Single-family office

A single-family office, often shortened to SFO, is a family office dedicated to one family. The family owns it, employs its staff and decides its scope. Because it serves only one family, it can be built around that family’s particular assets, structure and priorities.

Services vary by family, but commonly include investment management or oversight, consolidated reporting, accounting, coordination with the family’s lawyers and tax advisors, support for family governance, philanthropy, and education for the next generation. Some also handle property, insurance and personal administration.

How it differs from a multi-family office

A multi-family office serves several families and spreads its costs across them. A single-family office costs more to run because one family carries the full cost of staff, systems and premises. In exchange, it offers more control, privacy and customisation. The choice depends on the family’s wealth, complexity and how much it wants to manage directly, and is usually made with the family’s financial and legal advisors.

A single-family office often sits alongside the operating company as part of the family enterprise. It may hold the family’s shares in the business, manage proceeds from a partial sale, or run the family’s investments while the business is led separately. The head of the office and the CEO of the operating company are frequently different people.

Why it matters for the successor

In families with a single-family office, the successor may have to work with its leadership as well as with the company’s board, and sometimes to take on a role at the office itself. Knowing which role they are preparing for, and which audiences come with it, is part of a clear successor development plan.