The author of the following article notes how private capital becomes more personal and yet also more institutional at the same time.

The writer, Joshua Becker (pictured below), partner at law firm Pillsbury, in New York, looks at cases such as the recent purchase of the Baldwin Group by the family office of tech tycoon Michael Dell, as report by this news service here.

Joshua Becker

The world of family offices is changing, with increased professionalism and aspects of institutional discipline. These are not always comfortable trends for families. The editors value these insights and hope they get conversations going. To comment, please email tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com and amanda.cheesley@clearviewpublishing.com. The usual editorial disclaimers apply to views of guest writers.
 

When Michael Dell’s family office agreed in September to help take The Baldwin Group private in a $7.7 billion transaction, the deal looked much like a traditional private equity buyout. It involved an institutional-scale acquisition, employee rollover equity, and a plan to apply technology and operational expertise to an established business. Yet the buyers described Dell’s capital as long-duration and founder-aligned. That combination captures a paradox at the heart of family office investing: family offices are inherently personal and yet increasingly institutional. 

Their capital is personal because families invest directly according to their own relationships, convictions, values, and time horizons. At the same time, such capital is institutional because those same families build professional teams, governance, and global investment platforms that increasingly resemble private equity sponsors, asset managers, and operating companies.

Deloitte estimated that the number of single-family offices (SFOs) worldwide reached 8,030 in 2024, up 31 per cent from 2019. Together, they managed an estimated $3.1 trillion. By 2030, Deloitte projects nearly 10,720 offices managing $5.4 trillion (1). At that scale, family offices are no longer simply administrative vehicles for inherited wealth. They are buyers of companies, lenders, venture investors, real estate owners, and employers of increasingly sophisticated investment teams.

Their growth matters because family offices behave differently from the institutions that have traditionally dominated private markets. They do not answer to outside limited partners. They have no fixed fund life, no contractual timetable for deploying capital, and no uniform definition of an acceptable return. This can make family capital unusually patient and flexible. It can also make it highly idiosyncratic since investment decisions are shaped by unique family dynamics, not static institutional mandates.

The institutionalization of family offices extends beyond investing. Citi’s September 2026 survey of 351 family offices found offices applying institutional disciplines to operational planning, risk management, and succession, while these functions remain organized around a particular family’s objectives (4).

The paradigms that follow show how the personal side of the paradox, such as relationships, values, and family identity, can shape decisions made with institutional capital.

Family offices do not fall into neat categories, but several recurring investment paradigms help explain how they deploy capital. Under the relationship paradigm, families back founders or executives whom they know and trust, sometimes accepting risks that a conventional investment committee would reject. The advantage is speed and conviction, while the vulnerability is reduced diligence.

Under the next-generation paradigm, investing gives younger family members a meaningful role. A technology, consumer, or sustainability portfolio may allow a family to build expertise and an identity distinct from the business that created the wealth.

The strategic and operator paradigms draw on the family’s industry expertise or operating capabilities. Some families take board seats or acquire control. Others provide patient capital while management runs the business with holding periods that can extend beyond a private equity fund’s normal exit cycle.

Under the co-investment paradigm, families invest alongside private equity or venture managers for direct exposure and lower fees. Co-investments allow families to build relationships with top-tier sponsors, gain access to proprietary deal flow, and develop internal expertise by observing professional investment processes. The risk is that co-investment opportunities are often offered on compressed timelines with limited ability to negotiate terms.

Under the capital-preservation paradigm, families prioritize downside protection over maximum upside. They favor private credit, preferred equity, real estate, or cash-flowing businesses that generate predictable income. This approach often reflects a family’s stage of wealth: those focused on preserving multigenerational capital may accept lower returns in exchange for reduced volatility and principal protection.

S&P Global Market Intelligence reported that family office direct investment rose 123.3 per cent in 2025 to $12.9 billion across 158 disclosed transactions, the highest annual deal value since at least 2021 (2). This figure covered acquisitions, minority stakes, assets and funding rounds, excluding investments through private equity and venture funds. Citi’s 2026 survey suggests this growth is becoming more disciplined, with family offices placing greater emphasis on proprietary sourcing and sector expertise (4).

Deloitte found that family offices spend an average of 22 per cent of their time on direct investing, 19 per cent on administration and compliance, and 15 per cent supporting the family’s operating business. In this way, the modern family office sits at the intersection of investment management, corporate strategy, tax planning, succession, and family governance.

Family office governance structures transform family preferences into repeatable processes through investment committees, family councils, written policies, and in some cases private trust companies, to ensure multi-generational stability. The result is difficult for other investors to replicate, patient capital, sector knowledge, and multi-decade time horizons, yet with simultaneous flexibility. To that end, UBS reported that 60 per cent of family offices planned allocation changes within 12 months, reflecting their ability to adapt while staying grounded in a family’s overall values and long-term horizons (3).

At the same time, family office regulatory scrutiny may dramatically change over the next decade. The 2021 collapse of Archegos Capital Management, whose concentrated, leveraged positions caused billions in losses for prime brokers, renewed calls for greater oversight. Family offices generally remain exempt from registration under the Investment Advisers Act, but offices managing outside capital, providing advice for compensation, or engaging heavily in derivatives face growing pressure to adopt institutional compliance frameworks.

Succession may be the most important test for any family office. Citi found that approximately one-third of surveyed families expect a leadership transition within five years, while UBS reported that only 35 per cent have a defined succession plan (3, 4). The mismatch exposes the central weakness of a platform built around one wealth creator’s judgment.

Family offices are a distinct class of economic institution. The paradox is central to their power: institutional discipline expands the reach of capital guided by personal judgment and family purpose. As their assets grow, they will shape which companies obtain financing, how long businesses remain private, and which industries attract patient capital. The question is no longer whether family offices belong in the institutional investment market but how their combination of money, control, and family purpose will change it.

Source Notes
[1] Deloitte Private, Defining the Family Office Landscape 2024 and The Top 10 Family Office Trends 2024. https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/services/deloitte-private/research/family-office-insights-series-global-edition.html

[2] S&P Global Market Intelligence, Global family office direct investments more than double in 2025, April 21, 2026. https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2026/4/global-family-office-direct-investments-more-than-double-in-2025-100758195

[3] UBS, Global Family Office Report 2026, May 28, 2026. https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20260528-global-family-office-report-2026.html

[4] Citi Wealth, 2026 Global Family Office Report, September 22, 2026. https://www.citigroup.com/global/news/press-release/2026/citi-wealth-2026-global-family-office-report-clients-shifting-focus-public-equities-deliberate-resilient-amid-uncertainty