How a Multifamily Office Serves Families Worth $200M
$1B+ Multifamily Office Serving Centimillionaire Clients - Investor Mandate Interview
Fund managers, sponsors and capital raisers who want to understand how a large multifamily office thinks about private investments and client selection.
5 key takeaways
- Three ways to outperform. John says outperforming requires better information, better analysis or better behavior. In his view, the first two are very hard to have in public markets. He sees all three as possible in private markets.
- Private access needs scale. John notes that a family with a hundred million dollars often holds its wealth across several family members and entities. That creates problems with minimums and diversifying by vintage year and style. Funds of funds add another layer of fees.
- Funds over direct deals. The firm leans toward private equity funds, whether buyout, growth capital or venture. John says direct deals can be a better fit when the family has experience in that industry or invests alongside a club.
- Partner matters more than idea. John says great ideas often sound crazy, so it is about who the partner is. The firm's checklist is called ten ways not to lose your money, and the idea itself is item number ten.
- Client fit drives growth. The firm turns down clients who do not fit, even profitable ones. John says staff work with only five or six families each, and happy clients refer others. John's two regrets are keeping weak employees too long and taking poor fit clients.
What you will hear
John leads with the numbers of a multifamily office that is 18 years old. It serves 58 client families in 30 states with 53 employees. Average family wealth is about 200 million dollars, with a sweet spot of 50 to 500 million. The firm works alongside clients' existing advisors and downloads data every night from over 70 custodians. In public markets, it has moved toward passive indexing.
In this investor mandate interview with Richard C. Wilson, John explains why even a family with a hundred million dollars can struggle to access private markets. The firm prefers private equity funds to direct deals unless the family knows the industry. It uses a ten point red flag checklist. John also ties the firm's growth to strict client fit and small client teams.
From the source
- The firm has 58 client families in 30 states and 53 employees.
- It downloads data every night from over 70 custodians.
- Its checklist is called ten ways not to lose your money and lists ten red flags in private deals.
- Client service people work with only five or six client families apiece.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: $1B+ Multifamily Office Serving Centimillionaire Clients - Investor Mandate Interview. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around fund investment structures, family trust considerations and investor eligibility rules. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
In their words
"To outperform, you need to have at least one of three things: better information, better analysis or better behavior."
"It's really about who your partner is and picking the right horse."
"It'd be better to have a down year than to take clients that aren't fits."
Related questions
- How do I close a funding round?I close a funding round by focusing on investors who fit the opportunity and moving each interested prospect through clear, consistent follow-up.
- What documents do investors request during due diligence?Prepare a clear, organized package covering your operations, investments, compensation, team, and track record.
- How do I raise capital for my business?I raise capital by building a repeatable system for attracting the right investors, establishing credibility, and developing relationships before asking for money.
Questions about this video
What size families does this multifamily office serve?
Its sweet spot is families with 50 to 500 million dollars. Average wealth per family is about 200 million dollars across 58 client families.
Does the firm focus on finding direct deals?
No. John says the firm looks at a private deal about once a week but has stayed away from investing much effort in finding deal flow. It expects clients with industry expertise to do that.
Why does the firm prefer funds to early stage direct investing?
John says venture is hard to do well and top managers have persistent deal flow. He asks whether the deal found the client and why the client could do better than a venture fund.
Put this into practice with the family office fit check. See all investor mandates resources.
