Private Market Push: Family Offices Shifting Focus in 2025
By Family Office Executive Recruiter Jacob Gamble — Jacob Gamble is a leading family office executive recruiter placing top-tier talent to align leadership with the long-term vision, values, and legacy of family offices. His expertise spans recruitment for CEOs, CFOs, Chief Investment Officers, and other key roles that bring technical expertise to manage complex portfolios and operations with interpersonal skills to foster trust and collaboration in multi-generational families.
In 2025, family offices are increasingly shifting away from traditional fund investments and focusing on direct investments. Direct equity stakes in operating companies, real estate acquisitions, and investments in startups are all becoming the norm.
This change reflects a growing sophistication among family office leaders and demonstrates an appetite for tighter control.
The question is, why the shift? More importantly, why now?
Here’s a look at what brought this trend about and how it impacts family offices, their founders, and clients.
The Decline of Blind Trust Pools and Commingled Funds
Traditional private equity and hedge fund structures offer diversification and professional oversight. However, they also have some stark limitations.
High Fees
The classic 2-and-20 structure remains costly for family offices, especially when returns underperform benchmarks but still reach the threshold for 20% performance fees to kick in. Transitioning away from pooled trusts allows family offices to negotiate better terms for the business and its clients.
Limited Transparency
Investors often have little visibility into how capital is deployed or how specific companies within the trust are performing. This lack of visibility impedes decision-making and can lead to unfavorable client outcomes.
Restricted Control and Influence
LPs in pooled funds typically lack voting rights or operational input. This limited (or total lack of) control and influence diminishes an office’s ability to shape the direction of its investments.
The result is a migration toward bespoke dealmaking. Family offices can sidestep traditional funds and tailor investments to specific goals. They can also exert influence on business outcomes and deliver more personalized experiences for clients.
Pursuit of Control and Operational Leverage
Family offices are pursuing stakes that allow for board representation and influence over exit timing. Exercising greater control over how equity is managed and invested puts seasoned family offices in control of their destinies.
Transitioning to the direct control route offers:
- Tailored investment structures, such as convertible debt and preferred equity
- Investments that can complement operating companies within the family’s existing ecosystem
- Ability to hold assets as long as value continues to compound (unlike traditional funds bound to exit windows)
Liquidity providers want greater insights and more autonomy. Family offices are uniquely equipped to take this on.
Top offices have generations of business-building experience, and many possess both the capital and the strategic acumen to meet changing client expectations.
3 Private Markets Drawing Family Office Interest
In 2025, family offices are focusing on three key investment verticals: private equity, real estate, and venture and growth.
1. Private Equity
Family offices are increasingly sourcing proprietary deals, either through internal origination teams or partnerships with trusted operators. Often, they co-invest alongside management teams or anchor strategic roll-ups in fragmented industries.
What has changed is the scale. Offices are now underwriting larger transactions, on their own or with a group of aligned families.
2. Real Estate
Real estate remains a cornerstone of family wealth. However, the emphasis has shifted toward direct acquisition and development rather than REITs or blind pools. Industrial, multifamily, and healthcare properties offer defensive income and inflation hedges. Investing in opportunity zones offers upside potential.
Additionally, families are leveraging real estate portfolios to build operating platforms and drive community impact strategies. Real estate can also support philanthropic initiatives and help founders of family offices build lasting legacies.
3. Venture and Growth
Venture investing has surged as offices bypass funds and move directly onto the cap table. Family offices are becoming lead or follow-on investors in seed to Series C rounds. Some of the most popular sectors include fintech, digital health, and climate tech.
Startup founders may find family offices more attractive venture funding providers because of their patience and flexibility, especially when the right opportunity comes along. Capital is not tied to fund mandates or IRR clocks. In some cases, family offices and their founders have know-how that surpasses that of traditional VCs.
Building Institutional Infrastructure to Support Direct Investing
The shift to private markets demands different infrastructure across the following areas:
- Diligence
- Deal sourcing
- Legal structuring
- Portfolio monitoring
- Value creation
In response, family offices are professionalizing in the areas of talent acquisition, tech infrastructure, and governance and reporting.
Talent Acquisition
Family offices need the right talent to lead sourcing and portfolio management efforts. Founders interested in making this shift should seek support from former investment bankers and PE analysts.
Tech Infrastructure
Modernizing a family office’s technology suite is another critical step in the transition to direct investing. To achieve this, business leaders should prioritize deal management platforms, CRM systems, and integrated dashboards that offer sophisticated scenario planning.
Governance and Reporting
Developing institutional-grade risk assessment and reporting frameworks will empower family offices to rise to the new responsibilities associated with direct investing. Founders should also include ESG oversight in their new governance processes so that they can position the office as an appealing investment partner.
The Risks of Going Direct
Direct investing presents both new opportunities and new challenges. The following are some of the biggest barriers that family offices face:
- Sourcing quality opportunities requires a solid reputation, the right resources, and strong relationships
- Direct investments expose portfolios to operational volatility
- Families can struggle to navigate sector-specific complexities without deep industry expertise
That’s why many family offices adopt a hybrid model that allocates a portion of capital to co-investments. Some offices are creating or joining investment syndicates that pool capital with other families. This approach allows them to partner with like-minded entities without surrendering control or governance rights.
Strategic Implications for Founders & CEOs
The rise of family office direct investment presents both an exciting opportunity and a new strategic variable for business leaders seeking capital. These investors often bring:
- A willingness to support a multi-decade vision without the pressure of predefined exits
- Valuable operational insights, especially when the family has built their wealth in a similar industry
- Fewer institutional reporting requirements and less media exposure, which appeal to many startup founders
Family offices are evolving into sophisticated investment platforms. For CEOs and founders, engaging with the new class of investor means finding partners who understand the arc of building and preserving value.
Cowen Partners Family Office Executive Search
Cowen Partners Executive Search is your trusted partner in building a leadership team that secures your family’s legacy while driving growth and innovation. Whether you need a seasoned Chief Investment Officer, a strategic Chief Financial Officer, or a transformative Chief Operating Officer, our family office executive recruiters deliver the talent that makes a difference.
Whether you are an established family office with a long history or a newly created entity just beginning to chart your path, Cowen Partners understands that this is your legacy. Your family office requires robust leadership to navigate the complexities of wealth management, multigenerational planning, and investment strategy.
We specialize in identifying visionary executives who not only protect your legacy but also position it for enduring success with reliable returns. Our tailored approach ensures you secure leaders who will steward your assets with precision, integrity, and a commitment to achieving your family’s long-term goals.
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