Family office services

Although the term family office services may seem straightforward, it is more ambiguous or confusing than is often realized, for several reasons. 

First, reference to services as being of a family office level or type is entirely at the discretion of the firm type or practice setting. No standards have been developed about the criteria for who can or should call themselves a family office. For example, an RIA or wealth management firm can arbitrarily rebrand some of its service offerings to be “family office services” simply to attract more UHNW clients. This does not guarantee those services are truly suitable or helpful for UHNW clients. Also, some institutional firms may offer family-office-level services without branding themselves as a family office.

Second, just as true family offices vary widely in their scope, purposes, and structure, the services that a particular family office provides may vary widely. This may depend on the mission and goals of the families being served as well as the business model and operational structure of the office itself.  A particular family office may strive to fulfill some or all of the needs described in The Ten Domains of Family Wealth model through delivery of services via in-house staff or using third-party providers. Services may include financial and/or investment management, tax planning, collaboration with trust administration, philanthropic services, risk management, family education, governance activities, family dynamics services, legacy planning, and/or lifestyle services, to name just a few. 

For both these reasons, clients and other advisory firms should carefully evaluate the quality and accuracy of a particular firm’s assertion that it provides “family office services.”