Cracking the Code: Attracting Top Talent to Family Offices

Family offices are experiencing a surge in popularity, with nearly 17,000 operating worldwide. Despite this growth, attracting top-notch talent remains a significant challenge. If you’re grappling with how to draw the best candidates into your family office, you’re in good company. Here’s a closer look at what family offices are, common candidate perceptions, current hiring hurdles, and effective strategies to enhance your appeal.

Understanding Family Offices

In simple terms, a family office is an independent asset manager. These entities typically manage the wealth of one or multiple families, aiming to grow their funds through various methods such as venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds. They can be structured in complex ways, often involving various trusts, to meet the specific needs of the families they serve.

Candidate Perceptions of Family Offices

One major challenge in attracting candidates is overcoming the perception that family offices are primarily focused on growing the wealth of High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs). Which is partly true. Additionally the closer proximity to HNWIs can sometimes make candidates uncomfortable, fearing an environment too close to the top.

Candidates who are drawn to family offices often come from private equity, venture capital, asset management, or Big 4 firms catering to these sectors. These individuals are typically looking to move into private enterprises and prefer less structured and regulated environments.

Current Hiring Struggles

Family offices face several hurdles in recruitment:

• Lack of Branding: Unlike larger institutions, family offices often struggle with visibility and branding. Without a strong presence, it’s challenging to attract the right talent.

• Smaller Teams: Smaller team sizes can make it hard to demonstrate clear career progression, which is a key factor for many candidates.

• Misunderstanding of Family Offices: Many candidates are not familiar with what family offices do, leading to misconceptions and reluctance to consider these roles.

Mid-level accounting roles, such as finance managers and financial accountants, are particularly tough to fill. Candidates in these roles are often newly qualified accountants from large firms, used to larger teams and high-profile projects. They might view family offices as slower and more secretive, but in reality, they offer a chance to work on complex accounting at a more manageable pace compared to the high-pressure environments of private equity and investment banking.

Strategies to Attract Top Talent

Here are some strategies to help you attract the best candidates to your family office:

• Offer Comprehensive Learning and Development: Provide a clear path for career growth. Engage with junior candidates about their career ambitions and show how your family office can support their development. For instance, allow a junior accountant to spend part of their time with the investment team to build their skills. Emphasise that while you hope they stay long-term, you are prepared to support their growth even if they move on after a few years. This approach positions your family office as a valuable training ground.

• Highlight Unique Opportunities: Emphasise the unique aspects of working in a family office. This could include involvement in direct investments, opportunities to work closely with HNWIs, or the ability to invest alongside the family office. Such perks can differentiate you from larger firms.

• Address Work-Life Balance: While work-life balance is a common topic, it should be earned. Encourage candidates to understand that initial hard work can lead to better balance later in their careers. This perspective helps ensure that candidates are committed to putting in the effort while recognising the long-term benefits.

In-House vs. Outsourced Finance Talent

With the rapid growth of family offices, many start by outsourcing their accounting functions. However, as financial operations become more complex, bringing in-house talent becomes crucial. When dealing with intricate structures like various trusts and investments in VC and PE, having an in-house finance director (FD) can provide focused support and peace of mind. While you don’t need to abandon outsourcing entirely, an FD can act as a dedicated point of contact and enhance your overall finance strategy.

Effective Hiring Strategies

One effective strategy involves accepting that candidates might stay for only 2-3 years. Use this as a selling point by presenting the role as a development opportunity. For example, frame the position as a stepping stone to becoming a Financial Controller, Portfolio Manager, or FP&A Specialist. Highlight how your family office has successfully developed junior accountants into well-rounded financial controllers within a few years. This approach aligns the candidate’s growth with your business needs, creating a win-win situation.

Enhancing Your Branding

Finally, effective branding is essential. While you don’t need expensive campaigns, a clear and engaging one-pager can make a big difference. Include information about your investment portfolio, team size, and backgrounds to provide candidates with a clearer picture of your business. Transparency helps counteract the natural secrecy of family offices and makes them more appealing to top talent.

Trace has a proven track record of placing exceptional accounting professionals into family offices across the UK. With a network that spans decades, we go far beyond the reach of traditional recruiters. Our approach is highly discreet, and we pride ourselves on attracting the best talent for our clients.

If you’re a family office looking to grow or upskill your finance team, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And if you’re a candidate working within the family office space and want career advice, I’d be happy to assist—reach out to me at aaron.oshea@tracerecruit.com or call on +447395193636 / +44 20 30897510