A private structure that manages a wealthy family’s investments, tax, succession and daily life under one team
Family Office Definition: What Is It?
More Than a Wealth Manager
The simplest family office definition is this: a private entity established to manage the financial and personal affairs of a wealthy family, typically one with $50 million or more in investable assets. Unlike a traditional wealth manager, who advises on investments alone, a family office is built to oversee the full scope of a family’s affairs — from investment strategy and tax planning to succession, philanthropy, and lifestyle management — under a single, dedicated structure.
The concept dates back to the 19th century, when families such as the Rockefellers established private offices to manage multi-generational wealth. What began with a handful of American dynasties has since spread worldwide: according to the UBS Global Family Office Report 2026, family offices now manage an average of $1.3 billion in assets each, across more than 30 markets.
Single-Family and Multi-Family Structures
A family office typically takes one of two forms. A single-family office serves one family exclusively, offering complete customisation but requiring significant scale to justify the cost of a dedicated team. A multi-family office serves several families under one roof, sharing infrastructure and expertise while still tailoring services to each client — a structure that suits families below the threshold needed to justify a fully private team.
Single-Family vs Multi-Family Office at a Glance
| Single-family office | Multi-family office | |
|---|---|---|
| Serves | One family exclusively | Several families under shared infrastructure |
| Typical entry point | $100M-$250M in investable assets | $10M-$30M, depending on the provider |
| Running cost | $1M-$5M a year, rising to $6.6M above $1B in assets | 0.5%-1% of assets under management, plus a retainer |
| Customisation | Complete — the team is built around one family | Tailored, within a shared operating model |
| Governance | Family sets it entirely | Provider sets the framework, family shapes the mandate |
| Best suited to | Families with the scale to justify a dedicated team | Families wanting the breadth without the overhead |
How Much Does a Family Office Cost?
The cost difference between the two models is substantial. A single-family office typically requires $100 million to $250 million in investable assets to justify its running costs, which range from $1 million to $5 million a year — rising as high as $6.6 million annually for families with $1 billion or more in assets, according to J.P. Morgan Private Bank. A multi-family office spreads that same infrastructure across several families, typically charging 0.5% to 1% of assets under management plus a retainer, with entry points as low as $10 million to $30 million depending on the provider.
What Services a Family Office Provides
The scope is broad by design. Most family offices cover:
- Investment strategy, portfolio management and direct or private equity investments
- Tax planning and structuring across jurisdictions
- Succession planning, trusts and estate structuring
- Legal matters, including asset protection and dispute resolution
- Philanthropy and legacy planning
- Lifestyle and household management, including travel, property and staffing
Not every family office covers every item on this list — the scope is defined by the family’s specific needs, not a fixed template.
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Setting Up a Family Office
Establishing a single-family office is a significant undertaking: recruiting specialists across law, tax and investment, building governance structures, and maintaining them over time. It also takes time — a fully staffed office is rarely operational inside a year, and the recruitment itself requires the family to know precisely what it wants before it can hire for it.
For many families, this is precisely why a multi-family office — or a hybrid model that combines dedicated relationship management with shared infrastructure — proves more practical without compromising on service.
This is the model behind Perfect.Live’s Family Office package: comprehensive coverage across wealth, legal and lifestyle management, delivered through one dedicated team rather than a fully built internal office. Families gain the breadth of a traditional family office, without the overhead of building one from scratch. Where the mandate is narrower — travel, events and daily logistics rather than wealth structuring — a Business Concierge relationship covers it without the wider apparatus.
Family Office vs Wealth Management
A wealth manager advises on investments. A family office manages the family. The distinction matters most as wealth grows more complex — once a family’s needs extend beyond a portfolio into legal structuring, succession, and daily lifestyle logistics, a family office model becomes the more complete solution.
Family office vs a trust. A trust is a legal structure for holding and transferring assets; a family office is an operating entity that manages the family’s affairs, and often oversees one or more trusts as part of a broader mandate. The two are complementary rather than interchangeable — a family can have several trusts without any dedicated office managing them, just as a family office can exist without every asset being held in trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
There’s no universal rule, but a single-family office typically becomes cost-effective above $100 million in investable assets, according to J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Multi-family offices serve families well below that threshold, often starting around $10-30 million.
No. A private bank primarily manages investments and banking relationships. A family office covers a much wider scope — tax, legal, succession, philanthropy and lifestyle management — often coordinating several private banking relationships rather than replacing them.
It varies enormously by structure and scope, from a handful of specialists in a lean single-family office to dozens of staff across investment, legal and lifestyle functions in the largest, most established family offices.
Yes. Many family offices are established in jurisdictions chosen for regulatory, tax, or privacy reasons rather than the family’s primary residence, and often operate across several countries at once.
A single-family office is rarely fully operational inside a year once recruitment, governance and systems are accounted for. Joining a multi-family office, or appointing a provider that delivers the same coverage through a dedicated team, is measured in weeks rather than months.
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