Family offices are poised for significant growth as the ultra-wealthy seek more personalized ways to manage their assets. With an estimated 8,030 family offices worldwide overseeing $3.1 trillion in assets as of September 2023, projections show this figure rising to 10,720 offices handling $5.4 trillion by 2030. Despite this expansion, the industry is grappling with a critical shortage of wealth advisors, expected to reach a deficit of around 100,000 by 2034 if current productivity levels persist.
Recruitment and retention remain persistent challenges for family offices across North America, Europe, and increasingly in wealth hubs like Singapore. With stiff competition from banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds, attracting qualified professionals is becoming more difficult. Compounding the issue is the high level of selectivity by family offices, which often prioritize trust and loyalty over pure qualifications.
Trust is frequently the deciding factor in hiring decisions. In many cases, longstanding personal relationships carry more weight than a candidate’s credentials. For example, a trusted accountant may be handed control of multimillion-dollar funds over a more technically skilled newcomer. This deep reliance on trust makes it difficult for outsiders to enter the family office ecosystem.
Family offices also tend to combine roles — such as chief financial officer and chief investment officer — creating unrealistic expectations for a single hire. Few professionals are both willing and capable of managing such diverse responsibilities. To attract top talent, some family offices offer generous compensation, including six-figure salaries, bonuses, co-investment opportunities, and even profit-sharing arrangements.
Still, the unique nature of family offices — with their informal structures and unclear career paths — can deter younger professionals. Many perceive such roles as “retirement jobs” or too risky due to a lack of corporate stability. The centrality of the family in decision-making also demands a specific personality type: someone confident but ego-free, capable of advising assertively while deferring to the family’s final word.
This dynamic led one lawyer in his 40s to reject a lucrative general counsel offer from a Singapore-based family office, citing concerns over job security, opaque compensation structures, and limited future mobility. For many, the risk of aligning their career with one family’s fortunes remains too high.
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