The concept of a Family Office often seems elusive—it’s there, but hard to find or define. In recent years, the term “Family Office” has gained traction, especially when raising capital. You may know someone with connections to, or working directly with, large family offices. When I first encountered the term, I thought, “We need to connect with these investors. They’re the ideal clients for our highly personalized commercial real estate services!” So, we set out to build relationships with high-net-worth family offices interested in real estate investment. But soon, we realized the process wouldn’t be easy.
Our Journey to Connect with Family Offices
We began by researching “Family Office Investing” online. What we found were endless lists, strategies, and conferences promising access to family offices. However, purchasing a $4,000 list of names didn’t seem like the best value. So, we attended numerous conferences hoping to meet a few family offices. From personal experience, I can tell you that these offices—unless you have a direct referral or preexisting relationship—do not want to be solicited at such events. Connecting was tough, and solicitation wasn’t our approach. We were left wondering how to proceed.
Reassessing Our Approach
With limited success in forging new family office relationships, we paused to evaluate our own company. We were in the process of a rebranding project, which included interviews with our current clients to understand their expectations. This process led to a new name, brand look, and internal values that resonated with our true identity.
Our research revealed something crucial: the value we offered wasn’t just about the service, but about the alignment of values. We realized that family offices value relationships and shared principles more than specific services. Once we defined our core values—Wisdom, Equality, Determination, Ingenuity, Stewardship, and Collaboration—we set the stage for deeper, more meaningful connections with family offices. Today, many of our clients are family offices, and our journey with them has been both enlightening and rewarding.
Micro Family Offices: The Hidden Opportunity
Family offices come in various forms, and they need trusted partners for their investments. When reviewing our client list, we found that a few had portfolios worth millions—effectively operating as micro-family offices. A micro-family office is a smaller-scale operation, typically managing less than the minimum required to establish a full family office. Though these clients didn’t identify as family offices, we had built deep, trusting relationships with them over the years.
Recognizing this, we realized that understanding the bigger picture—legacy, wealth transfer, charity—was crucial for working with family offices. This insight helped us create a roadmap to better serve them, positioning us as a valuable partner in their investment strategy.
Larger Family Offices: Single vs. Multi-Family
Single-family offices manage the wealth of one family, while multi-family offices serve multiple families and often operate more like institutions. The distinction is important. Multi-family offices may provide more generic solutions, but their size and structure often align with institutional-level strategies. This is a critical insight for anyone aiming to build relationships with larger family offices.
Values as the Foundation for Successful Relationships
Our branding project’s focus on core values was integral to our growth. We defined internal values that drive our actions and external principles that support our clients. These values, along with our brand promise—”vision and guidance to help you get more out of commercial real estate”—have shaped our approach to family office relationships. Defining our values not only aligned our internal team but also positioned us as the right partner for family offices.
Building Trust with Micro Family Offices
As we worked with micro-family offices, we became more intuitive in our service. Though some of these clients still don’t recognize themselves as part of the micro-family office category, our established trust led to successful collaborations. The launch of our first fund deepened this relationship, allowing us to invest alongside them, boosting mutual trust. As word spread, we built new connections with other family offices.
Growing Our Family Office Relationships
Today, we proudly manage commercial real estate for six family offices, ranging in size from $30 million to hundreds of millions. Our success in building these relationships stems from aligning our values with those of the family offices we work with. By offering tailored services and new investment opportunities, we’ve forged lasting partnerships. What once seemed mystical is now a clear and fulfilling part of our business—family offices are not as elusive as they first appeared.