The first generation of a UHNW family might focus initially on protecting – and enjoying – what they have. And rightly so. But at some point, as a family expands, it must switch into creation mode. We talk about this and more to AITi Tiedemann Global following its recent report on family office trends.

Second and third-generation families cannot just rely on preserving wealth but must grow it as family members increase. They should also be inspired by how the early business creators got their start, AITi Tiedemann Global says.

There are shifts in the priorities that ultra-high net worth generations attach to the riches their ancestors created, but at some point, a focus on creation needs to return to centre-stage as the ranks of a family expand, the multi-family office told this news service in a recent interview. 

“A big part of it has to be how to capture and document the history of how a family made the wealth and passed it down in a way that inspires future generations,” Erik Christoffersen (pictured), head of the family office practice at AlTi Tiedemann Global, said. 

“Once you go beyond the first generation and the makers of the wealth, the spouse and the children don’t have quite the same relationship with the family wealth. They are starting to look beyond the preservation of the wealth. As a family expands, to Gen2, Gen3 and 4, wealth preservation is not enough,” he said. 

Christoffersen spoke to this news service a few days after his firm, alongside Campden Wealth, issued the Family Office Operational Excellence Report 2025. The latest report producers surveyed 146 family offices – 82 respondents from North America, 42 in Europe, and 22 in Asia. The survey was conducted between November 2024 and March 2025.

A growing number of family offices recognise the importance of defining the broader purpose of their wealth, exploring how resources can be used as a tool to support individual wellbeing and help families to flourish. Families are thinking beyond capital preservation and growth, looking at how money can enhance quality of life, offer access to education, deepen relationships, support entrepreneurship, and advance philanthropic, community, and social objectives, the report said. 

Talent challenge
Christoffersen said one feature of the 124-page report, stating that talent remains the single largest operating expense and a top priority for family offices, confirms what a huge demand talent management is. 

A task, he said, is to go beyond the family office as the sole source of talent and consider the talent outside the firms they have outsourced relationships with.

“This will help family offices build additional capacity…with such outsiders contributing new intelligence, analyses, and provide recommendations for decisions,” he said. 

Different shapes and types
There are four main forms of family offices that Christofferson said apply today: Those that are embedded in a family-run operating business; focused family offices with a single goal, such as investing the family wealth and providing administrative services for a household; outsourced family offices; and large family offices that provide a comprehensive suite of services.

Establishing the right model is important, because for a lot of wealth creators who have had a successful liquidity event – such as selling a firm or floating it on the stock market – FOs create a way for them to achieve a new purpose in life.

To decide the right model, Christofferson added: “Focus on what you will enjoy doing and believe you can do well. For everything else, get a hybrid partner and outsource it. You don’t need to do it all yourself.”

The AITI Tiedemann Global/Campden Wealth report came out on the same day that BNY Wealth – part of the US bank, BNY – issued its report exploring the investment interests of the world’s family offices. Early summer is a busy time for wealth reports, as shown by the recent publication of the annual Capgemini World Wealth Report.