How to Start a Family Office, the Book

What the books cover

How to Start a Family Office follows the work involved in deciding whether an office fits a family's needs and, if so, how to organize it. It covers the family's purpose and priorities, the office's structure, the use of outside service providers, governance, hiring, investment processes, and deal sourcing. The aim is to give readers a framework for the questions and decisions involved, without prescribing one structure for every family.

The book is also the basis for a free 12-part series. Readers can follow the chapters in sequence or use an individual part to explore a specific area. The series includes topics such as portfolio models, public relations, operational processes, investment committees, and the future of the single family office field.

Centimillionaire Strategies looks at six recurring challenges through these chapter themes:

• Blurred Vision: Family members may have different ideas about what wealth should support and what the family is trying to achieve.
• Control Conflicts: Decision rights and authority can become unclear between family members and executives, with advisers also involved.
• Feeing Frenzy: Multiple providers, overlapping services, and unclear value can make fees difficult to understand.
• Deal Flow Deficiency: An office may need a more deliberate process to evaluate investment opportunities.
• Time Constriction: Family members can face competing demands on their attention and time.
• Family Feuds: Disagreements can affect family relationships and governance, as well as the operation of the office.

These themes are prompts for discussion, not predictions about any particular family. The appropriate response depends on the family's circumstances and priorities, along with its existing arrangements.

The free 12-part series

The series adapts material from How to Start a Family Office. It begins with the reasons to create an office, then moves through family purpose, structure, operating choices, governance, talent, and investment activity.

• Part 1: Why Start a Single Family Office?
• Part 2: Creating Your Family Compass
• Part 3: Fundamentals of Creating a Single Family Office
• Part 4: Partners, Vendors & Service Providers
• Part 5: Portfolio Models
• Part 6: Single Family Office Governance
• Part 7: Family Office Public Relations
• Part 8: Single Family Office Talent Search
• Part 9: Single Family Office Operational Processes
• Part 10: Building Your Deal Flow Totem Pole
• Part 11: Investment Committees and Advisory Boards
• Part 12: The Future of the Single Family Office Industry

Get the free PDF and worksheet

Use the form on this page to request the free PDF and the Family Office Creation Kick-Off Questions worksheet. The worksheet contains questions about a family's goals and structure, along with investing, governance, and team matters. It can help organize an initial discussion about what the family expects an office to do.

The PDF and worksheet are available through the form without a password. The materials are educational and do not replace advice tailored to a family's legal, tax, investment, or governance circumstances.

Richard C. Wilson is the founder of Family Office Club, which has held more than 340 events since 2007 and runs about 30 events a year. Its work includes education and forums for family offices, private investors, and related professionals.

Request the free PDF