Family Offices are broadly classified as either:
- Single-Family Offices (SFOs);
- Multi-Family Offices (MFOs); or
- Virtual Family Offices. (VFOs)
A Single-Family Office in its purest sense, is a private, fully integrated company that exclusively manages the wealth and financial affairs of a single family. In these cases, the family is the owner of the organization and uses its services exclusively for itself. The apparent consensus in the family wealth industry is that Single-Family Offices are economically viable for families with a net worth of over $100 million dollars.
To avoid one family having to bear the very high operational costs of a Single-Family Office, families have formed Multi-Family Offices. A Multi-Family Office is an organization that provides Family Office services to multiple family groups, who may or may not be related to each other. It provides a similar range of customized services as are provided by a Single-Family Office but without the need to set up a separate Family Office infrastructure for each family. Some Multi-Family Offices are private, where most services are provided “in-house” while the families retain pooled financial and decision-making powers. Others are public Multi-Family Offices, where commercial service providers provide Family Office services to a few families. In public Multi-Family Offices, each family generally establishes a “one-on-one” relationship with the Multi-Family Office professionals and do not pool their financial or decision-making powers with the other families. Generally, Multi-Family Offices are economically viable for families with a net-worth of over $40 million dollars.
A Virtual Family Office is for families looking to achieve the benefits of Family Office, but who prefer the “do it yourself” approach. A Virtual Family Office provides the structure for the family itself to control and manage its own wealth. It is typically headed by a senior family member who oversees routine activities and coordinates outside professional advisors and outsourced services.
The Ventura Legacy Group, APC was founded specifically to serve the growing socioeconomic need for better use of Virtual Family Offices. We provide a unique range of integrated services designed to enable our clients to build more effective Virtual Family Office structures.