Highlights from 16 Family Office Trends

At a Family Office Club event at Pace University, Richard C. Wilson speaks to attendees about trends he says he is seeing in family offices.

Richard C. Wilson presents family office trends based on what he says he is seeing among wealthy families and operators. His talk covers investment theses, hiring, deal design, fundraising, technology and service models. He also refers to examples raised by other speakers at the event, while distinguishing his observations from points he attributes to them.

In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Event speaker)

What they said

1. Concentrated investment theses. Wilson says families diversify but play offense in two or three areas internally. Some develop a thesis around energy shortage, infrastructure or water and invest in it for four to seven years, energy is the theme he hears most, with outer space solar and mobile mini nuclear among the areas watched closely.
2. AI fluency in hiring. Wilson says executive candidates are expected to be AI fluent unless they bring a huge Rolodex. In a recruitment effort with 800 applicants, he found that long AI-written answers could present candidates as experts, while questions about their actual tool use and security knowledge exposed gaps.
3. Design around family needs. Trevor says he asks families what they want that year, then shapes a car wash opportunity to fit, from one location to a group of four or eight. Wilson says listening to a family's stated needs can make a tailored structure possible.
4. What deal track records show. Wilson says investors need to ask whether a claimed track record reflects sole general partner responsibility and raising all the capital, or a co-GP role with a smaller contribution. He describes people citing 12 deals when they brought in 25k for one and 400k for another without managing the asset.
5. Fundraising has become difficult. Wilson says raising capital is hard even for large platforms and experienced fundraisers. He reports that Chip Perkins, a placement agent who has raised $8 billion over 40 years, calls this the hardest time ever and says there is no single trick or strategy.

In their words

"Meeting in person and reversing that exchange where their message from you is not a pitch, it's an offer of value."

"the most expensive decision might be making no decision and just staying where you're at"

Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth

Wilson connects the trust premium to Robert Cialdini's studies, then points to verified membership and in-person events as ways the club tries to earn it.