Morgan Stanley surveyed U.S. investment-focused family offices. Here are the results:
Chief Executive Officer/President
▫ Most senior role setting strategy and overall direction of the family office
▫ Oversees management of the office and staff
▫ Serves as primary liaison with the family
Chief Financial Officer
▫ Formulates financial policies and plans
▫ Direction for tax, insurance, budgeting, credit, and treasury functions
▫ Ensures financial transactions, policies, and procedures align with objectives and regulations
Chief Investment Officer
▫ Executive role overseeing the family’s investment strategy
▫ Sources strategic investment opportunities
▫ Manages the portfolio of assets and develops growth strategies
▫ Oversees investment-related relationships
▫ Leads the internal investment team (direct investing in private/public equities)
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Chief Operating Officer
▫ Directs, coordinates, and administers family office operations
▫ Ensures compliance with established policies and strategy
▫ Develops or influences operational policies
▫ May oversee functions such as legal, technology, and HR
Chief Legal Officer/General Counsel
▫ Advises on routine legal matters
▫ Reviews investment and management structures
▫ Oversees outside counsel on tax, estate planning, insurance, and related issues
Senior Portfolio Manager
▫ Seasoned investment professional managing day-to-day investments for client groups
▫ Implements client investment strategies
▫ Selects, monitors, and manages investment managers
▫ Provides research and input on asset allocation guidelines
▫ Conducts due diligence on managers and direct investments
▫ Recommends investment vehicles for client portfolios
▫ Manages the portfolio team
▫ Typically has 10–15 years of experience
Portfolio Manager
▫ Experienced investment professional supporting the CIO or senior managers
▫ Assists in selecting, monitoring, and managing investment managers or direct investments
▫ Provides input on risk and asset class guidelines
▫ Compiles and analyzes investment performance data with analyst support
▫ Conducts special investment performance research studies
Senior Associate
▫ Provides direct support to Portfolio Managers
▫ Monitors fund and direct investments
▫ Analyzes advanced statistical and other data for deal sourcing and due diligence
▫ Typically holds an MBA or equivalent experience
▫ Usually has at least four years of post-MBA relevant experience
Associate
▫ Provides direct support to Portfolio Managers
▫ Monitors fund and direct investments
▫ Analyzes advanced statistical and other data for deal sourcing and due diligence
▫Typically holds an MBA or equivalent experience
▫ Has less than four years of post-MBA relevant experience
Senior Analyst
▫ Investment professional compiling performance data and conducting less-complex analysis
▫ Works under direct supervision of senior investment team members
▫ Supports selection, monitoring, and management of investment managers and/or direct investments
▫ Analyzes and compiles investment performance data
▫ Typically has 2–4 years of pre-MBA relevant experience
Analyst
▫ Entry-level investment professional
▫ Compiles performance data and conducts less-complex analysis
▫ Works under direct supervision of senior investment team members
▫ Supports selection, monitoring, and management of investment managers and/or direct investments
▫ Analyzes and compiles investment performance data
Source: Compensation Practices of
Investment-Focused Family Offices, 2025
Morgan Stanley / Botoff Consulting
The family is on the brink of the third-generation curse
The patriarch could be sleepwalking his family to disaster
A candid interview with Deloitte Private:
What is the biggest risk to family offices?
"If you are going to be honest, the biggest risk to most family offices is the family. Sure, there are things like tax, regulatory, and cybersecurity risks—the stuff we executives spend most of our time on. But if you get at the heart of it, the family is the biggest risk. For smaller family offices, it can be about which family member executives will need to report to and who will be making the highlevel, strategic decisions. For larger family offices, it can be more about how to transition from one generation to another or how to prevent different family factions from branching off and dividing the assets into multiple family offices"
How is this risk playing out in your family office?
The patriarch, who also acts as the head of the family office, is in his 70s and has had serious long-term health problems. Despite this, he has no succession plan in place. I have pleaded with him countless times to create a plan. Because he, the first-generation wealth creator, makes all the decisions, I shared my concerns with him about the leadership void that would occur should he depart. But his response is always that his heirs can decide later whether or not to keep the family office going.
I have explained that it is not a simple yes-or-no decision. Eighty percent of the functions we do simply must be done. It is just a matter of how they will get done. The wealth could be managed through a multifamily office or a virtual family office, elements could be outsourced, and some could be cut. But the tax returns must be filed next year no matter what. We cannot just decide not to do that anymore. So, unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding
Family Offices come in all shapes and sizes, but there are common themes
Six family office archetypes 🧵
1. The Founder’s Family Office
Where the visionary who created the fortune still calls the shots
• FO created after founder's financial success
• Founder drives operations & retains control
• Focus on first-gen wealth & legal/financial structures
• Major challenges: transitioning ownership to next-gen
2. Administrative/Compliance Family Office
Wealth brings complexity... here's where the family office starts to do the heavy lifting
• Coordinates and records assets and wealth planning needs
• Oversees tax returns, banking, insurance, and service-provider relationships
• Services include lifestyle management, tax payments, estate planning, and document management
• Concierge services such as property management, travel, jet acquisitions, private collections, gifting, insurance, staffing, and jet maintenance
The big cheese. Directs the overall operations of the family office, setting strategic objectives, and ensuring alignment with the family's goals. Typically, the higher the AUM, the more likely the CEO will be a non-family member
Background: CEOs often come from executive leadership roles in corporations, private banks, investment firms, or other family offices. They should bring experience in strategic planning and operations management
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Manages financial planning, reporting, liquidity and risk management
Background: Accounting and finance is pretty much essential. Must tick the usual boxes: financial reporting, budgeting, tax planning, and regulatory compliance. Family offices seem to like hiring CFOs from Big 4 accountants, big corporations or other family offices
• Sharp Decline (2022-2023): Family office direct/M&A investments dropped 53% from an all-time high at the start of 2022 to the third-lowest level of the decade in late 2023
• Rebound in 2024: Deal volume surged 30% in early 2024
• Smaller Deals: Despite higher deal activity, total deal value declined by 11%, indicating smaller transaction sizes on average
• Family offices are active in both direct investments and M&A as buyers and sellers
• Their number of exits has declined significantly over the past year
• The total value of exits also dropped in the first half of 2024
Family offices favor relatively small direct investments/M&A
• The highest number of M&A exits occurred in 2021 during the investment boom, but the peak deal value was in late 2018
• Large and mega-deals were popular in 2021 but declined by early 2023
• Interest in large and mega-deals has since rebounded, with such deals making up 23% of family office activity in early 2024
• Currently, 50% of family office direct investment / M&A deals involve investments of $25M or less
• One in four deals falls within the $25M–$100M range
Do you have any experience working in a similar-sized team? If so, how easy was it for you to work in that close knit environment? If not, how would you try and adapt?
Would you call yourself a natural leader? If so give me an example of a situation in which you have to lead a team through a challenge
Would you want prefer to have total autonomy in your work or would you prefer to work with guidance from others?
Do you enjoy working on a range of tasks or would you prefer to work solely in one position? Why is that?
Have you had any experience with the family’s culture?
How do you like to approach your day? How is your workload and daily/weekly schedule managed in your current/past role?
Are you a person who enjoys challenges? Why?
Have you had experience reporting into multiply managers or stakeholders? If so how did you manage this reporting structure?
2. Problem Solving
Please provide an example of a past problem you have come up against in a similar context
How did you solve it? How did the solution benefit the company?
How do you solve a problem if it is not a skill set or task you have experience in or are familiar with?
Have you worked with the advice of external advisors? If yes, how have you identified they are the correct person to assist you?