- Family offices can pay six-figure salaries but require intense dedication.
- Selecting candidates often boils down to a “personality fit,” recruiters said.
- Candidates should master more skills that add value and learn from past mistakes.
People who work for family offices often juggle much more than just spreadsheets.
Many ultra-wealthy people set up dedicated offices, which could have a handful or dozens of employees, to oversee their investments, philanthropy, and high-end toys, like yachts. An office might look after one person’s money in one city or that of multiple generations across countries.
Family office employees, in turn, can be paid on par with, or even better than, banking, private equity, and other top finance jobs. But the unique nature of the job means headhunters are often looking beyond basic finance skills when scouting candidates for jobs.
In recent years, Singapore has emerged as a global hotspot to set up family offices, thanks to its business-friendly environment and lack of capital gains tax.
Billionaires like Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin have established family offices in the city-state. Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, also expanded his wealth management operations to Singapore in 2022.
Business Insider spoke to three recruiters for family offices, two of whom are based in Singapore, to find out which traits give a candidate the best shot of landing a job in a family office.
1. Jack of all trades
Unlike many corporate jobs’ clearly-defined responsibilities, family office staff — even executives — juggle a lot, said Paul Westall, the cofounder of Agreus Group.
“A chief investment officer of Goldman Sachs might not fit nicely into a family office because, at Goldman, they might have 10 analysts and two assistants, while in a family office, they do all the analysis and book their flights,” Westall said.
Jimmy Soh, a consultant at recruitment firm AP Executive, stressed the need to wear multiple hats and cultivate multiple specializations.
“Not only do you have to be an investment manager, but you also have to be a family council and any additional roles coming in like a concierge service,” said Soh.
One Hong Kong billionaire family asked Soh to hire an executive assistant with a $20,000 monthly salary. The candidate needed to be an accountant with an Ivy League degree who spoke three languages. The job description included planning the family’s business and personal trips and managing their yacht and crew.
“Many families will say that the sky’s the limit on the budget for these roles because they’re looking for the best talent,” said Soh. “They can indefinitely add more roles to the job description, which is how they justify this kind of salary.”
2. Independence and all-hours commitment
Family office roles also demand a high level of commitment.
Phone calls could come at lunchtime — or in the middle of the night, Soh said.
“Most can be extremely demanding because they hire you for a specific role and can easily outsource the role to other firms,” Soh said.
In Asia, many family offices are still developing and roles are less defined than in Europe or the US. Candidates must often be willing to “get their hands dirty and work long hours for seven days a week,” said Pierre Pineau, head of Agreus Group’s Singapore office.
“Asian families, in general, expect you to be available 24/7, and that’s not for everyone,” said Pineau. “It’s not about yourself. It’s about what’s best for the family office.”
The jobs can also require independence. Pineau said that in Asia’s emerging markets, employees often work independently in one location while the family’s main office is in another country.
Westall said flexibility is key. He once hired a CIO whose job description included overseeing a family’s investment in purebred racehorses. A top candidate — a former banker — had no experience in horses.
“But then he got this job and rolled with it because he had to,” said Westall. “Key people that last a long time in family offices build trust because when there’s an issue, they resolve it with ideas from outside the box.”
3. Managing multiple family members
In family offices, technical brilliance alone isn’t enough to secure a role. Working closely for one family means managing wealth and relationships.
“One of the main attributes family offices need is emotional intelligence — someone who can work with multiple people of different levels, from the son who’s 16 and you need to explain certain decisions to him, to the wife, and the granddad,” Agreus Group’s Westall said.
Candidates must also have the communication skills to navigate the dynamics and demands of different family members.
“You are presenting your work to people who might not be particularly financially savvy, unlike your peers at a bank,” Westall said.
AP Executive’s Soh said that the “intangibles” — like interpersonal compatibility and standout personality traits— often make or break candidates.
“You might be extremely brilliant, but you might be a very hard person to work with or have some idiosyncrasies that might not gel well with the team,” said Soh. “It comes down to your personality.“
Getting hired often hinges on personality fit, said Westall. Families might reject candidates for small details like how they walk or dress — but others are open to unconventional hires.
Westall shared a story of a family office executive who started as a cleaner while he was in film school. He helped the family with a script they were writing and was eventually hired to oversee investments in the family’s film business.
“Sometimes they are not always looking for someone with obvious experience, but someone who could add value in that family office,” said Westall. “That’s an unusual story, but there are some bizarre ways people can get into family offices.”
Do you have a story to share about working with or for high-net-worth individuals? Email this reporter at lwee@insider.com.
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