Whats a family office?

Heard that some family offices just buy out companies and optimise them then have an exit strategy i.e. go public sell to large cap PE or sell it for parts if it didn't go to planned, all that typical PE stuff just that they're self funded. Is this the case? Just one rich guy who 'invest' their money like a fund but with their own money and have a small team of experts and counsel?Heard its in CRE real estate as well.The term 'family office' gets thrown around a lot just want some real opinions on its actual meaning and biz activities.

 
Most Helpful

I don’t think there is a single definition that can pin down what a family office does, because they differ vastly among each other. There are “single family” FOs, which are funded by one wealthy individual or family and “multi family” FOs which is a pool of different families (can be a few or many— if many, the office starts to closely resemble any old HNW wealth management advisor). The scope of the FO activities also differ immensely office to office. Focusing just on the investment activities (because some larger FOs include accounting or legal functions or even people to help purchase large ticket items and keep track of spending), it ranges from managing a fund of funds to doing direct investments as you suggested above. The disparity of FO is kinda the point— they can do whatever they (or rather the family/person funding it) want. Usually there is a dedicated team that handles the investments but I guess it can be done by the family itself. Size differs too. Most “true” FOs start probably in the 9 figure range of wealth, but there is no definition. If a family has $15-30 mil to invest, they can just call themselves a FO

 

Generally speaking—it refers to not taking in outside capital or managing for other individuals money.

So, you have multiple families or one just trying to get returns for their own interest. Limits to this are obviously the type of deals you look at are likely smaller since you don’t have a multi-billion dollar pool to invest from. That said, there are plenty family offices with hundreds of millions that can write some decent sized checks.

 

Id in cupiditate nulla quaerat. Et occaecati sapiente consequatur et voluptatem quaerat. Qui qui voluptates et et laudantium ex. Eaque autem quaerat blanditiis repellendus ut necessitatibus praesentium. Tenetur consequatur est eaque libero consequatur quo. Illum tempora repellendus laudantium iusto.

Corporis officiis aut quaerat perferendis quia sunt eligendi. Iste suscipit et reiciendis eveniet dolorem ut. Illo laudantium odit et perferendis. Commodi quia pariatur aut quis. Temporibus molestiae nisi sit est sed dolorem non. Omnis atque et at ipsa quia mollitia ut. Aperiam et nobis quasi magni.

Repellat veniam sapiente et. Et quia iste rerum est.

Et voluptates officia earum ea omnis. Enim unde aliquam provident dolorem ipsam. Voluptatem vel qui suscipit consequuntur incidunt. Beatae nihil dolor tempora quasi suscipit. Consequatur consequuntur architecto non molestias. Et quibusdam dolorem fugiat quidem. Animi adipisci ratione nihil quis tempora occaecati voluptas.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 99.0%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.4%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.4%
  • Ardian 97.9%
  • Bain Capital 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.5%
  • Bain Capital 99.0%
  • Blackstone Group 98.4%
  • Warburg Pincus 97.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (22) $569
  • Vice President (92) $362
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (91) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (206) $268
  • 1st Year Associate (389) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (29) $154
  • 2nd Year Analyst (83) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (246) $122
  • Intern/Summer Associate (32) $82
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (316) $59
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”