Charlemagne's empire was too vast to govern directly, so he created the Missi Dominici: trusted envoys dispatched across the empire to speak and act in his name. They were not advisers. They carried delegated authority. Their value depended entirely on the character they brought to the role.
Across the families Westwick works with, that is the role we play. We are not advisers, consultants, or project managers. We act as the eyes, ears, and voice of the family, with a mandate agreed up front, executed in the family's name, and answerable only to the family. A role of that nature cannot rest on technical skill alone. It rests on three values, which together define how Westwick works.
Loyalty
When we carry a family's mandate, we carry it as if the family's interest were our own, and we hold that interest above our own at every turn. We do not build personal track records on the family's transactions. We do not curry favour with counterparties or advisers we may want to work with again. We do not choose the path that flatters us over the path that serves the family. The family's flag is the only one we stand behind during a mandate, and we make sure everyone working for the family behaves the same way.
Transparency
We tell families what we see, including what they may not want to hear. We disclose our reasoning, our sources, our doubts, and the limits of our knowledge. We do not hide difficulties to look competent, and we do not soften assessments to keep the room comfortable. The family makes the final decision, always, but they make it with the full picture, not a curated one. A Missus Dominicus who reports only the good news is no use to anyone.
Excellence
Excellence is not marketing for us, it is the discipline of doing the work properly, every time. The right preparation. The right counterparties. The right level of detail. The right time spent on the question before it is answered. Families that hand Westwick a mission deserve to find, on the other side of the desk, the standard they would expect of themselves at their best.
How the three values fit together
The three values together are what makes the Missus Dominicus role functional, and what we ask of every Westwick partner who is given a family's mandate.
When we speak, we speak with the family's authority. We know that authority is not ours: it is placed in our hands for a specific moment, for a specific mission, and it returns to the family when the mission ends. We are not advisers. We are envoys. And what we bring to that role, beyond skill, beyond experience, is the standard we hold ourselves to when no one is watching.
Frequently asked questions
What is the role of a Westwick partner in a family office mandate?
Westwick partners act as modern Missi Dominici: the trusted envoys of Charlemagne who were sent across the empire to speak and act in his name. In a family office mandate, a Westwick partner steps in with delegated authority from the family, represents the family's interests at the table, ensures that decisions reflect the family's intent, and manages the complexity of the mandate on the family's behalf. The authority is not the partner's. It belongs to the family.
What does it mean to act with delegated authority in a family office?
Acting with delegated authority in a family office means the adviser is not making recommendations for the family to accept or reject. They are making decisions on the family's behalf, within a mandate that has been clearly defined and agreed. This requires a different kind of trust, a different kind of mandate documentation, and a different standard of judgment from the adviser. Westwick is one of the few firms that operates on this basis.
This article is part of our series on family governance. The reference piece for the series: Governing Families, Not Corporations — the Westwick white paper.