The family office world has long been cloaked in a shroud of secrecy as rich families have sought to keep their personal fortunes private. But the explosion of wealth in the past few decades and dissatisfaction with the poor performance of portfolios handled by global private banks has pushed the sector to greater prominence.
While many single family offices still prefer their anonymity, so-called multi-family offices (MFOs) – private companies that manage the investments and financial affairs of more than one family – are keen to raise their profiles as they look to develop their businesses.
The family office arms of the big private banks tend to be the biggest players in the market. In a list of the top 50 richest MFOs published by Bloomberg Markets in August, Hong Kong-based HSBC Private Wealth Solutions was ranked as the biggest, with assets under advisement of $137.3bn. BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Pictet and UBS Global Family Office feature in the top 10.