Family Office Recruitment

Senior Search for UK Family Offices and UHNW Private Wealth Structures

Exec Capital provides senior family office recruitment for UK single family offices (SFOs), multi-family offices (MFOs), and the substantive private wealth structures supporting UK and international ultra-high-net-worth principals. Family office senior search is a substantively distinct discipline from corporate executive search. The candidate pool is narrow, the assessment dimensions extend substantively beyond conventional commercial credentials into substantive personal trust and discretion, and the substantive engagement between principal and senior leader has substantive non-commercial dimensions that warrant explicit treatment. Strong family office searches address these dimensions at the brief stage rather than treating them as edge cases.

Our practice covers UK senior family office appointments across substantively varied principal contexts — first-generation entrepreneurs who have substantively exited primary businesses, multi-generational family wealth structures, international principals with substantial UK presence, and the substantive UK MFO sector serving multiple substantial principal families. Every senior family office mandate is run by our specialist team, with Adrian Lawrence FCA overseeing each mandate. For senior CFO appointments at family offices specifically, see our sister firm FD Capital — the primary specialism in our portfolio for senior finance roles.

This page covers family office hiring across levels: the leadership seats (CEO, CIO, CFO, COO) and the specialist hires that a well-run office depends on below and alongside them — finance and reporting, investment, operations, compliance and the private office that supports the family day to day. If you already know you need a single senior leader, our family office executive search service sets out how a confidential C-suite search runs, and our family office executives hub routes you to each role page. If you are building or rebuilding a team, or are not yet sure which hire comes first, read on.

How family office recruitment works with Exec Capital

Every family office search follows the same six stages, whatever the level of the role. What changes from one mandate to the next is the depth of the briefing, how confidential the approach has to be, and who on the family side takes part in each decision. We agree the timetable with you at briefing rather than promising a fixed number of days, because a CIO search for a multi-generational office and a fractional compliance appointment for a newly authorised multi-family office move at very different speeds.

The UK family office market

The UK family office sector has grown substantively over the past decade. Industry research, including Campden Wealth’s European Family Office Report, tracks that growth across Europe, and London remains one of the main European centres of family office activity, alongside Zurich and Geneva, with Singapore a strong competitor further afield — supported by the substantive professional ecosystem that serves UHNW principals: private banks, wealth managers, tax advisers, trustees, and the substantive senior search market that staffs senior family office roles.

The UK family office market segments into three substantively different structural contexts that warrant explicit treatment in senior search work.

Single family offices (SFOs). Dedicated structures serving one principal family. Substantive senior search dimensions include the substantive principal personality match, the substantive family governance dimensions (particularly across generational succession contexts), and the substantive confidentiality requirements. SFOs often operate substantively low-profile public presence; senior search work proceeds substantively confidentially.

Multi-family offices (MFOs). Substantive UK MFO sector serving multiple substantial principal families. Substantive senior search dimensions include substantive client relationship credentials across multiple principals, substantive senior team management at scale, and substantive commercial business development credentials alongside investment and governance credentials. MFOs operate substantively more like commercial businesses than SFOs.

Embedded family offices and family-owned operating businesses. Substantive senior wealth management functions embedded within substantive family-owned operating businesses, often substantively integrated with the principal’s substantive operating business interests. Substantive senior search dimensions include substantive cross-credentials in operating business and private wealth, and substantive cultural fit with the substantive operating business culture.

The structure shapes the hire. A single family office recruiting its first finance lead is really recruiting a generalist who will build the function; our single family office recruitment page covers that context in more detail. A multi-family office recruiting a relationship director or compliance lead is hiring into a regulated, client-facing business, which is a different candidate market; see multi-family office recruitment. Offices based in or around Mayfair, St James’s and the City draw on the deepest candidate pool in the country, which our London family office recruitment page addresses directly.

Hiring across levels: leadership and specialist roles

Most family offices do not start with a full C-suite. A typical path is a trusted finance lead or office head first, then an investment hire as the portfolio becomes more active, then operations, compliance and private office support as the number of entities, advisers and family members grows. The table below sets out the roles we are asked to fill most often, what each one usually covers, and when families tend to add it. Each role links to its own page where one exists.

The point of mapping roles in this way is to sequence hires rather than make them all at once. A well-chosen finance lead can carry operations for several years; a strong CIO may make a separate investment director unnecessary until the deal pipeline justifies it. We often help families decide which seat to fill first before we start searching for anyone.

Senior roles we recruit across UK family offices

Family Office CEO / Chief Executive. Senior leadership of the substantive family office structure. Substantive accountability for the family office investment strategy, substantive senior team management, substantive principal engagement, and (in many cases) substantive operational business interests beyond pure wealth management. See our Family Office CEO Recruitment service.

Family Office CFO / Director of Finance. Senior finance leadership across the substantive family office structure — substantive accountability for multi-entity reporting, substantive tax and trust structuring, substantive investment portfolio reporting, and substantive engagement with principal on personal financial matters. See our Family Office CFO Recruitment service. For substantive senior CFO search at family offices including substantive ICAEW-qualified candidates with substantive private wealth credentials, our sister firm FD Capital is the primary portfolio specialism.

Chief Investment Officer. Senior investment leadership across the substantive family office portfolio — substantive direct investment, substantive private equity allocation, substantive public markets allocation, substantive alternatives allocation, and substantive tax-aware portfolio construction across substantive multi-entity structures.

Investment Director. Senior investment professional under CIO at substantive family offices, with substantive accountability for specific asset class allocation or specific deal types (direct PE, real estate, public equities, alternatives).

Head of Operations / COO. Senior operations leadership for substantive family office structures, with substantive accountability for substantive multi-entity governance, substantive trust and corporate administration, substantive technology platform, and substantive senior team operations.

Senior advisory roles. Senior trustees, governance directors, and substantive principal advisers. Common at substantive multi-generational family office structures.

Specialist hires below and alongside the leadership team

Beyond the leadership seats, much of our family office work is at the level where the office actually runs: the people who produce the consolidated reports, administer the entities, monitor the portfolio and keep the controls in place. These roles are harder to fill than their job titles suggest, because the best candidates often sit in private banks, trust companies or accountancy practices and need to be persuaded that a smaller, less structured environment is a career step rather than a risk.

• Finance: financial controllers, heads of reporting, group accountants and treasury managers who can consolidate dozens of entities, trusts and holding companies and explain the result clearly to the family.
• Investment: investment managers, analysts and associates who support the CIO on due diligence, portfolio monitoring and reporting across public and private holdings.
• Operations: heads of entity management, office managers, IT and cyber security leads and property or estates managers.
• Compliance: compliance officers, MLROs and risk managers, particularly in multi-family offices that hold FCA permissions.
• Private office: chiefs of staff, executive assistants to the principal, philanthropy managers and family governance coordinators.

At the specialist level the brief matters just as much as it does for a CEO. A financial controller who will work directly with the principal on personal spending needs the same discretion as the office head, and should be assessed for it. Our family office director recruitment page covers the director-level seats in between.

When to hire permanent, interim, fractional or part-time

Family offices use every hiring format, often in combination. A permanent hire suits a role the office will need for the long term and where continuity and trust build over years. Interim cover suits a gap: a CFO leaving before the year-end, a COO needed to run a systems migration, or a compliance lead needed while a permanent search runs. Fractional and part-time hires suit smaller offices that need senior judgement for a day or two a week but cannot justify a full-time salary, and newly authorised multi-family offices that need an experienced compliance officer or MLRO from day one.

For compliance specifically, the fractional and interim route is often the right first step for a multi-family office. An experienced compliance officer working two days a week, or a fractional MLRO, gives the firm senior oversight without the cost of a full-time hire while the client book is still growing. See fractional compliance officer, fractional MLRO and interim chief compliance officer for how those engagements work. Our comparison of family office and private equity candidates is useful if you are weighing candidates from a PE background for any of these formats.

The substantive family office search dimensions

Five dimensions warrant explicit treatment at the front of every family office senior brief.

Principal personality and engagement model. The substantive day-to-day engagement between senior leader and principal varies substantively across family offices — from substantively close daily engagement to substantively delegated autonomy. Strong candidates evaluate firms substantively on this dimension; specifications that don’t address it produce predictable role-fit issues.

Substantive autonomy and decision rights. Senior family office leaders operate with substantively varied levels of investment and operational autonomy. Substantive board structures (where they exist) and substantive principal decision-making patterns warrant explicit treatment at the brief.

Confidentiality requirements. Family office senior search proceeds substantively confidentially. Substantive principal identity is often not disclosed even to substantively shortlisted candidates until late stages. Strong searches handle the substantive confidentiality dimension as a substantive part of the engagement model.

Family governance and multi-generational dimensions. Substantive multi-generational family office contexts involve substantive family governance, substantive next-generation engagement, and substantive multi-generational succession planning. Senior leaders at these structures operate substantively as substantive senior advisers to the broader family rather than only to the founding principal.

Compensation structure. Family office senior compensation operates substantively differently from corporate senior compensation. Substantive base compensation typically below corporate equivalents; substantive bonus structures often substantively discretionary; substantive co-investment and carry structures common at substantive principal scale; substantive benefits often include substantive non-traditional elements (use of family office property, travel, schooling support). Strong searches address compensation structure substantively at the brief stage.

Why personal fit decides most family office hires

Family office appointments succeed or fail on the working relationship between the new hire and the principal. Strong commercial credentials, a good investment record and governance experience are necessary but not enough on their own. Senior people in a family office work closely with the family on personal financial matters, wealth structuring across generations, philanthropy and family governance, and often on personal day-to-day matters that never appear in a job description. Good candidates assess the principal as carefully as the principal assesses them. When a search does not deal with this openly at the start, the mismatch usually shows within the first six months.

That is why we work through the engagement model the principal expects, the autonomy the new hire will have, any family governance issues and the confidentiality arrangements before we approach anyone. Candidates respond better to a brief that is honest about these points, and are more likely to drop out early when it is not. Our guide to hiring for a family office sets out the questions we cover at briefing.

Assessing discretion and judgement

Discretion is easy to claim and hard to test. We look for evidence in a candidate’s history: how they have handled sensitive information in previous roles, how they speak about former employers and clients, whether their referees describe them as someone who can say no to a principal tactfully. For roles with access to the family’s personal finances or household, we recommend proportionate background checks agreed with the candidate, and we structure final interviews so that the principal sees how the candidate handles a difficult or ambiguous request rather than only a set-piece presentation.

What a new family office hire typically delivers in the first 90 days

The first three months set the tone for the relationship with the family. The priorities differ by role, but the pattern is consistent: listen first, build an accurate picture of the office, fix anything urgent, and agree a plan the principal can see and test.

• Days 1–30: understand. Meet the principal, family members and each external adviser (private banks, lawyers, accountants, trustees). Map every entity, trust, bank account and investment. Identify open deadlines — tax returns, trust filings, audit, FCA returns where relevant.
• Days 31–60: stabilise. Close any control gaps, such as payment authorisation, access to systems and cyber security. Agree reporting the family will actually read. For an investment hire, review the portfolio against the family’s stated objectives and risk appetite.
• Days 61–90: plan. Present a written plan covering priorities for the year, any changes to advisers or structure, team and budget needs, and how progress will be reported to the principal or family council.

For a CFO or finance lead that usually means a first consolidated view of the family’s wealth and a calendar of filings. For a CIO, an investment policy statement and a view on manager and asset allocation. For a COO, an entity and systems map with a short list of fixes. For a compliance officer at a multi-family office, a review of the compliance monitoring plan, financial crime controls and the firm’s regulatory reporting. Our executive onboarding guide covers how to support a new senior hire through this period.

Regulation, tax and governance context for family office hires

Family offices sit at the edge of financial regulation, and the rules a new hire must understand depend on what the office does and for whom. Take legal advice on your own structure; the points below explain why they matter to recruitment.

FCA authorisation and the Senior Managers Regime

Many single family offices manage only their own family’s assets and do not hold FCA permissions. Multi-family offices that manage investments or give regulated advice to unconnected families generally need authorisation, which brings them within the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. In practice that means senior hires such as the chief executive (SMF1), the board CFO (usually SMF3 at a Core firm), the compliance oversight function (SMF16) and the MLRO (SMF17) need FCA approval before they start the role. Under FSMA section 61 the FCA must decide a complete application within three months, and its published median for senior manager approvals in 2025/26 was around 25 days. SMF16 and SMF17 remain pre-approved roles under the FCA’s October 2026 consultation (CP26/37). If a holder leaves suddenly, temporary cover rules (SUP 10C.3A.6R, following PS26/6) give a firm 12 weeks to submit an application for a replacement. Our guide to how long FCA SMF approval takes covers the timetable, and our family office compliance hiring guide explains how to scope the role.

Trusts, anti-money laundering and tax

Most family offices administer trusts. Most UK express trusts, and some non-UK trusts with UK links, must be registered on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service and kept up to date, so a finance or operations hire needs to be comfortable owning that obligation. Tax changes also shape hiring. The remittance basis for non-domiciled individuals ended on 6 April 2025 and was replaced by a residence-based regime, including a four-year foreign income and gains regime for new arrivals (see HMRC’s technical note). Families with international members have needed more in-house tax and residence expertise as a result. Family investment companies remain widely used, and the ICAEW Tax Faculty has set out the points that need care in running them.

Family governance and succession

As families move into second and third generations, many formalise governance with a family council, a constitution and an investment committee that includes independent members. Those changes create new roles — independent directors, governance secretaries, next-generation education leads — and change the profile needed in the office head. Our article on succession planning in family offices looks at how recruitment fits into generational transition.

Compensation and Package Structure

Family office pay is structured differently from corporate pay, and an offer that is not explained clearly is one of the most common reasons good candidates turn a role down. We do not publish salary figures on this page; our family office executive compensation guide covers the structures in more detail, and we provide current market data for your specific role at briefing.

• Base salary: benchmarked against private banks, wealth managers and private equity for investment roles, and against senior finance and operations roles in comparable businesses for the rest.
• Bonus: often discretionary in single family offices, more formula-driven in multi-family offices. Candidates value a written explanation of how bonus is decided.
• Co-investment and carry: common for investment roles where the family invests directly. Terms, vesting and tax treatment need to be agreed early and documented properly.
• Long-term retention: deferred bonus or phantom equity are used where the family wants to retain a senior hire through a generational transition.
• Benefits: pension, private medical cover, and sometimes non-standard benefits that need careful tax treatment.

At FCA-authorised multi-family offices, remuneration rules apply to the firm in the normal way, so the package for a regulated role should be checked against the firm’s own remuneration policy before an offer is made.

Engagement and fees

We work on the basis that suits the hire. The fee structure is agreed with you at briefing and set out in writing before the search begins.

• Retained search: our usual approach for leadership roles and any search that must stay confidential. It commits a dedicated search effort to your role and is the format most senior family office candidates expect.
• Contingent recruitment: can suit specialist roles below leadership level where the market is wider and confidentiality is less critical.
• Interim and fractional: charged on a day-rate basis, with our fee included in the day rate. You agree the number of days and the term up front.

Every engagement includes the briefing, the market search and approaches, assessment and referencing, shortlist reports, interview coordination, offer negotiation and contact through onboarding. For a fuller comparison of the two main search models, see our guide to retained versus contingent executive search.

Who we place and who we work with

We work with the principal directly, with the existing head of the family office, or with the family’s trusted advisers — lawyers, accountants and private bankers who are often asked to find the right person. Typical clients include:

• first-generation founders who have sold a business and are setting up an office for the first time;
• established single family offices replacing a long-serving office head or adding specialist capability;
• multi-family offices hiring relationship, investment, operations and compliance staff, including SMF holders;
• international families establishing or expanding a UK presence;
• family-owned operating groups where the family office sits inside the trading business;
• family foundations and philanthropic vehicles needing finance and governance leadership.

Candidates come from other family offices, private banks, wealth and asset managers, private equity and venture firms, trust companies, accountancy and law firms, and senior finance and operations roles in owner-managed businesses. We place people across the UK from our offices in London and Cannock, and our sister firms FD Capital and NED Capital cover senior finance and board roles in more depth where a search needs it.

Other ways to hire for a family office

This page is the starting point for family office hiring across levels. If you already know the role, the dedicated pages go into more detail: our guide to hiring an MD for a family-owned business where the office sits inside a trading group; the family office CIO hiring guide for investment leadership; and the single family office structure guide if you are still deciding how the office should be organised. For general hiring advice, our family office executive hiring guide covers the whole process from brief to offer.

Frequently asked questions

What does a family office recruitment firm do?

It finds and assesses people to run and staff a family office, from the office head and CIO to finance, operations, compliance and private office roles. The difference from general recruitment is confidentiality, a narrow candidate pool and the weight placed on personal fit with the principal.

Which roles does a family office need first?

Usually a trusted finance lead or office head who can consolidate reporting and manage advisers. Investment, operations, compliance and private office roles follow as the portfolio, the number of entities and the family grow. We help families sequence these hires.

Can you recruit below leadership level?

Yes. As well as CEO, CIO, CFO and COO searches, we recruit financial controllers, investment managers, operations and entity managers, compliance officers, MLROs and chiefs of staff, where the role needs the same discretion as the senior team.

How do you keep a family office search confidential?

The family is not named at first approach. Candidates learn more as they progress, and the principal’s identity is usually disclosed only at a late stage, after the candidate has agreed to keep the process confidential. We agree the confidentiality arrangements with you at briefing.

How long does a family office search take?

It depends on the role, the size of the candidate pool and how many family members take part in decisions. We agree the timetable with you at briefing. For FCA-approved roles, allow time for the approval itself after the offer.

Does a family office need to be FCA authorised?

Not always. Many single family offices managing only their own family’s assets do not need permissions, while multi-family offices that manage investments or advise unconnected families generally do. Authorised firms need approved senior managers, such as a compliance officer (SMF16) and MLRO (SMF17). Take legal advice on your structure.

Can we hire a fractional compliance officer or MLRO for a multi-family office?

Yes, and it is a common route for smaller authorised firms. A fractional compliance officer or MLRO provides senior oversight for an agreed number of days, with our fee included in the day rate. The individual still needs FCA approval for the SMF16 or SMF17 role.

How is family office pay structured?

Usually a base salary with a bonus that is often discretionary, plus co-investment or carry for investment roles and sometimes deferred awards for retention. We provide current market data for your role at briefing rather than generic figures.

Do you work with family offices outside London?

Yes. Many offices are in London, but we also recruit for families based elsewhere in the UK and for international families setting up UK operations, from our London and Cannock offices.

How do I start?

Use the “Tell us about your hire” button below or call 0203 834 9616. A first conversation is confidential and does not commit you to a search.

Further reading

For role-specific senior hiring guides at the family office senior level, see our CFO hiring guide, CEO hiring guide, and the rest in our guide to the key roles in family office recruitment. For substantive treatment of UK senior compensation including substantive private wealth structures, family office co-investment, and substantive carry arrangements, see our C-suite salary guide and co-investment and carry guide.

For senior CFO appointments at family offices specifically — including substantive trust, substantive multi-entity, and substantive UHNW dimensions — see our sister firm FD Capital. For senior NED and Chair appointments at family-controlled holding companies, see our sister firm NED Capital.

For substantive UK family office sector context, see Campden Wealth, the substantive research authority on family offices and UHNW private wealth. For UK trust and family investment company structures relevant to UK family office senior leadership, see HMRC’s guidance on trusts and STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) for substantive trust governance.

Looking for a family office role?

If you are a candidate interested in family office jobs, please register with us and browse our current opportunities. Many family office roles are filled confidentially and are never advertised, so registering is the best way to be considered.

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Family Office Executive Search | Single Family Office Recruitment | Multi Family Office Recruitment | Family Office CEO Recruitment | Family Office CFO Recruitment | Family Office CIO Recruitment | Family Office COO Recruitment | Family Office Investment Director Recruitment | Family Office Director Recruitment | Family Office Compliance Recruitment | London Family Office Recruitment | Family Office Wealth Management Recruitment