How is a Virtual Family Office different from a Multi-Family Office and a Family Office?

Historically, family offices have only been accessible to ultra high-net-worth families due to their high cost to operate. In the last decade, multi-family offices were created to help spread the cost of a family office between multiple families, but this still left the general high-net-worth population without access to the various lucrative wealth, tax and business strategies these experts use.

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The Virtual Family Office: A Cost Effective Solution for Your Everyday Millionaire

The Virtual Family Office (VFO) is an evolution of the traditional model, leveraging the digital world we live in today to provide similar services to a wide range of clients, but without the need for physical office space or a dedicated, in-house, expensive team.

A VFO is a team of specialists across tax planning, wealth management, legal services, business advisory and risk management that work in conjunction with their client’s advisor and/or accountants. This model allows for the same level of personalized service found in a traditional family office or multi-family office but with greater flexibility and at a significantly reduced cost. This makes the VFO a great option for your clients that are high-net-worth, but can’t justify the cost of a multi-family office or family office– typically $250,000 or more in income or $1M or more in net worth.

The flexibility of a VFO is one of its standout features. Advisors and accountants can engage the specialists they need for their clients, and scale them up or down as their client’s financial situation changes. For instance, a business owner that experiences a liquidity event, such as the sale of a business, can temporarily engage a business advisory specialist to handle the complexities of the transaction, and then disengage when that event has passed…all with their trusted advisor and/or accountant quarterbacking the relationship.

One of the main advantages of advisors and accountants working with Elite Resource Team’s VFO is that they can share in the revenue produced from any services the VFO provides.



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Family Office: The Traditional (and Expensive) Model

A traditional family office is a private entity that manages the financial and personal affairs of a single family. The core purpose of a family office is to manage the family’s wealth and preserve it for future generations. This can include a wide range of services such as investment management, tax planning, estate planning, philanthropic management, family governance, and even lifestyle management, like arranging travel or managing properties.

Family offices are highly customized to the specific needs of the family they serve. They often employ a dedicated team of professionals, including financial advisors, tax experts, legal advisors, and estate planners, who work exclusively for the family. This high level of personalization ensures that the family’s unique financial goals are met and that their wealth is managed with their specific values and preferences in mind.


However, the customization and exclusivity of a family office come at a significant cost. The overhead expenses associated with maintaining a full-time staff, securing office space, and investing in necessary infrastructure are substantial. According to research, establishing a traditional family office can require a minimum of $100 million to $250 million in investable assets to make it cost-effective​. As such, traditional family office wealth management is generally reserved for the wealthiest families, where the cost of operation can be justified by the scale of the assets under management.

Why Consider a Virtual Family Office?

While traditional family offices offer unparalleled personalization and control, their high costs make them suitable only for the wealthiest families. Virtual Family Offices provide a flexible, cost-effective alternative that leverages today’s digital world to deliver comprehensive services remotely, making them accessible to a broader range of clients. Ready to see how a VFO can help your firm generate more revenue and improve client satisfaction?

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