By Family Office Guide Research · Published
A meta-analysis of the leading public surveys on the family office industry, harmonised into a single benchmark dataset.
Executive summary
The single-family office population has grown by roughly a third since 2019 to an estimated 8,000 globally, managing a combined $3.1 trillion in assets. The median SFO operates on $3.2M per year, and unit costs fall sharply as AUM crosses $1B.
Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, with double-digit annual SFO formation rates over the past five years. 68% of offices expect a generational transition within the next decade, but fewer than half have a documented succession plan.
This report compiles 30+ benchmark figures across six themes: AUM distribution, cost benchmarks, staffing ratios, service mix, geographic distribution and succession.
Headline statistics
- ~8,000 — Estimated single-family offices worldwide
Up from ~6,000 in 2019
- $3.1T — Combined assets under management
Across single-family offices globally
Source: Campden Wealth / RBC Global Family Office Report 2023
- $3.2M — Median family office operating cost
Per year for SFOs serving one family
- $250M+ — Average AUM threshold to start an SFO
Median entry point cited by surveyed offices
- 68% — Family offices planning a generational transition
Within the next 10 years
- 44% — Allocation to private markets
Median portfolio allocation
1. AUM Distribution
Family office size is heavily skewed toward the lower end of the eligible-wealth band. The vast majority of single-family offices manage between $100M and $1B, while a small but influential cohort exceeds $5B in AUM.
| Category | % of SFOs |
|---|---|
| $100M–$500M | 41 |
| $500M–$1B | 23 |
| $1B–$5B | 27 |
| $5B+ | 9 |
- SFOs managing $100M–$500M
- 41%
- SFOs managing $500M–$1B
- 23%
- SFOs managing $1B–$5B
- 27%
- SFOs managing $5B+
- 9%
- Median SFO AUM
- $680M
- Median MFO AUM
- $8.4B
2. Cost Benchmarks
Operating costs scale less than linearly with AUM. Smaller offices spend a higher percentage of assets on overhead; large offices benefit from fixed-cost amortisation but face premium hires and tech build-outs.
| Category | Cost in bps of AUM |
|---|---|
| <$500M | 85 |
| $500M–$1B | 62 |
| $1B–$5B | 45 |
| $5B+ | 28 |
- Median operating cost (all SFOs)
- $3.2M / yr
- Cost as % of AUM (sub-$500M)
- ~85 bps
- Cost as % of AUM ($500M–$1B)
- ~62 bps
- Cost as % of AUM ($1B+)
- ~38 bps
- Average MFO retainer
- $150K / yr
- Median MFO blended fee
- 65 bps on AUM
- Average tech budget per office
- $320K / yr
- Average legal & tax outsourced spend
- $540K / yr
3. Staffing Ratios
Average SFO headcount has grown ~15% since 2019 as offices in-source investment, tax, and technology functions. Below are the typical roles per office and per $1B in AUM.
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Investments | 34 |
| Operations | 26 |
| Legal & Tax | 11 |
| Family services | 9 |
| Tech & data | 10 |
| Other | 10 |
- Median SFO headcount
- 12 FTE
- FTEs per $1B AUM (median)
- 8.3
- Investment / portfolio staff share
- 34%
- Operations / accounting share
- 26%
- Legal & tax in-house share
- 11%
- Family services & concierge share
- 9%
- Median CIO total compensation
- $1.1M
- Median CEO total compensation
- $1.4M
4. Service Mix
Investment management remains the universal service line. Differentiation across offices comes from concierge, governance, and next-gen education programs.
| Category | % of offices offering |
|---|---|
| Investment mgmt | 100 |
| Estate planning | 82 |
| Tax planning | 78 |
| Philanthropy | 61 |
| Governance | 47 |
| Cybersecurity | 44 |
| Concierge | 38 |
- Offices providing investment management
- 100%
- Offices providing tax planning in-house
- 78%
- Offices providing estate / succession planning
- 82%
- Offices providing philanthropy advisory
- 61%
- Offices with formal governance program
- 47%
- Offices providing concierge services
- 38%
- Offices with cybersecurity program
- 44%
- Offices with private aviation oversight
- 22%
5. Geographic Distribution
North America holds the largest share of single-family offices, but Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region with double-digit annual formation rates over the past five years.
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| North America | 42 |
| Europe | 29 |
| Asia-Pacific | 22 |
| Other | 7 |
- Share of SFOs in North America
- 42%
- Share of SFOs in Europe
- 29%
- Share of SFOs in Asia-Pacific
- 22%
- Share of SFOs in Middle East / LatAm / Africa
- 7%
- APAC SFO 5-year growth
- +12.4% / yr
- Top single hub city by SFO count
- Singapore
- US states with most SFOs
- NY, CA, TX, FL, IL
6. Succession & Generational Trends
An estimated $84 trillion is expected to transfer between generations globally by 2045. Family offices report governance and next-gen readiness as the single largest gap.
| Category | % of offices |
|---|---|
| Transition <10 yrs | 68 |
| Plan documented | 42 |
| Next-gen on IC | 37 |
| Formal education | 29 |
- Offices expecting a transition <10 yrs
- 68%
- Offices with documented succession plan
- 42%
- Offices with next-gen on investment cmte
- 37%
- Offices running formal next-gen education
- 29%
- Average age of principal generation
- 67
- Average age of incoming generation
- 38
- Offices that expect AUM to grow post-transition
- 54%
Sources & methodology
This edition is a meta-analysis of publicly available industry surveys, not an original survey. Figures are harmonised across the publications below; where sources disagreed, the report uses the median or weighted average. The underlying surveys date from 2023–2024, not 2026.
- Deloitte, The Family Office Insights Series — Global Edition (2024)
- Campden Wealth & RBC, Global Family Office Report (2023)
- EY, Family Office Benchmarking Survey (2023)
- UBS, Global Family Office Report (2024)
- PwC, Family Office Deals Study (2024)
- BlackRock, Global Family Office Survey (2024)
- Cerulli Associates, U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets (2024)
- Knight Frank, The Wealth Report (2024)