“The most important thing is to figure out what type of family office you’re going into,” says William I. Woodson.
Woodson is an expert who has led the family office group at Credit Suisse and Citi Bank in the United States. He has also lectured at Columbia Business School and advised on family offices at Stanford. After having taught and written extensively on the topic, he stresses that there are two types of family offices: traditional and institutional.
According to Woodson, institutional firms are akin to hedge fund firms. They typically manage the finance and make investment decisions on behalf of the family. Traditional family offices, on the other hand, go beyond investing. While managing the family wealth is part of the equation, staff can also find themselves involved in everything from philanthropy to lifestyle and concierge services.
As the old adage goes,” Once you have seen one family office, you have seen one family office.” Given the private nature of the industry, there is an absence of a standard job description for family office jobs. This insight explores the common roles and compensations and lists a few resources about family office jobs.
Common roles in family offices:
Jobs offered by family offices can vary from investment positions to legal, administrative, and operational roles. The most common executive staff roles found in a typical family office include the following:
