The Uniqueness of Hiring within the Family Office Space

The team at Evolve Talent Partners has placed talent at family and multi-family offices in California for over 15 years. Unlike traditional investment management firms, family offices present unique challenges to hiring quality talent - and require a sensitivity to interviewing that Evolve’s partners take on.

Here, the Evolve team breaks down what is unique to - and also compelling about - hiring for the family office space:

What even IS a family office? 

A family, or multi-family, office is a privately held company that handles investment management, wealth management, trust and estate matters and many personal affairs for one or multiple generations of a family. The company's capital is the family's own wealth.

“Candidates, even the most well-educated and socially aware, don’t necessarily know what a family office is,” says Lynn Hollis, Founder of Evolve Talent Partners, who has placed talent at various levels at San Francisco-based family offices for over 20 years.

However, lack of exposure to family offices isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker for a candidate to be considered to work for one - at least initially.

The term ‘family office’ is nuanced. 

Depending on the size of the family office (those in the Bay Area range from fifty million dollars in AUM to over one billion in AUM), past experience working with a small firm becomes hyper-relevant. Experience working in finance, the financial services industry, investment management or any style fund is often necessary, as it gives candidates an understanding of that branch of the organization. 

Most important, however, tends to be that a candidate brings experience in which they are client-facing and operating with (what most firms call) ‘white glove service.’ In the case of many family offices, the family is handled like a client. A customer-oriented, service-focused attitude from a candidate lends itself to a higher likelihood of succeeding there. Experience working closely with limited partners or investors at a fund can also translate to possessing this skillset. 

Operating with Discretion

Depending on the size of a family office and how many families they service, the matters handled by the firm can vary in range, focus and sensitivity - from investing assets of a publicly-owned company to booking a gardening service for an individual’s home. 

This often lends itself to a firm culture where individuals are asked to operate with more diplomacy and keep some work matters (legal, financial or otherwise) confidential. 

Again, while a candidate understanding or having worked for another family office is helpful, it is not always required. Talent that’s worked in a legal setting, handled trust and estate or other financial matters often understand the cultural nuances of working with sensitive and highly personal information.

Brand Name Recognition

While the economy has shifted significantly in the past 3-4 years, the competition in the San Francisco Bay Area for high-quality talent remains from firms with recognizable branding. Within technology the brand name competition is boisterous. Outside the top 5 formerly referred to as ‘FAANG (Facebook - now Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google), the Bay Area boasts technology companies up-and-down the Peninsula. 

When it comes to the family office space, they face competition from the big banks (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and other advisories) as well as consulting firms. That said, the candidates who will still gravitate towards - and succeed at family offices, tend to prioritize one criteria above the brand name and social milieu of the firm they work at: culture. 

CULTURAL-FIT is Paramount

While every organization Evolve hires for prioritizes a candidate’s culture-fit, family offices can use this criteria as a compass.

The firm's teams work together intimately and are motivated towards servicing a specific group of people. While no company culture is homogeneous, a candidate's ability to succeed in a family office is guided by their ability to work effectively in this type of social setting, collaborate without ego and present with a service-focused mindset.

All of the above often ensures that talent succeeds and lasts for multiple years at a firm intended to service multiple generations.

What do you think are the challenges to hiring in the Bay Area or financial services industries? Did you find this article helpful? 

Let us know your thoughts: contact @evolvetalentpartners.com