Episode Details

Stop making reactive investment decisions and start using the exact filtering system family offices use to evaluate every opportunity. In this episode of Family Office Daily, M.C. Laubscher gives you a practical action step you can implement immediately: creating your investment criteria checklist—the predetermined standards that protect your wealth by helping you say no quickly to bad deals and move fast on great ones. Today, taking action. No theory, no philosophy—just practical step you can implement immediately to transform how you evaluate opportunities. Family offices don't say yes or no to investments based on gut feeling or advisor recommendations—they use investment criteria checklists, predetermined standards that every opportunity must meet before single dollar gets deployed. Here's why this matters: Without criteria, you're reactive. Every opportunity looks good in moment. Every pitch sounds compelling. You end up chasing deals instead of filtering them. With criteria, you're proactive. You know exactly what you're looking for before opportunity appears. Can say no quickly to what doesn't fit and move fast on what does. The shift isn't about analyzing more deals—it's about having clear standards, filtering ruthlessly, protecting capital by knowing your non-negotiables before emotion and sales pressure enter equation.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:
✅ Today: action step, no theory—practical implementation
✅ Family offices use investment criteria checklists for every deal
✅ Predetermined standards before single dollar gets deployed
✅ Without criteria: reactive, every opportunity looks good
✅ Every pitch sounds compelling, end up chasing deals
✅ With criteria: proactive, know what you're looking for
✅ Say no quickly to mismatches, move fast on right opportunities
✅ Five categories for your investment criteria checklist
✅ Minimum return threshold, cash flow, risk tolerance, time horizon, alignment
✅ Make criteria non-negotiable, automatic no if doesn't meet standards

Key Takeaways:
💡 Action step today – Create investment criteria checklist
💡 No gut feelings – Family offices use predetermined standards
💡 Every opportunity – Must meet criteria before capital deployed
💡 Without criteria problem – You're reactive to every pitch
💡 Everything looks good – In the moment, when pressure applied
💡 Compelling pitches – Sound great without objective filter
💡 Chasing deals – Instead of filtering systematically
💡 With criteria advantage – You're proactive, not reactive
💡 Know what you want – Before opportunity even appears
💡 Quick no ability – What doesn't fit gets filtered immediately
💡 Move fast capability – On opportunities that meet standards
💡 Five essential categories – Build checklist around these
💡 Category 1: Return threshold – Absolute minimum acceptable return
💡 Family office standard – Won't touch below 12-15% IRR
💡 Set your number – Make it non-negotiable, stick to it
💡 Category 2: Cash flow – Does investment produce income?
💡 How much, how quickly – If purely appreciation, must be extraordinary
💡 Income preference – Family offices prioritize cash-producing assets
💡 Category 3: Risk tolerance – Maximum capital at risk defined
💡 Loss tolerance – Per single position, predetermined boundaries
💡 Before emotion – Define limits before pitch, pressure, excitement
💡 Category 4: Time horizon – How long capital locked up
💡 Liquidity preference – Family offices prefer liquid or semi-liquid
💡 Illiquid premium – If locked up, return must be substantially higher
💡 Category 5: Alignment control – Who's managing this investment?
💡 Track record – What's their history of execution?
💡 Influence oversight – Any ability to monitor or influence outcomes?
💡 Never invest blind – Don't invest in what you can't monitor or understand
💡 Write them down