Types of Family Offices

Traditional Family Office: An entity created by a wealthy family to manage wealth with a dedicated staff including financial, tax, estate, and accounting experts. It focuses solely on the family's interests without conflicts from external financial institutions.

Multi-Family Office: A firm managing wealth for multiple families, providing a wide range of services including investment management, bill-paying, philanthropy, and wealth education. It shares operational costs across families but offers less individual control than a traditional office.

Outsourced Family Office: A network of independent professionals (financial advisors, lawyers, accountants) working collaboratively for a family but not employed internally, often a more cost-effective but less controlled model.

Family Office Functions

Family offices offer comprehensive wealth management including investment strategy, tax and estate planning, philanthropic advice, family governance, and wealth education. They work to preserve, grow, and transfer family wealth across generations while addressing the family's specific financial and personal goals.

Investment Strategies

Family offices traditionally invested in bonds, equities, and real estate but increasingly favor direct investments in private equity and venture capital to realize higher returns and exercise greater control. They also emphasize technology and digital asset investments aligned with long-term structural trends. Additionally, many family offices now pursue impact and sustainable investing driven by social and environmental consciousness, often investing in sectors like education, climate change, and healthcare.

This summary encapsulates key foundational knowledge about family offices regarding their setup, roles, and evolving investment focus. If you need further detail on any aspect, please specify.