Build a Family Office
A step-by-step path from defining the mission to hiring the team, choosing structures, and turning the lights on.
The Blueprint
How to Build a Family Office From the Ground Up
Building a family office follows five sequential steps: define the office's purpose, inventory the family's assets, create an organizational structure, decide… · 9 min read
The First 90 Days: Turning the Lights On
The first 90 days of a family office are about turning a legal entity into a working operation — opening accounts, locking down security, collecting documents… · 6 min read
The Five Steps
Step 1: Define the Family Office's Purpose
Defining a family office's purpose means deciding—before hiring anyone or choosing a structure—exactly which functions the office will perform and why. A… · 6 min read
Step 2: Inventory the Family's Assets
A family asset inventory is a complete, structured list of everything a family owns and everything it owes — cash, investments, real estate, operating… · 6 min read
Step 3: The Organizational Structure
A family office organizational structure is the layered system of legal entities — management companies, holding companies, trusts, partnerships, property… · 7 min read
Step 4: Internal vs. Outsourced (Build vs. Buy)
The internal-versus-outsourced decision is one of the most consequential choices a family office makes: for each function, a family must weigh whether the… · 7 min read
Step 5: Hire the Core Team
Hiring the right people in the right order is one of the most consequential decisions in building a family office. Most families start with a trusted… · 6 min read
Structures
The Lean Family Office, Illustrated
A lean family office is a small, tightly staffed operation — typically three to four people inside the office — supported by a circle of outside specialists.… · 6 min read
The Mid-Sized Family Office, Illustrated
A mid-sized family office typically employs between six and fifteen people and adds formal layers — a managing director, a small investment team, a CFO or… · 5 min read
The Institutional Family Office, Illustrated
An institutional family office is a fully staffed, in-house organization typically serving one family with significant, multi-generational wealth across a wide… · 6 min read
Legal Entities a Family Office Uses
A family office typically operates through a layered set of legal entities — not a single company — that separate management, investment holding, and estate… · 6 min read