Two years after their father died, brothers Paul and Hank decided to break up the family office their father had insisted they build. Investing together had devolved into fighting with one another. The rest of the family watched the discord and steered clear of the office entirely. In the end, the family office, meant to hold everyone close after the founder’s death, accomplished the opposite.
Paul and Hank’s story serves as a caution for the booming industry of family offices. One Campden study counted 7,300 family offices worldwide, up 38 percent in only two years, and together managing close to six trillion dollars, with most skewing younger. Sixty-eight percent were founded after 2000, which means the majority are now approaching their first generational transition.
With family offices on the rise, it’s important that family businesses know how to build and sustain a family office that will last. This article explains the how.
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