How to Choose a Multi-Family Office: 10 Questions to Ask

The Short Answer

Choose a multi-family office on structure and incentives first, services second. Most firms list similar services. They differ on who owns the governance and records, how they are paid, who actually does the work, how many families each principal serves, and what you keep if you leave. Ask those questions in writing, and compare the answers side by side before you look at pricing.

Ask whether the family owns its documents and data, whatever software they live on, and what transfers to you if the relationship ends.
Ask for every way the firm and its affiliates are paid, not only the fee you pay directly.
Ask how many families each principal serves. Capacity determines attention.

How do you choose a multi-family office?

Start with structure and incentives, not the service list. Nearly every multi-family office says it offers governance, reporting, coordination, and next-generation education. The real differences show up in who owns what, who gets paid how, and who does the work.

The 10 questions below are built to surface those differences. Ask them of every firm you are considering, in writing, and compare the answers side by side.

The 10 questions

Ownership and exit

1. Who owns the family's records and data? Governance documents, entity records, meeting minutes, and reporting history are the family's institutional memory. Most multi-family offices keep them on reporting, document, and governance platforms that the firm licenses and pays for, and that is normal. The question is not whose software it is, but whose data: ask whether the agreement says the family owns its documents and data.

2. If we leave, what do we take with us? Ask for the answer in writing: which documents and reporting history are exported, in what format, and on what timeline. A firm that is confident in its value has no reason to make leaving hard.

Incentives

3. How is the firm paid, by everyone? Ask for every source of compensation for the firm and its affiliates: retainers, asset-based fees, service fees, and any payments from products, funds, platforms, or referral arrangements. The fee you pay directly is only part of the picture.

4. Which entity provides which service, and is any of them a registered investment adviser? A firm that gives investment advice for compensation generally must register as an investment adviser with the SEC or a state, or operate as a bank or trust company. The SEC's family office exclusion covers offices serving a single family, not multi-family offices. Many multi-family offices are registered investment advisers themselves; others use an affiliated adviser or a trust company for investments and a separate entity for governance and coordination. A registered adviser's Form ADV is public at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Know which is which, and read the Form ADV of any adviser involved.

5. How are conflicts of interest handled? Ask for specific examples. What happens when the firm's interest and the family's diverge, such as recommending an in-house service versus an outside specialist?

People and capacity

6. Who will actually work on our family? Meet them. Ask whether the people in the pitch meeting are the people who will run the relationship.

7. How many families does each principal serve? Capacity determines attention. A principal responsible for a handful of families works differently from one responsible for dozens.

8. What happens if a key person leaves? Ask about succession inside the firm and how continuity is protected for your family.

Scope and governance

9. What is done in-house, and what is coordinated? Neither model is wrong, but you should know who is accountable for each piece: estate documents, tax work, investments, insurance, and administration. A good answer names your existing attorney and CPA, not just the firm's own staff.

10. How will governance work for our family specifically? Ask what the board, family council, and trust administration would look like for a family like yours, and how the next generation is brought in. Generic answers suggest a generic structure.

How do you compare the answers?

Put the answers in a simple grid before you look at pricing:

Question	Firm A	Firm B	Firm C
Family owns its records and data?
All compensation disclosed in writing?
Investment adviser identified; Form ADV reviewed?
Named team; families per principal
What transfers if we leave

A blank comparison grid to fill in during due diligence.

Pricing matters, but it is easier to judge once you know what you are buying and who controls it. Our own pricing structure is described on our fees page, and our answers to these questions are part of every introductory conversation.

How does 2SIX Partners answer the ownership question?

Our model is built around question 1. Each family gets its own dedicated family office, with its own entity, board, and governance charter, running on the shared 2SIX platform. The structure belongs to the family. See how the model works.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I look for in a multi-family office?

Look first at structure and incentives: who owns the governance and records, how the firm is paid, who does the work, how many families each principal serves, and what transfers to you if you leave. Services matter, but most firms list similar ones; these questions are where firms actually differ.

What questions should I ask a multi-family office before hiring it?

Ask who owns the structure and records, every way the firm and its affiliates are paid, which services are done in-house and which are coordinated, who will work on your family and how many other families they serve, how the firm handles conflicts, what reporting looks like, how governance is set up, what happens if a key person leaves, what you keep if you leave, and whether the firm or any affiliate is a registered investment adviser.

How are multi-family offices paid?

Common models include a fixed retainer, a percentage of assets, fees per service, or a combination. Some firms or their affiliates also receive compensation from products or platforms they recommend. Ask for every source of compensation in writing, and for any investment adviser involved, read its Form ADV Part 2A.

Is a multi-family office regulated?

It depends on what the firm does. A firm that gives investment advice for compensation generally must register as an investment adviser with the SEC or a state, or operate as a bank or trust company; the SEC's family office exclusion applies only to offices serving a single family. Many multi-family offices are registered advisers themselves, and a registered adviser's Form ADV is public at adviserinfo.sec.gov. Governance, coordination, and administrative services are not regulated in the same way, so ask which entity provides each service.

Can we switch multi-family offices later?

Yes. The cost of switching depends on what the agreement says about records. If the family owns its governance documents, entity records, and reporting history and they can be exported, a transition is mostly administrative, even when they live on the provider's software. If the agreement is silent, rebuilding them can take months.

Sources

Proskauer — SEC Releases Final Rule Exempting Family Offices — The family office exclusion does not extend to multi-family offices
SEC — Investment Adviser Public Disclosure — Public Form ADV filings for registered investment advisers

How Do You Choose a Multi-Family Office? 10 Questions to Ask