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Mike Miranda:
Today is September 22nd, 2025, and we're diving into one of the fastest growing areas in wealth management, family offices.
Welcome to Beyond the Portfolio. I'm Mike Miranda, head of investments for BMO Private Wealth North America. In each episode, we'll bring you expert analysis from the most top strategists and economists to help you navigate market conditions and stay informed.
According to Deloitte, the number of family offices globally has more than tripled since 2010, and today they oversee an estimated $3.1 trillion in assets. That figure is projected to grow to over 5.4 trillion by 2030. This rapid expansion shows that family offices are no longer just for the wealthiest billionaires, they've become a cornerstone of how ultra-high net worth families manage capital, governance across generations, and shape their legacies. To help us explore this evolution, I'm joined again by Pratik Patel, head of Planning for Wealth Management. Pratik, welcome back.
Pratik Patel:
Thanks, Mike.
Mike Miranda:
Pratik, we're hearing more and more about family offices lately, but many people still aren't quite sure what they are. Can you start by giving us some context?
Pratik Patel:
Yeah, absolutely. Family offices are definitely having a moment right now. They've actually been around for centuries, but their visibility is really grown in the last decade or so. As you mentioned in the opening, the number of family offices has increased significantly, and there appears to be no slowing down of that momentum. This growth is really driven by the rising number of families looking for more control, privacy, customization, and how they manage their wealth. People are hearing the term more often, but understandably so ask, what does that actually mean?
Mike Miranda:
Let's answer that then, Pratik. What is a family office?
Pratik Patel:
In its simplest form, a family office is a structure, an entity. It's created to manage the financial and personal affairs of a wealthy family. That can mean investment management, it can mean estate planning, tax coordination, philanthropy. Even concierge type services, like managing travel or household staff. At its core, it's about centralizing the management of a family's wealth in life in a way that's aligned with their values, goals, and long-term vision.
Mike Miranda:
Great. Who typically benefits from a family office?
Pratik Patel:
Well, traditionally, family offices have been for ultra affluent families, think not one, but many hundreds of millions, even billions in assets. Those families often build their own single family office. They hire in-house staff for everything from investment professionals, accountants, attorneys, even lifestyle managers. But what's exciting is how the concept has become more accessible. Through multifamily offices and specialized service providers leveraging technology, families with lower though still significant wealth, say in the tens of millions, can access many of the same resources without having to build an entire infrastructure themselves. That shift, it's really democratized the model. Families that wouldn't have dreamed of running their own family office can now essentially rent the capabilities that they need.
Mike Miranda:
That's great. Can you give us some examples then, Pratik, maybe on how families use a family office?
Pratik Patel:
Yeah, sure. Let's start with your bread and butter, investment management. Consolidating assets into one strategy, avoiding duplication, tailoring investments to a family's risk tolerance and long-term goals, but also things like generational planning, helping transfer both smoothly while also educating younger family members about stewardship, philanthropy. Many families use their office to run a foundation or coordinate charitable giving that reflects their values. Operations and lifestyles, coordinating things like insurance, real estate, taxes, even personal services like nannies or travel. At the end of the day, it's about peace of mind and freeing up the family to focus on what matters to them.
Mike Miranda:
Yeah, that makes sense, Pratik. You started by talking about investment management, and I'd say that's definitely what we're seeing in the investment world. These family offices are no longer just sticking to traditional stocks and bonds. And the Deloitte survey that I mentioned at the beginning talked about the broader toolkit, public equities and fixed income. Yes. But also alternatives like private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, and real assets. We talked a little bit about that last time on the podcast, where we did a deep dive on some of the private market space.
What's striking is some of the vehicle mix families are using funds, co-investments, direct deals, even joint ventures. It really shows how institutional and scope some of these family offices have become. They're not just allocating capital, they're building portfolios that rival large endowments or sovereign wealth funds in breadth than in sophistication.
Before you mentioned this concept of multifamily offices. Can you expand on how that works?
Pratik Patel:
Definitely. A multifamily office, sometimes you'll hear it referred to as an MFO, is basically a shared platform. Instead of one family funding an entire staff, multiple families share resources. So you get access to that institutional quality, investment opportunities, planning expertise, administrative support, whatever it is that you need, but in a fraction of the cost of running your own office. It's a fantastic model for families that want sophisticated services but don't need a hundred person operation.
Mike Miranda:
Yeah, that makes sense, Pratik. And that's exactly the space where we spend a lot of time at BMO Family Office. We work with both those single family offices and the multifamily structure, so we see firsthand how flexible that model can be. Some families are, like you said before, ready to build out a dedicated office, while others prefer to share resources. And both approaches can deliver the same depth of planning, investment opportunities, and governance support. I think you said it before, well, it really comes down to what the family values most, control, scale, or efficiency. And structuring the office in a way that matches their goals.
What are some of the common questions maybe that you hear from families when they're first exploring this concept of family office?
Pratik Patel:
Yeah, great question. Some of the big ones, first and foremost, do I have enough wealth to justify a family office? And this is often the first hurdle. And the answer is often yes when you consider the MFO model we just talked about. Some other ones, will this give me enough privacy? Families, they want to know that their information is secure. How is it being shared in this family office? And the reality is, family offices are designed to centralize and protect privacy. How much control do you have to give up? Again, the answer is none. The family remains in the driver's seat. The office is there to provide expertise, but mostly to provide execution. And then finally, is it just about investments? And the answer is no. You talk about some of the great investment work that's done through family offices, but we also talked about how the scope can be so much broader. Things like taxes, estate planning, governance, philanthropy, family education, the list goes on.
Mike Miranda:
Thank you, Pratik, for sharing those insights. I think what really stood out is that family offices are much more about more than just managing investments. You said that well. They're about centralizing a family's financial and personal affairs in a way that aligns with values, fosters continuity, and supports a long-term vision. As you highlighted, the appeal isn't limited to billionaires anymore. Families at different levels of wealth or finding ways to access these resources, whether through their own office or a multifamily office structure. And the impact stretches beyond finances from philanthropy and education to governance and succession. I think you hit all of those extremely well. That combination of access, purpose, and breadth is why family offices are worth paying attention to right now.
Thanks to our listeners for spending some time with us today on Beyond the Portfolio.
Thank you for listening to Beyond the Portfolio. You can follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Until next time, I'm Mike Miranda.
Speaker 3:
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