In the late 19th century, American industrialists changed the world with innovations in railroads, steel, and resource extraction. Those innovations led to the massive family fortunes whose namesakes have become synonymous with prosperity. They also led to the birth of the first U.S. single-family office structures to manage generational wealth.

Today, single-family offices are an increasingly popular concept, and they don’t require a Rockefelleresque fortune to be a worthwhile solution. While there is no uniform definition of the role of a family office, they are generally defined as an entity dedicated to the holistic management of a single family’s wealth.

A family office is typically an entity established by a family to manage their long-term strategy regarding wealth preservation. The office helps to support their lifestyle management, to manage their day-to-day administration and family affairs, and educate the next generation all based upon their mission, vision and values. But for many families with significant wealth, the cost, time, and expertise needed to run a full family office could be an obstacle to achieving their long-term personal, familial, and financial goals.

Who should have a family office?

There is no one answer to the question of who can or ought to establish a family office. Generally family offices are created by those with significant assets. Some put that figure near at least $100 million, others closer to $200 million. And while financial stature is an important consideration, a threshold based on net worth can be too simplistic a measure of whether a family office can benefit you and your extended family. There may be some with a smaller net worth but a more complex financial and family situation that could benefit from establishing a single-family office. For others with a higher net worth and a more manageable lifestyle, a family office may be an unnecessary step. With great wealth comes complexity, and a family office can be leveraged to manage the complexities a family may face over many generations.

When evaluating when or if it’s the right time to set up a family office, it’s important to consider a variety of factors such as governance, cost, staffing, operational structure, cybersecurity and technology in addition to your financial position and long-term goals. Ultimately, the family’s mission, vision, and values should underpin any decisions on the capabilities and structure a family office will deliver to family members. Focusing on the mission, vision, and values helps the family come together and form a family constitution so future generations understand the genesis of the wealth and expectations and purpose of the wealth.

“What makes a family office an attractive solution is the customization to your individual family, not just the exclusivity of the service,” said Joe Quinan, head of Family Office services at PNC Private Bank Hawthorn®. “A family office can be right for people with varying levels of family wealth.”

What will your family office do?

Just as there’s no official financial threshold for when a family office structure becomes appropriate, there’s also no set list of services each family office will provide. It’s entirely dependent on your unique needs and goals as a family. Beyond simple portfolio management, a family office will take into account the future financial needs of the family and implement solutions, investments, and structures to meet those needs.

Family office services range from day-to-day financial administration to investment management to longer-term wealth sustainability and wealth transfer planning. You may decide you require more or less involvement from your family office based on the complexity of your financial situation and your family’s financial goals.

A family office can provide a variety of services, both simple and complex, to suit your needs, including:

  • Estate planning;
  • Establishing and managing trusts;
  • Investment management;
  • Direct Investment due diligence;
  • Administrative tasks and bill pay;
  • Tax planning and compliance;
  • Real estate management;
  • Philanthropy;
  • Financial Education;
  • Cash and credit management; and
  • Business planning and consulting.

When looked at in totality, it can be a massive undertaking to establish and manage an effective family office that succeeds in helping a family achieve the full scope of their desired outcomes. That’s why some families choose a multi-family office or opt for a hybrid approach, where some functions and responsibilities are outsourced to established entities with the necessary expertise and infrastructure already in place.

Setting up a Family Office

The first step to setting up a family office is to talk to your advisor about your financial goals. Your needs and goals will determine what services to seek out and the family office setup that will work best for you. There are many operational factors to consider when setting up a family office, including:

  • Governance structure;
  • Staff recruiting and hiring;
  • Costs to setup, staff, and maintain the office;
  • Technology needs; and
  • Financial, reputational, and cybersecurity risk factors.

Most often a family office is established as a limited liability company (LLC) with ownership interests controlled by the founding family member. Staffing will be determined by the size of the family and the scope of their wealth or complexity of the financial need. For many first-generation family offices, staffing levels are relatively low, but can range anywhere from one to 25 or more employees.

Costs will vary widely based on services rendered, staffing levels, technology requirements, and any services that need to be outsourced. A general rule of thumb is to estimate an annual operating budget of anywhere from 1% to 2% of the family’s wealth.

One important cost consideration for a family office that should not be overlooked or underestimated is technology. Increasingly, delivering the ability to view, service, and communicate about the operations of the family office is a priority. That need for convenience must be balanced with cybersecurity risks and the need to invest in appropriate IT and business recovery capabilities.

“Starting and maintaining a family office can be a significant investment in tools and expertise to not only manage and grow family wealth, but also to protect it,” Quinan said. “As with any business venture, a cost-benefit analysis will help ensure you get the appropriate level of service at a sustainable cost for your family’s unique needs.”

Choosing a Family Office

Once you have determined what you want a family office structure to accomplish, you’ll need to decide whether you’ll best be served by a single-family office, a multi-family office, or a hybrid approach. In a single-family office, all services are performed from within. Single-family offices allow for total personalization, but generally come with increased costs, considerations, and responsibilities, because all components need to be built and managed from the ground up.

A multi-family office takes on many or all of the responsibilities of traditional family office functions. While perhaps less personalized than a single-family office, these institutions can save families significant time and resources, and generally they already employ a deep bench of experts in various fields.

Similarly, a hybrid-family office outsources certain services to established entities that already have the infrastructure, resources, and expertise in place, which provides cost-efficiency and simplicity.

“There are multiple ways to structure your family office,” Quinan said. “Whether you choose a full single-family office operation or look to outsource services will be dependent on meeting the needs of the family in a way that is sustainable for long-term success.”