The widespread investment losses and recent fraud scandals have put financial institutions of all kinds under immense pressure to prove their worth to clients – and family offices are no exception, the report said. Many ultra high net worth families are reassessing the performance of their family offices, and in response they are overhauling their models, strategy and overall service provision to stay ahead in what is a radically altered landscape, US Trust/Campden found.

Having carried out interviews and surveys with 40 single-family offices and 10 evolving multi-family offices in North America, US Trust/Campden found that many institutions are moving to focus on core wealth management functions as where their primary strengths lie. Nearly all the single family offices included in the study offer financial advisory services - with 92 per cent offering trust and estate planning, financial planning and tax planning - but almost half additionally offer life management or concierge services.

The report found that almost a third of North American family offices are considering opening to non-founding family clients, with over half seeing potential to increase their access to investment opportunities by having greater assets under management, and furthermore a significant proportion of respondents are considering consolidation with other family offices. On a less positive note, 31 per cent of respondents said that while they have no specific plans to close, closure is a possibility, even if remote. 

A high number of North American family offices are rethinking long-held models and are placing greater emphasis on managing liquidity and becoming more opportunistic. As part of this, the survey also revealed that family offices are looking to develop their proprietary research capabilities: close to a quarter of the family offices polled acknowledged financial analyst skill shortages, and 22 per cent plan to recruit financial analysts over the next three years. As might be expected after the recent turmoil, risk assessment and reputation were also highlighted as key concerns going forward.

The North American Family Office Survey forms part of a new report entitled Building for the Future – the first study of its kind to examine the differences in approach between families that have operating companies and those that do not. To obtain a copy of the study, click here.