Investor types

Multi-family offices

A multi-family office provides investment management, reporting, tax, succession and administration services to several unrelated families for fees. It invests client capital under mandate rather than its own.

What a multi-family office is

A multi-family office (MFO) provides investment management, reporting, tax, succession and administration services to several families. It differs from a single family office because it serves unrelated clients for fees rather than one owning family. It differs from a wealth manager in the breadth of its non-investment services: reporting, tax, succession and administration sit alongside portfolio management.

That commercial model has a regulatory consequence. Because an MFO manages money that is not its own, it is normally regulated as an investment firm. In the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), for example, multi-family offices that offer financial services are regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), while single family offices can operate outside DFSA regulation.¹

How large the multi-family office sector is

There is no official global census of MFOs. The most complete published count is a commercial database: as of December 2025 With Intelligence covered 1,632 MFOs worldwide, which together oversee more than US$5.2tn of assets.² The figure measures database coverage and is a floor rather than a total.

The Hong Kong figure is a survey sample, not a count of the whole market. The concentration of assets in North America reflects the size of the largest US firms, several of which appear in the examples below.

Structures and sub-types

Four sub-types are common. Bank-owned MFOs operate inside a banking group. Independent MFOs sit outside banking groups. Some began as single family offices and later opened to other families. Consolidator platforms acquire several MFOs and wealth firms and run them under one group.

Structure affects regulation. In Switzerland an MFO that manages client assets needs a portfolio manager licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) under the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA), which entered into force on 1 January 2020.⁴

Source of capital and investment horizon

An MFO invests its client families' capital, managed under mandate. It does not commit its own balance sheet. The investment horizon therefore follows each client. The MFO must take account of differing client horizons when it selects investments for a shared platform, for example by offering long-dated private market funds only to families whose mandates allow them.

How multi-family offices invest in private markets

Many MFOs pool clients into feeder vehicles so that the combined commitment meets a fund's minimum, which an individual family might not reach on its own. Direct deals are commonly offered in the same way, through a syndicated vehicle or a club deal in which each family chooses whether to take part.

Pooling places the MFO between the fund manager and the families. The fund manager deals with the MFO's vehicle, while each family holds an interest in that vehicle. Pooled multi-manager vehicles run as a stand-alone business are covered on the funds of funds page.

Typical ticket sizes

Where an MFO pools clients, the size of a commitment reflects the aggregate demand of the participating families rather than the MFO's total assets. A firm overseeing tens of billions of dollars may therefore make a modest commitment to a particular fund if few of its families have both the mandate and the appetite for it. Ticket size has to be established with each office directly.

How decisions are made and how long they take

Decisions are made in two stages. First, an investment committee of the MFO approves a fund or investment for its platform. Second, individual families may need to consent before their money is committed, depending on the terms of their mandate. Where a family has given the MFO discretion, the committee's approval can lead directly to an allocation; where the relationship is advisory, each family decides separately. Approval at platform level does not therefore guarantee that every client will participate, and the second stage adds time to the process.

What multi-family offices look for

The two-stage decision process means that an investment must satisfy both the MFO's research and investment committee and the families whose money will be committed. A fund that cannot accept pooled commitments through a feeder vehicle, or whose reporting does not suit families resident in several tax jurisdictions, is harder for an MFO to offer across its client base.

Regulation and governance

In Switzerland, FINMA had approved 1,532 of the 1,864 applications for portfolio manager and trustee licences by 28 February 2025.⁴ That total covers all portfolio managers and trustees, not MFOs alone. Licensed portfolio managers are subject to ongoing supervision by a FINMA-authorised supervisory organisation.⁵ In the DIFC an MFO is regulated by the DFSA if it provides financial services.¹ In other jurisdictions an MFO that manages client money is normally regulated as an investment firm; the specific UK, EU and US requirements turn on local law.

Trends in 2025 and 2026

The defining trend is consolidation. In September 2025 Corient announced the acquisition of Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital,² which together brought more than US$214bn of client assets.⁶ Stonehage Fleming is a multi-family office and Stanhope Capital a European wealth manager.⁶ Corient announced completion of both acquisitions on 1 June 2026, when its combined global assets stood at approximately US$508bn.⁷

A second trend is the difficulty of comparing firms. MFOs report size on different bases: some publish assets under management, some add assets under advisement and some publish assets under supervision. The examples below show several different measures.

Notable examples

The figures are not comparable with each other. Corient's figure is group-wide global assets; Cresset's includes assets under advisement; Bessemer Trust's is assets under supervision; Rockefeller Capital Management's is firm-wide client assets.

How advisers and placement agents work with multi-family offices

In market practice, MFOs act as gatekeepers for their underlying families: placement agents and fund managers present to the MFO's head of alternative investments and research team, supported by a due diligence questionnaire, track record data and a clear fee schedule. Because the families sit behind the MFO, a fund manager rarely deals with them directly. Advisers may also help to arrange a co-investment syndicate or the terms on which an MFO vehicle invests. Anglo-Suisse Capital advises on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors.

Frequently asked questions

How large is the multi-family office market?

With Intelligence tracked 1,632 MFOs worldwide as of December 2025, overseeing more than US$5.2tn of assets.²

Where are most multi-family offices?

North America accounts for 35% of MFOs by number and 57% by assets; the DACH region ranks second.²

What is the difference between a multi-family office and a single family office?

A single family office manages one family's own money. A multi-family office serves several unrelated families for fees and is normally regulated as an investment firm.

Is a Swiss multi-family office regulated?

Yes. An MFO managing client assets in Switzerland needs a FINMA portfolio manager licence under the Financial Institutions Act, in force since 1 January 2020.⁴

Is the sector consolidating?

Yes. Corient completed its acquisitions of Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital on 1 June 2026, taking its global assets to approximately US$508bn.⁷

Can MFO assets be compared across firms?

Not directly. Some firms report assets under management, some add assets under advisement and some report assets under supervision.

Does a Dubai multi-family office need a licence?

In the DIFC, a multi-family office that provides financial services is regulated by the DFSA.¹

Working with Anglo-Suisse Capital

Anglo-Suisse Capital advises companies, fund managers and shareholders on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors in the UK, Switzerland and internationally.

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Sources

1. DIFC: Driving intergenerational success with DIFC's family wealth structuring solutions (2025)
2. With Intelligence: Multi-Family Office Asset Pools Report 2026 (2 June 2026)
3. Deloitte China: Hong Kong family office study press release (10 February 2026)
4. FINMA: Completion of the authorisation process for portfolio managers and trustees (11 March 2025)
5. Goldblum: FINMA licence categories (2026)
6. Corient: Corient announces global expansion (2 September 2025)
7. Corient: Corient completes acquisitions of Stonehage Fleming and Stanhope Capital Group (1 June 2026)
8. Cresset: About (1 October 2026)
9. Bessemer Trust: Serving clients together (undated)
10. FA-Mag: Rockefeller boosts presence in Florida with addition of US$992m team (19 October 2026)
11. Financial Planning Today: Schroders buys £2.2bn London firm (18 September 2020)

This page is general information for professional investors and is not investment advice. Figures are taken from the sources listed, as at the dates stated.