The Single Family Office Mistake Wealthy Families Make

In this short video, TFOA founder Marc Sharpe explains the most common mistake wealthy families make when setting up a single family office — and how to avoid it.

It’s a companion to TFOA’s whitepaper on creating a single family office.

Transcript

If you run your family’s wealth out of your operating business, stop.

It feels efficient. The accounting team is already there. The CFO is already on payroll. The bills get paid. But your business creates wealth. Your family office preserves it. Those are opposite jobs. The same staff cannot do both well. I have watched this play out for twenty years. Corporate accountants do not understand trust accounting. Priorities collide every time there is an emergency. Mistakes happen at the worst possible moment.

If your family has serious wealth, give it its own office. Separate mission. Separate staff. Separate focus. Privacy improves. Talent improves. Family members outside the business finally get a seat at the table. Separating early is cheap. Separating later, after something has gone wrong, is not.