A March 2017 article in The Wall Street Journal described the family office as an investment phenomenon. Indeed, the story referred to the co-investment practices of 15 of the United States’ wealthiest families ultimately growing into a network of 150 high-net-worth families. Family offices are what the article describes as “disruptive force” entities that are being “set up to manage the fortunes of the wealthy, and able to operate under the radar.” Family offices are capable of conducting transactions that “traditionally were the province of big companies or private-equity firms,” and they are “making their presence felt with their growing numbers, fat wallets and hunger for deals.”
This lurid language might seem somewhat hyperbolic, but the trend line is unmistakable. Family offices are on the rise, and the numbers are staggering. In 2008, an estimated 1,000 single-family offices were in the world. Less than a decade later, EY reports the number has grown to more than 10,000 family offices globally. Family Office Exchange reports, while most estimates peg the current number of family office in the United States to somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000, the real figure could be closer to 6,000.
Because family offices do not have to be licensed or registered, precise figures on family offices and foundations remain somewhat elusive. Despite their growing influence and importance, family offices have been a somewhat underreported segment of the investor community.
Concorde Investment Services CEO, Jason Kavanaugh, recently contributed an article to Real Assets Adviser all about the growth of family offices, the pluses and minuses of family offices, and more.
Check out the full article here.