A Mississippi-based family offices firm called Addicus contests the commonly-held idea that families require $100 million or more of investable wealth to be able to use a multi-family office.

Multi-family offices are gaining more business from wealthy individuals who prefer this model to wire-houses or banks, according to Addicus.

"Our clients have multiple concerns regarding their liquid and illiquid assets," says Stephen Miles, principal of Addicus. "They are looking for someone to help solve the complex issues surrounding their total estate. A multi-family office like Addicus brings a level of expertise, thoroughness and precision that often makes a dramatic impact on the family’s accumulated wealth,” Miles said in a press release.

The idea that a sum of at least $100 million is necessary for a family to be eligible for a MFO is an error, the firm said.

As financial regulations mount, the costs of operating such structures is also likely to be greater, opening up debate on the minimum sizes of investable assets required to make a MFO or single-family office structure viable.

A recent study in the US by the Family Wealth Alliance, the research and consulting firm, showed that running a family office can cost $1 million or more a year, so that these structures are financial viable for families with at least $100 million in assets. (In the US, there are about 5,000 such households.)

"There are a great number of families who deal with complicated transactions in the $10 to $100 million net worth range that need competent and independent advice,”  Drew Adams, another principal at Addicus, said. "Our clients receive recommendations based on taxation, family legacy, business control, and other factors that are defined by what is most important to them,” Adams continued.

To view a recent article exploring how people should use a family office, click here.

A report earlier in July from UBS said that almost 70 per cent of US investors with over $1 million in investable assets do not regard themselves as wealthy.