Expert Insights: 5 Leading Multifamily Office Trends for 2024 and Beyond

Multifamily office organizations offer elite wealth management services to high-net-worth investors.

However, the world is changing quickly, and both wealth managers and individual investors need to stay on top of emerging changes. 

Seasoned financial professionals such as Alessandro Lardi, Rebecca Gooch, and Michael Grondin offer their thoughts on emerging 2024 MFO trends and how managers and investors can succeed in the coming year.

The Changing Role of the Multifamily Office

MFOs traditionally focused on asset management and estate planning, which are still crucial to client success. However, wealth management alone isn’t the key to success for multifamily offices or their clients. 

Swisspath founding partner Alessandro Lardi believes MFOs must transform to remain relevant. “Multifamily offices are now offering more synergistic services to high-net-worth families. These families want estate planning, legal services, and even yachting or aviation services. Multifamily offices must embrace this shift in expectations to succeed going forward.” He notes that asset management is just one slice of the MFO pie. Risk management and philanthropic foundation management and more comprehensive services are part and parcel of MFOs. 

Market data supports Lardi’s prediction. The family offices industry is worth over $124 billion in 2023, but the market will be worth an excess of $209 billion by 2028, with the fastest-growing market in the Asia-Pacific region. Experts like Lardi believe adapting to emerging trends will make MFOs more valuable and sustainable for high-net-worth families in an increasingly complex market.

5 Emerging MFO Trends in 2024

1.Holistic Client Approaches

Moving forward, MFOs will embrace new approaches beyond traditional financial advising. In Alessandro Lardi’s experience, integrating an investor’s personal life, values and long-term goals is equally important. “The families we serve are no longer looking for financial stewardship,” he says. “They want a partner who understands everything. They need someone that knows how to coordinate legal and tax matters.”

In practice, this means MFOs will need to build more meaningful relationships with their clients. That could include succession planning, lifestyle management, and even coordinating with educational consultants for the younger generation. 

By adopting a holistic approach, MFOs both manage wealth and shape futures, ensuring that their clients’ wealth supports their life goals and values. This trend marks a significant departure from traditional wealth management, positioning MFOs not just as wealth managers, but also as integral partners.

2. Traditional Banking Integrations

MFOs typically specialize in investment strategies, estate planning, and personalized wealth management. However, more MFOs are integrating traditional banking services into their services. Instead of working solely through a bank, clients can now enjoy the personalized, bespoke services of an MFO with the more standardized offerings of a conventional bank. By integrating with traditional banking, MFOs can provide clients with a more comprehensive and cohesive financial experience.  

Integrating with traditional banking offerings allows MFOs to offer a well-rounded suite of financial solutions that include commercial banking, lending services, and even international banking. This collaborative setup offers MFO clients the convenience of a one-stop shop for specialized and routine financial needs.

3. Investments in the Private Sector

Multifamily offices are increasingly embracing investments in the private sector, too. As MFOs seek to diversify high-net-worth clients’ portfolios, alternative investments are becoming more appealing. 

In an interview with Wealth Professional, Michael Grondin, the president and CEO of Samara, shared why his MFO is focusing on private investments. “Last year was also very good for hedge funds, but it’s difficult for us at Samara to find the right managers who get consistent returns over time,” he said. “The alternatives we’ve chosen in the private space have offered better risk-return and diversification characteristics, but we’ll see what happens in the future.”

Other MFOs are leaning into alternatives like real estate. That’s exactly what Alex Bhathal, the executive chairman and managing partner of Revitate, is doing for his clients. In an interview with WealthManagement, Bhathal shared, “Real estate has always been a solid investment during inflationary times, and it can have tax advantages while also producing current cash flow. Real estate by its nature tends to have several tax advantages, and tax-advantaged investing has remained popular for family offices.”

4. Emphasis on Succession Planning

The World Health Organization expects the world’s population over the age of 60 to double by 2050. The world population is aging, which is why financial experts like Alessandro Lardi and Rebecca Gooch believe high-net-worth individuals should create succession plans in 2024.  

“Numerous families don’t have adequate succession plans in place, and this could lead to what is known as the third generation curse, which is an understanding that most families lose their fortunes by the third generation,” Gooch said in an interview with Barron’s.

Alessandro Lardi agrees. “Even investors under the age of 50 should consider succession plans today. A quality MFO will help clients set up a strong succession plan to safeguard wealth transfer between generations. These plans can change if it’s ever necessary, which allows for flexibility in uncertain times,” he explains.

5. Focus On Emerging Technologies

MFOs and their clients are also showing a growing interest in emerging technologies. According to Rebecca Gooch, “It is fascinating to discover that roughly one in four family offices in North America invest in the metaverse, one in 10 in [non-fungible tokens], and over a quarter in Web 3.0 — and that these are all areas that family offices plan on allocating more to.”  

Investments in emerging technologies aren’t just about financial returns; they also represent a move that helps investors stay relevant in a changing world. Financial experts expect MFOs to embrace these investments to place themselves and their clients at the forefront of digital innovation.

The Evolving Role of MFOs 

Multifamily offices must evolve to meet the needs of their clients in a changing world. Instead of offering traditional wealth management, MFOs must embrace a more holistic approach in 2024 and beyond. “The future of MFOs is one of transformation and growth,” Alessandro Lardi says. “Staying in touch with emerging trends positions MFOs to sustain success and prosperity for their clients for generations to come.”