Models
Family offices
What a family office does, how the models differ and what the term means under US securities law.
Family Office Quarters
Understand your family office options
Compare the services, costs and responsibilities behind the name.
Start here
Begin with the decision in front of you.
Responsibilities
Family office services
Identify the work you need done and distinguish direct service from advice, coordination and referral.
Directory
Providers
Review providers' stated services, legal entities, public fees and evidence gaps in one directory.
Economics
Family office cost
Separate an office's operating budget from a provider's fee, investment charges and other expenses.
Alternatives
Compare
Compare dedicated offices, shared providers, outsourced arrangements, private banks and wealth advisers by responsibility and scope.
Your circumstances
Who needs a family office?
Assess the coordination, staffing and control questions raised by your family's circumstances.
Family-office models
A dedicated office for one family and a provider serving several families solve different staffing and ownership questions. An outsourced arrangement may move selected functions to specialists while leaving a coordinating team in place. Terms such as “private” and “virtual” need further explanation: the label alone does not establish who employs the staff or controls the work. 1
Costs and minimums
A provider's asset minimum, its annual fee and the cost of running your own office measure different things. The SEC's family-office exclusion sets no net-worth minimum. Surveyed operating costs also need context: the Campden Wealth/RBC 2025 North American report excludes investment-related fees paid to banks and outside managers. 2 3
Compare your options
Start with responsibilities. Who will supervise the advisers, reconcile the accounts, approve payments and follow up on unfinished work? Then compare the proposed team, its authority and the cost of the services you would still buy separately.
Providers
The directory brings together providers with different service models. Entries distinguish a firm's public descriptions from regulatory filings and identify where prices or delivery arrangements remain undisclosed. Use it to prepare questions for a conversation with a provider.
By situation
A business sale, a transfer between generations or a change in an existing office can prompt a review of who does the work. Multiple entities, private investments and obligations across generations can also increase the coordination required. The useful starting point is the work and control you need, alongside the infrastructure you are willing to support. 4
How we research
See the evidence behind our assessments, how we distinguish different kinds of information and who publishes the site.
- Methodology — Our sources, comparison fields and treatment of missing information.
- Editorial policy — Editorial responsibilities, disclosures and corrections.
- How we make money — The site's current commercial arrangements.
- About — Our purpose, publisher and contact details.
Sources
- Campden Wealth/RBC, The North America Family Office Report 2026, pp. 8 and 44–45. Primary research report; published September 29, 2026; accessed October 19, 2026. The report's model descriptions are working definitions, not regulatory categories.
- SEC, Family Office: A Small Entity Compliance Guide. Primary regulatory guidance; 2011 rule; accessed October 19, 2026. The exclusion concerns investment-adviser status under federal securities law.
- Campden Wealth/RBC, The North America Family Office Report 2025, pp. 6 and 42–43. Primary research report; published October 16, 2025; survey April–August 2025; accessed October 19, 2026. North American operating-cost measure, excluding outside investment-manager and bank investment fees.
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, “Control, Cost, and Complexity: Finding the Right Family Office Model”. Primary professional analysis; July 14, 2026; accessed October 19, 2026. A framework for assessing arrangements, not an individual recommendation.