A multi-family office (MFO) is an independent structure that provides coordination, reporting and wealth governance services to several affluent families simultaneously. Unlike a single family office (SFO), created and funded by a single family, the MFO pools its resources and expertise across multiple clients, making high-quality services accessible from lower wealth thresholds.
Single family office vs multi-family office
The single family office is the historic solution of great dynasties: a dedicated team, its own budget, bespoke governance. It becomes relevant when family wealth typically exceeds CHF 100 to 200 million, the threshold from which the cost of an internal structure is economically justified. Below this level, the cost-benefit ratio argues in favour of a pooled approach.
The multi-family office offers the same depth of service — multi-bank consolidated reporting, monitoring of delegated managers, governance counsel, succession support — without the fixed costs of an internal organisation. Families benefit from an experienced team, proven technology tools and an established network of partners (banks, lawyers, tax advisers, trustees), all proportionate to their wealth situation.
What a multi-family office actually does
It is essential to distinguish coordination from investment advice. An MFO is not an asset manager. It does not make investment decisions on behalf of the banks or independent managers selected by the family. Its role is to organise, supervise and render the entire wealth arrangement legible:
- Consolidated reporting: aggregating positions held at multiple banking institutions and producing a unified view, valued in the family's chosen reference currency.
- Mandate supervision: verifying that delegated managers comply with their mandate, analysing their risk-adjusted performance, formulating independent recommendations.
- Coordinating advisers: tax advisers, notaries, lawyers, trustees — the MFO orchestrates the parties and ensures overall coherence.
- Family governance: structuring decision-making bodies, supporting the drafting of a family charter, preparing the transmission to future generations.
Ridger
ContextualCTA.Title
ContextualCTA.Description
Who engages a multi-family office?
The typical profile is a family with globalised assets of between CHF 5 and 100 million, with several bank accounts, assets in different countries, or growing complexity linked to a family business, an inheritance or early retirement. Four signals generally indicate that an MFO adds genuine value:
- Increasing complexity: several banks, several currencies, holding structures (holding companies, foundations, trusts) that are difficult to monitor without a dedicated tool.
- Insufficient time: family members, often professionally active, can no longer supervise their own portfolio.
- Absent governance: decisions are made informally, without process or documentation, creating risks in the event of disagreement or succession.
- Approaching succession: succession planning requires precise coordination between Swiss civil law, cantonal taxation and international structures.
The Swiss regulatory framework
In Switzerland, family offices are not subject to FINMA licensing when they do not professionally exercise wealth management or investment advisory activities for third parties. Where they cross certain thresholds or their model includes investment decisions, they fall under the regulation applicable to asset managers within the meaning of the FinIA (Financial Institutions Act, in force since 2020). This distinction is fundamental: a family office positioned as a coordinator and supervisor — rather than an investment decision-maker — operates in a different framework from that of an asset manager in the strict sense.
Why Switzerland?
Switzerland concentrates a unique wealth ecosystem: institutional solidity, legal stability, a first-class banking network, fiscal expertise and discretion. Geneva and Zurich host a significant proportion of European family offices. The Swiss financial centre also offers access to high-quality independent asset managers, recognised trustees and law firms specialising in international succession law.
Choosing your multi-family office
Selecting a family office deserves as much rigour as choosing a bank. Essential criteria include: effective independence (absence of retrocessions, conflicts of interest with proprietary products), the quality of reporting tools, the team's experience in family governance and the capacity to coordinate multi-jurisdictional wealth situations.
Ridger is here to guide you through this reflection. To discuss your situation in full confidence, we invite you to contact our team.