Writing from Amsterdam this month, where I spent several days in conversation with family office principals and advisors as part of a broader European trip. The themes that emerged — particularly around AI adoption, governance, and the role of the family office in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment — have shaped much of what is in this newsletter.
June's edition covers the Paris Closed Door Sessions, a white paper we are developing from the conversations there, our usual AI signals, upcoming Simple events, and a new webinar with MSCI.
A (few) nights in Paris
Earlier this month, we brought forty family office principals and senior advisors together in Paris for the latest in our Closed Door Sessions series. The format is deliberately intimate: no presentations, no sponsors, no agenda beyond the three questions we put to the room at the start of each session.
Paris felt particularly appropriate given the current moment. The city has been a focal point for European discussions about economic sovereignty, AI regulation, and the future of the continent's financial infrastructure — themes that turned out to be central to what the room wanted to discuss.
Inside the Closed Door Sessions
The three questions we brought to Paris were:
- How is your office thinking about AI adoption — and what is actually holding you back?
- How has the geopolitical environment changed your approach to asset allocation, jurisdiction selection, and service provider relationships?
- What does the next generation of your family want from the office that the current structure is not delivering?
The conversations were substantive and, at times, unusually candid. On AI, the gap between offices that have moved into implementation and those still in the exploration phase has widened noticeably since our Copenhagen Gathering in April. Several principals described meaningful operational changes already underway; others are still working through the governance and data sovereignty questions that need to be resolved before they are comfortable proceeding.
On geopolitics, there was notable consensus that the relationship between family offices and US-based service providers and platforms is being actively reassessed — not as a political statement, but as a practical risk management decision. Several families described moving critical workflows off US-based cloud infrastructure over the past six months.
On the next generation, the conversations were among the most interesting we have had. The theme that came up repeatedly: the next generation does not want to inherit a machine they did not help design. The offices navigating transition most successfully are those that have created genuine roles for the next generation — not just observer status, but real decision-making authority within defined domains.
What's next: a White Paper
We are turning the Paris conversations into a white paper, to be published later this summer. It will draw on the Closed Door Sessions alongside our broader research to provide a structured view of where the family office model is heading — and what the families navigating this moment well are actually doing differently. We will share a draft with Paris participants before publication.
This month in AI
Tools
- GPT-4o's updated version with improved reasoning has become the default choice for document analysis workflows among the offices we work with closely
- Perplexity has launched an enterprise tier with stronger privacy controls — worth evaluating for family offices that want AI-assisted research without sending sensitive queries through consumer-grade systems
- Several offices are experimenting with Claude for longer-form analysis and drafting tasks; the extended context window is particularly useful for reviewing fund documents and legal agreements
Worth reading
- The IDEO AI dividend piece, if you have not yet read it — the argument has real implications for how you think about capability building over the next two to three years
- A detailed analysis from the European Data Protection Board on AI and GDPR compliance, which has direct implications for offices using cloud-based AI tools to process personal data
- Sequoia's annual AI index, which provides useful market context even if the family office applications are different from the venture-backed companies it primarily covers
Capital signals
- Mythos closed its Series A — the AI-native legal platform continues to attract serious capital, and their model of AI assistance with expert oversight is worth watching
- There is continued consolidation in the family office software space; we will be publishing an updated vendor landscape assessment before the end of Q3
- Several sovereign wealth funds have published AI governance frameworks — useful reference points for family offices developing their own policies
Simple events
Upcoming gatherings and workshops:
- Berlin — July 2026: AI infrastructure and data sovereignty for family offices
- London — September 2026: The next-generation transition — governance, roles, and succession
Both are invitation-only for principals and senior advisors. If you would like to attend, reach out directly.
Webinar: MSCI x Simple
We are hosting a joint webinar with MSCI in July, focused on how family offices are thinking about risk frameworks in the current environment. MSCI will be sharing new research on how family offices are approaching asset allocation under geopolitical uncertainty, and we will be facilitating a discussion on the practical implications. Registration details to follow — we expect strong demand for this one.