various jurisdictions and our actions include finding the proper education resources, grant managers, foundation administrators, charitable vehicles that benefit art, music, wild life and others.
Management:
Our founding partners are supported by a team of professionals and experts, on a day-to-day basis. However, the management team works closely with third-party advisors with respect to tax and legal advice, corporate structuring and asset/portfolio management solutions in a variety of jurisdictions.
GREGOR SCHMID, PARTNER
FERDINAND PORÁK, PARTNER
CHRISTOPH SCHAER, PARTNER
GREGOR SCHMID
Gregor Schmid has been advising families and individuals on international structures, international tax, estate and succession planning for over 30 years with focus on Spain/Portugal and Latin America, in specific in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
He worked in the 90’s for 5 years at CASU (Compania Asesora Suiza Uruguaya) in Montevideo and was Director at STG (Swiss Fiduciary Company) until 2006 and with Experta AG (today Mandaris AG) until 2010, both in Basel, Switzerland.
He covers today clients from Latin America and Switzerland as independent advisor and acts also as agent of Mandaris AG, Switzerland and of ATU, Liechtenstein. He also represents Strategic Alliances AG, Switzerland, a worldwide insurance solutions provider, especially in art and jewellery issues. Since beginning of 2016 he acts through his multi family office, Orion Advisors S.A., Uruguay.
He was director of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland and also president of its Junta Joven from 1996 to 2005. He is since 2011 board member of the Swiss Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce and since 2015 co-founder and board member of Ganydar Foundation (www.ganydar.org). From 2015 to 2016 he acted as Captain and since 2017 as Vice Captain of the Club de Golf del Uruguay.
Gregor holds a law degree from the University of Basel, made an Accelerated Development Program at London Business School in 1991 and is member of STEP (Society of Trust Estate Practitioners).
Together with his wife Carla, they run a relocation and tour guide business in Uruguay and together with his brother Oliver, they own a Swiss Company (Kerwag AG) to import consumer products from Latin America to Europe, like wines, fruits and vegetables.
He spends his spare time with his wife and three children, enjoys golf (hdcp. 1), swimming, tennis, skiing, philanthropy and arts.
FERDINAND PORÁK
With over 25 years of investment, asset management, general management and turnaround experience, Ferdinand held various positions in London, Geneva, Frankfurt, and Buenos Aires. His responsibilities included investment strategy, global allocation, treasury, including compliance and risk control, strategic and general management for a variety of industries.
His experience involves a variety of industries, ranging from fund/portfolio management, renewable energy, real-estate, health and hospital services, telecom and technology to agri-business.
Current and previous positions include: Managing Partner/CEO of Fontus Capital; Director of Sur Investment Agente de Valores SA; President of AIG Advisory Services S.A.-member of the AIG Investment Inc.-; Managing Partner of Kingsbridge Capital Ltd., a London based private equity firm; Vice President of Global Private Equity of Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, the private equity unit of Dresdner Bank AG; Vice President of Global Media Structures Finance of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson; and Investment Director of Vision Capital (Europe), a transatlantic venture capital firm.
Obtained an MBA from Warwick Business School (UK), a Post Graduate Diploma in International Law from the University of Manchester (UK), and since the age of 8 attended music school in Buenos Aires and London in the specialty of piano, oboe and orchestra conducting.
CHRISTOPH SCHAER
Christoph has been advising wealthy individuals and families on investment management, wealth structuring and family governance for over 18 years. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies related to Investment Management and is a co - founder and board member of GanYdar Foundation.
Christoph has been invited frequently as guest speaker to global family office conferences, financial industry panels and to the Arena, the Swiss TV prime time show on topics such as family governance, financial privacy and constitutional rights of individual citizens.
He was a Managing Director at UBS Wealth Management and served on the regional management committee Brazil. Before, he worked for 7 years at Credit Suisse Group. Amongst others he represented Credit Suisse in Brazil vis-à-vis the Brazilian Central Bank and served as a member on the regional management committee Brazil, based in São Paulo (2004 - 2009). 1999-2003, Christoph worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York, London and Zurich.
He is a graduate from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of St. Gallen (HSG). After his studies in the U.S., he served 1997-1999 as a diplomat in the Swiss Foreign Service in New York. During his studies Christoph co-built with his father and later sold the family-owned company (1989-1999).
In 1998 he was selected to participate as Young Leader at the American Swiss Foundation’s Young Leaders Conference.
In addition to his career in banking, Christoph lead a battle tank unit (Leopard II) and a logistics company of an armored battalion in the Swiss Army (1986-1996).
He believes work and capital are intrinsically intertwined and one of the biggest challenge for marginalised young women and men is the lack of access to and the protection of capital. Therefore, empowering young entrepreneurs is at his heart which he does through Ganydar Foundation (ganydar.org).
His spare time he dedicates to his wife and children. He loves to travel, skiing, playing violin and polo.
Passionate about sustainable farming (triple bottom line), Christoph runs together with his spouse Clara an organically certified (USDA/EU/Bio Suisse) Merino sheep ranch in Patagonia, Argentina.
ADDRESS: Ruta 8 km 17.5, ed @2, Of.402, 91600 Montevideo, Uruguay.
EMAIL: office@orion-advisors.net
