Family Offices mushroom
26/08/2008
A recent survey by the Family Wealth Alliance listed 83 multifamily office firms with $334 billion under management, compared with 63 firms advising on $169 billion five years ago.
The number of ultra-high net worth households in the United States, defined as those with a net worth of $5 million or more, rose to a record 1.16 million in 2007, up from 210,000 in 1997, according to Chicago-based Spectrem Group.
There are now 9.2 million U.S. households worth $1 million or more, not including the value of their primary residence, according to Spectrem.
Between 2,500 and 3,000 family offices operate in the United States with thousands more existing informally inside privately controlled businesses, according to John Benevides, president of the Family Office Exchange, which advises exceptionally wealthy families. Benevides said the market is unquestionably one that continues to grow.
