Family office services

A family office is a private organization that manages the financial, investment, governance and personal affairs of a high net worth family. Its goal is to preserve and grow wealth, streamline operations, and support the family’s long-term legacy. Services can include investment management, tax and estate planning, philanthropy, and even lifestyle or concierge services. They are customized to the family's specific needs, ranging from a handful of staff for smaller operations to hundreds for more complex entities.

For families with significant wealth or complex assets, establishing a family office helps to centralize management and mitigate risk while preserving privacy. It also fosters coordination across generations and provides customized support—from managing assets and staff to preparing heirs for responsible wealth management and stewardship.

There are four primary family office structures: the single-family office (SFO), multifamily office (MFO), embedded family office and virtual family office (VFO). The appropriate structure depends on the family's level of wealth, desire to maintain control and privacy, and the complexity of their financial needs.

RSM supports all of these operating models, tailoring our approach to meet your unique needs and goals. Each area reflects our ability to go deep, move fast and deliver lasting value.

Choosing the right family office structure depends on your family's wealth, complexity, goals and preferred level of control. There’s no one-size-fits-all model—many families adopt a hybrid approach by blending in-house and outsourced resources, often starting with an embedded or virtual model and evolving into a dedicated SFO over time.

Typical services include investment management, tax and estate planning, governance and succession planning, accounting and reporting, philanthropic management, risk management, and technology enablement.

Family office governance is the structure and process that guides decision making, communication and strategy within the family office. It preserves the family’s values and legacy through defined roles, responsibilities and protocols. Effective governance often includes councils or boards, mission statements and regular meetings to promote transparency and continuity.

Family office accounting covers the financial management of high net worth families, including bookkeeping, reporting, cash flow management and compliance across complex assets. It often integrates with tax planning, investment oversight and technology platforms to give families real-time visibility and control.

A family office is structured for tax efficiency and compliance. It may oversee income, estate, gift and international tax matters. The chosen model—whether in-house, co-sourced or outsourced—can affect risk exposure, reporting accuracy and strategic planning.

An outsourced family office delegates select functions—such as accounting, IT, HR, tax and cybersecurity—to external professionals. This model offers scalability, cost efficiency and access to services and solutions without full-time overhead. Co-sourcing blends internal oversight with external execution for greater flexibility.

Resources required vary widely depending on the scope of services, staff size and technology. Outsourcing can help control costs while providing access to specialized services.

Wealth management firms focus primarily on investment management. A family office provides a broader, more holistic range of services—including governance, succession planning, operations, tax, risk and family dynamics—tailored to the unique needs of wealthy families.

RSM helps families establish, optimize and evolve their family offices with services spanning tax, assurance, consulting, technology and risk management. Our approach is scalable, personalized and designed to align with your family’s long-term goals.