What do family offices look for in a deal?
Short answer
I find that family offices look for deals that fit their investment priorities, involve trustworthy operators, and offer a compelling reason to invest. The projected return is only part of the decision. Families also care about who is managing the opportunity, whether they understand the business, how the investment is structured, and whether it fits their existing portfolio. I would never assume that offering the highest projected return makes a deal the most attractive.
Checklist
- Demonstrate alignment with the family's investment focus.
- Explain the business model and investment opportunity clearly.
- Establish the credibility and experience of the operating team.
- Identify the company's genuine competitive advantages.
- Explain the investment structure and how it works.
- Be transparent about meaningful risks and uncertainties.
- Show how the opportunity differs from competing investments.
- Provide enough context for the investor to evaluate the opportunity.
From my talks
"High conviction, trust, and confidence are built through context. That is what drives sophisticated investor actions, not promised returns."
In my discussion of co-investment structures, I described an investment manager who had grown to approximately $300 million in assets under management but subsequently struggled to raise a $10 million fund.
The important distinction was between investors committing to a blind pool and investors choosing individual deals they could evaluate directly. In my experience, some investors are more comfortable starting with individual opportunities, learning how an operator works, and developing trust before considering a fund.
That doesn't mean direct deals are always preferable. It means the structure needs to match what the investor actually wants.
Sources The Top 10 Insights From 120 Speakers at our Investor Summit; Co-Investment Fund & Deal Structures Podcast; Artificial Intelligence & Tech Stack Strategies & Advantage
What to do next
- Identify the investment characteristics that make your opportunity suitable for specific families.
- Review your presentation from the perspective of a skeptical investor.
- Make your team, investment structure, differentiation, and risks easy to understand.
Related questions
- How do I get in front of family offices?
- What is a family office and how do they invest?
- How do I raise money with no track record?
Try the Family office fit check. See all family offices questions.
