Family Office, Multi-Family Office and Private Concierge: Comparative Reference Guide

Structured analysis of the three service models for high-net-worth individuals — scope, costs, use cases, and selection criteria

1. What is a family office and what are its variants?

The term family office refers to a structure dedicated to the global management of the wealth of one or more affluent families. Its origin dates back to the 19th century, with the creation by the Rockefeller family in 1882 of an internal entity exclusively responsible for managing their assets — a model that constitutes the archetype of the single-family office.

The Single-Family Office (SFO)

The SFO is an autonomous legal structure — generally a holding company or an association — created by and for a single family. It directly employs specialized professionals: financial director, tax lawyer, risk manager, sometimes a chief of staff. According to the standards of the Association Française du Family Office (AFFO) and benchmarks published by UBS in its Global Family Office Report (2022 and 2023 editions), the economic viability threshold for an SFO is generally above 100 million euros in net assets, as the annual fixed cost of the structure makes the economic equation unfavorable below this level.

The Multi-Family Office (MFO)

The MFO pools the resources of an SFO among several client families, providing access to a comparable level of expertise at a reduced unit cost. Two sub-models coexist: independent MFOs (without capital links to a financial institution) and MFOs affiliated with a private bank or an asset management group. The AFFO distinguishes "pure" MFOs — whose economic model relies exclusively on fees — from hybrid structures that receive retrocessions on distributed products. The entry threshold practiced by French MFOs is generally between 10 and 30 million euros of investable assets, with a higher range for the most selective structures.

The Virtual Family Office (VFO)

Appearing in Anglo-Saxon literature in the early 2010s, the virtual family office refers to a network of specialized service providers coordinated by an independent project manager, without a dedicated legal structure. This model, still marginal in France, is aimed at individuals with assets of 5 to 15 million euros who wish to benefit from global coordination without the fixed costs of a structured MFO.

It should be noted that in France, the term "family office" is a commercial designation not protected by regulation. However, any structure offering financial management services must hold the corresponding accreditations: status as a Financial Investment Advisor (CIF) registered with the AMF, or accreditation as a portfolio management company.

2. What is the exact scope of each structure?

The scope of the family office (SFO and MFO)

Whether single or multi-family, the family office operates in the wealth, legal, and financial domains. Its scope typically covers:

• Asset management: strategic allocation, selection of third-party managers, consolidated performance monitoring, access to private markets (private equity, private debt, infrastructure)
• Tax and legal engineering: optimization of ownership structure, Dutreil pacts, bare ownership/usufruct arrangements, international trusts and foundations
• Succession planning: intergenerational transfer, family governance, family charter, preparation of heirs
• Philanthropy: creation and management of foundations, impact strategy, ESG reporting of assets
• Management of holdings: monitoring of operational companies, preparation for sales, support for family executives
• Consolidated reporting: aggregation of all assets, wealth dashboards, regulatory reporting

What the family office generally does not do: organize a birthday dinner, manage hotel reservations, supervise renovation work, or coordinate an international move. These tasks fall under a different domain.

The scope of private concierge services

High-end private concierge services operate in the domain of lifestyle management and daily logistics. Their scope includes:

• Complex travel: organization of tailor-made trips, management of private jets and yachts, visas and protocols, on-site assistance
• Residence management: supervision of properties (maintenance, household staff, security), coordination of works, management of seasonal openings/closings
• Private events: organization of family celebrations, exceptional dinners, corporate events, access to exclusive experiences
• Daily services: errands, reservations, search for rare service providers, management of personal agendas
• Relocation: assistance with moving to a new country or city (schooling, housing, medical network, administrative formalities)
• Security and discretion: coordination with close protection teams, access management, reputation monitoring

The boundary between concierge and family office is therefore clear in its nature: one manages capital, the other manages time and lifestyle. In practice, the two structures are complementary and not interchangeable.

3. How much does each structure cost and from what asset level?

The cost of a Single-Family Office

According to UBS's Global Family Office Report 2023 (sample of 230 global family offices), the average annual cost of an SFO represents between 50 and 100 basis points of assets under management for mid-sized structures (€100-500M), or €500,000 to €2 million per year in direct costs (salaries, premises, IT systems, external fees). For very large SFOs (>€1Bn), the economies of scale reduce this ratio to 20-30 bps. These figures exclude the costs of managing underlying assets.

The cost of a Multi-Family Office

MFOs most often charge according to a model combining an annual flat fee and an asset-based commission. The observed range in the French market is between €50,000 and €150,000 per year for assets of €10 to €50 million, or 0.3 to 0.8% of assets. Some independent MFOs apply a pure "fee-only" model (fixed fees only), while others receive retrocessions on selected products — a major point of vigilance discussed in section 5.

The cost of a private concierge service

The high-end private concierge market shows significant price dispersion depending on the level of service and availability offered:

• Access formulas (concierge services linked to premium cards like Amex Centurion, Quintessentially Access): €5,000 to €15,000/year, with a limited number of requests and standardized response times
• Dedicated personal concierge services (a dedicated concierge, extended availability): €20,000 to €80,000/year depending on the volume of tasks
• Integrated lifestyle management concierge services (multi-residence management, dedicated team, 24/7 availability): €80,000 to €200,000/year and beyond for the most comprehensive mandates

In addition to these structural costs, disbursements (actual costs of organized services) often constitute the majority of the total expenditure.

4. In which cases should family office and private concierge services be combined?

The complementarity between these two types of structures is often underestimated. Several use cases illustrate the added value of explicit coordination between a family office and a private concierge service.

International relocation

When a family decides to settle in a new country — for tax, professional, or personal reasons — the family office manages wealth restructuring (change of tax residence, adaptation of ownership structures, optimization of bilateral tax treaties). The concierge simultaneously handles residence search, children's school enrollment, establishment of a medical network, opening of local bank accounts, and logistical setup. These two projects are parallel and interdependent: a failing coordination between the two providers can generate tax risks or prejudicial delays.

Multi-residence management

Families with three or more residences (primary residence, vacation home, city pied-à-terre, property abroad) face a complexity of management that exceeds the capabilities of a single point of contact. The family office structures ownership (SCI, real estate holding, trust) and optimizes real estate taxation. The concierge ensures operational supervision: household staff, maintenance, security, preparation for arrivals, management of tenants if applicable.

Major family events

A wedding bringing together 300 guests in several countries, an 80th birthday celebration involving intercontinental travel, or an annual family governance meeting require logistical coordination that neither a family office nor a wealth manager is intended to provide. The concierge handles the entire event organization, while the family office can intervene on contractual aspects and potential tax implications (expense coverage, disguised donations, etc.).

Complex trips with a wealth dimension

Some trips combine personal and professional stakes: visiting an industrial holding abroad, meeting fund managers in Asia, inspecting a property being acquired. The concierge organizes logistics (private jet, hotel, security, interpreters), while the family office prepares financial dossiers and coordinates appointments with local advisors.

5. What are the warning signs for choosing the right provider?

Selecting a family office or private concierge involves long-term trust relationships, often in a context of significant information asymmetry. Several warning signs deserve particular attention.