The recently released Single Family Office Compensation Report from Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and Botoff Consulting, a survey of over 400 single-family offices in the United States, provides a wealth of data. How well can you do on our quiz?
1. What is the most common descriptor used for family offices?
A. Concierge-focused
B. Investment-focused
C. Full service
D. Investment firm
2. How many households do single family offices support, on average?
A. 3
B. 5
C. 8
D. 12
3. Does the number of generations supported by a family office vary significantly depending on how much wealth the family has?
A. Yes
B. No
4. How many in-house staff members do the largest family offices (those managing more than $2.5 billion) have?
A. 28.3
B. 25
C. 21.3
D. 14
5. Do single family offices generally support more trusts or more business entities?
A. Trusts
B. Business entities
Answers
1. Answer: B. More respondents described their family office as investment focused (46%) than any other term. Full service was close behind, with 44%. By contrast, concierge focused (8%) and investment firm (7%) were chosen by very few.
2. Answer: C. Single family offices support an average of 8 households. The number is higher for offices managing more than $2.5 billion (14 households) and lower for those managing less than $500 million (6.4 households).
3. Answer: B. All single family office categories, from those managing less than $500 million to those managing more than $2.5 billion, support between two and three generations on average. The overall average was 2.5.
4. Answer: A. The largest family offices have 28.3 in-house staff members on average. Those managing less than $500 million, by contrast, have an average of 8.4 staff members. The overall average is 14.4 in-house staff members.
5. Answer: A. On average, they support more trusts — just barely. Single family offices support an average of 28.1 business entities and 28.9 trusts.
