A family office is a private company that manages the money and affairs of one wealthy family (a single family office) or several families (a multi-family office). It handles investments, accounting, tax, estate planning, philanthropy and often the family's day-to-day logistics.
What a family office does
Most family offices cover some mix of these services:
- Investments: choosing managers, making direct investments and monitoring the portfolio.
- Accounting and reporting: consolidating dozens of entities, trusts and accounts into one view of the family's wealth.
- Tax: coordinating individual, trust, partnership and gift tax returns, and planning ahead.
- Estate and succession planning: working with attorneys on trusts and preparing the next generation.
- Philanthropy: running a family foundation or donor-advised funds.
- Lifestyle and operations: properties, staff, insurance, travel and security.
How many family offices are there?
Deloitte Private estimated about 8,030 single family offices worldwide in 2024, rising to about 10,720 by 2030. North America had about 3,180, expected to reach about 4,190 by 2030.
How big is a family office?
Most are small. In a survey of 406 single family offices, Morgan Stanley and Botoff Consulting found an average of 14.4 in-house staff, but only 8.4 at offices managing under $500 million. That means a typical office has a handful of finance, tax and operations staff supported by outside advisers.
How much money do you need for a family office?
There's no fixed minimum. Experts quoted by ai-CIO put the break-even for a dedicated single family office around $500 million, while a family with about $100 million may be better served by a multi-family office. Read more in How to Start a Family Office.
Who works in a family office?
The core team is usually a controller or CFO, one or more accountants, a tax manager and a chief of staff or executive assistant. Larger offices add an investment team led by a chief investment officer. See family office structure and org charts.
Questions
What is the difference between a single and multi-family office?
A single family office serves one family. A multi-family office serves several unrelated families and charges fees, much like a boutique wealth firm.
What does a family office do?
It manages a family's investments, accounting, tax, estate planning, philanthropy and often household operations.
How many family offices are there in the US?
Deloitte estimated about 3,180 single family offices in North America in 2024, growing to about 4,190 by 2030.