Family Office

Türkiye's Family Office Sector Potential

Tom Burroughes Group Editor London 14 January 2025

Türkiye's Family Office Sector Potential

We talk to a younger face of the multi-family office world – in Türkiye (now known as Turkey). Up to 95 per cent of companies in the country are family-owned, and continued economic growth means that there is plenty of potential.

In a country where family-owned businesses account for 95 per cent of the total, Türkiye (now known as Turkey) seems a natural home for family offices to thrive in. A new generation of adults sees this sector as one with rich potential, looking beyond near-term economic volatility.

One individual with big ambitions in this sector is Özge Dogan (pictured), who founded and heads up Karman Beyond (KB), an independent multi-family office and one of the first of its kind in the country. It serves families in Türkiye and in other countries.

Dogan, who spoke to WealthBriefing late last year before a short business trip to London, is full of enthusiasm for a sector that she sees as barely starting to evolve.

“Karman Beyond was established in 2021. It was born out of the needs of my family and organically expanded into providing these much-needed services to other families independent of each other, as it became clear there were no existing multi-family offices in Türkiye to fill the gap in the market,” Dogan said. 

Her father is a senior lawyer in Türkiye who has worked with several prominent banks in the country throughout his career. Career success meant in time that the family’s wealth warranted a single-family office, which is when Dogan first became involved in managing the family’s assets.

Dogan, who is 29, is very much part of a younger generation pushing into business. At Karman, she works alongside a team with expertise in finance, insurance, tax, legal and real estate.

“This is a needed service in Türkiye,” Dogan said. “I am trying to educate Turkish families about the importance of this.” 

A search for family offices in the country does not bring up many other examples. There are some, such as Inci Family Office, which was founded in 2013 by shareholders of Inci Holding, and Esas Family Office, which invests in real estate, private equity, venture capital, and more. 

Potential
The potential is considerable. There are plenty of rich families in the country, such as the Koç and Sabanci dynasties, involved in areas such as property, energy, retail and financial services. 

A member – sometimes controversially – of NATO, Türkiye is the 17th largest economy in the world, according to the IMF, with a GDP of $1.024 trillion as of 2023. It is a member of the OECD and the G20. Real GDP growth averaged 5.4 per cent from 2002 to 2022 (source: World Bank), and income per capita more than doubled. GDP growth is expected to come in at around 3 per cent in 2024. It is an emerging market country with its share of problems, but the potential is clear.

And as a new generation of business owners, some of them inheritors, take the reins, they need guidance over managing their private wealth as well as business. Family offices are part of the way forward, Dogan said. 

“In Türkiye, families are intertwined with the business world, with around 95 per cent of companies managed by families,” she said. Statistics show the country has significant private wealth, highlighted with the world’s fastest growing rate of UNHW individuals (in 2023 UHNWIs rose by 9.7 per cent) ahead of the US and India,” she said, citing figures from property consultants Knight Frank. "It also has a millionaire population which UBS forecasts to grow by 43 per cent in the next five years – the second highest globally.” 

And the big wealth transfer phenomenon that has been a staple of conversation in North American, European and Asian wealth management for years is just as relevant for a country such as Türkiye. 

“We are increasingly seeing succession plans come into play as second and third generation family members step up to take control of the family business,” said Dogan.

“We are primarily focused on Turkish families at the moment but have also been establishing close ties with families in other emerging markets across the Middle East and Asia,” she said. 

This firm asked about the multi-family office’s name. 

“The name is based on the Karman Line, the imaginary boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. Above this line, the air is too thin for airplanes to fly, and spacecraft must orbit the Earth to stay aloft. It marks where 'aerodynamics’ ends and "space dynamics" begin. We believe every family has its own 'Karman Line’ when managing wealth and preserving it.   

“The concept reflects the idea that what initially achieves success for a family – just like in spaceflight – may no longer work beyond that point, as the rules fundamentally change,” Dogan said. 

The firm’s solutions cover strategic asset allocation, risk management, tax and legal, real estate, succession planning, governance and lifestyle.

“Families often seek our help to realise their future goals with a strategic approach in an increasingly complex and sophisticated financial world. Our role is to help them navigate this landscape, ensuring they understand and access opportunities that best suit their unique goals and needs, including cross-border investment planning,” she said. 

Dogan said she’s inspired by the families she works with and gets ideas from them all the time.  

“While the challenges faced by different families managing intergenerational wealth may share similarities, each family’s journey is shaped by unique cultural and circumstantial factors. There is a saying that if you know one family office, you only know one family office. Some families have successfully transitioned wealth to the fifth, sixth, or even seventh generation, while others are just starting their journey.

There’s so much to learn from all of them,” Dogan said. "That’s why I’m passionate about travelling and meeting families from around the world – understanding their experiences, how they tackle challenges, and what strategies have worked for them. Every story offers valuable insights and inspiration for us to be the best we can be,” she continued. 

The rise of Singapore and the UAE as family office centres, for example, has also fired up awareness of what these organisations are able to achieve. 

“Yes, we are seeing significant growth in these locations which have strategically repositioned themselves as global wealth hubs. In emerging markets, where the financial infrastructure is less established, there is growing awareness and appreciation of the value family offices can provide,” Dogan added.

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