This family office cost calculator models the real annual cost of running your wealth three ways — as a single-family office, a multi-family office, or a virtual/outsourced setup — each built line by line on your own numbers, with every assumption shown. Ranges from the 2025–2026 industry benchmarks, not a rule of thumb.
There is one job here: manage your family’s wealth. There are three ways to staff it. This tool prices all three on your numbers, side by side. You are comparing, not choosing a product.
Your own dedicated team, premises, and systems, serving one family. Full control and privacy, carried as a mostly fixed cost.
A seat at a shared office that serves several families. You pay a fee, usually a share of assets, and carry no overhead of your own.
A small in-house core that coordinates outside specialists and a software stack. The leanest setup at most asset levels.
Answer four quick questions. We price a single-family, multi-family, and outsourced setup on your own numbers, side by side.
Your total investable assets. Every cost here scales from this one number: staff, fees, custody, and reporting all track it.
The hub sets your team’s pay, your premises, and the currency the costs come back in. It can differ from where the family lives or where the money sits.
The share held in private equity, real estate, and other illiquid assets. Illiquid holdings cost more to value, hold, and report than listed securities, so this moves every model.
List the holding entities by country, then pick the work the office should cover. Each entity is priced at its own local rates, so an Indian trust is costed in India, not at hub prices.
Annual running cost, each model on your inputs. Ranges, not quotes.
bps means basis points: 100 bps is 1% of assets a year. On a $150M book, 50 bps is $750k a year.
This crossover weighs building a full in-house office against renting a full-service multi-family seat. An outsourced setup can sit below both, which is why it often shows as the leanest option above.
The full build for one model, every line driven by what you entered with the assumption beside it. Investment-manager fees sit in a separate layer: they run roughly the same whichever model you pick, so they do not move this comparison.
Keep the methodology, the benchmark ranges by AUM band, and the assumptions — the build for your own inputs stays on this page.
Independent surveys put a single-family office at roughly 30–120 basis points of assets a year — most offices under $250M spend about $0.9–1.5M, and offices above $1B around $6.6M, with staff about two-thirds of it. A multi-family office instead charges roughly 50–100 bps on assets, and a virtual or outsourced setup runs leaner still. (J.P. Morgan 2026, UBS 2025.) what a single-family office does, and the costs to compare →
Setting up is a one-time bill, separate from the annual running cost the calculator above estimates: entity formation, systems and data migration, recruiting, and premises fit-out. It is usually a fraction of the first full year of operation, but it is real cash to budget before the office opens. the year-one setup bill, line by line →
A dedicated single-family office is generally viable from about $100M in investable assets ($250M is comfortable); below that the fixed cost outweighs the control it buys. Families with roughly $25–100M more often use a multi-family office, and $10–30M a virtual one. In India the single-family threshold is lower in absolute terms (~₹100 cr) because the cost floor is lower. how much net worth you need, compared across markets →
Measured by cost rather than headcount: the J.P. Morgan 2026 survey of 333 single-family offices across 30 countries puts most offices under $250M at about $0.9M a year, with staff roughly two-thirds of it — often a lean team of two to five in the smaller offices, rising with assets and complexity. A multi-family or outsourced setup needs far less in-house headcount. how to staff a single-family office, and the first hire →
Below roughly $250M a multi-family or virtual office is almost always cheaper, because a dedicated office carries a largely fixed cost base. A dedicated single-family office only becomes cost-competitive with a full-service multi-family seat at larger asset levels — the calculator shows the crossover for your own numbers. single-family or multi-family: assign the work before you choose →
A single-family office does not make money — it is a cost centre that spends to manage one family's wealth, and the returns come from the investments, not the office. A multi-family office earns fee revenue from several client families, usually a share of assets. A virtual or outsourced setup is paid through retainers and per-service fees. The investment return on the family's own capital is separate from all three. how family office fees and charges are structured →
In the US a single-family office is generally excluded from SEC registration under the Dodd-Frank "family office" rule, so no licence is needed to manage one family's own wealth. In Singapore a single-family office typically relies on the MAS 13O/13U fund tax-incentive conditions. In India there is no dedicated family-office licence; SEBI registration (AIF/PMS) applies only if you manage third-party capital. where to set up, compared by jurisdiction →
A single-family office doesn't charge a fee — it bears a running cost (staff, tech, premises, advisers). A multi-family office charges a fee on assets, typically 50–100 bps, often tiered and declining with size. A virtual or outsourced office is usually retainers plus per-service fees. Underlying investment-manager and custody fees are separate in every model. compare the full fee bill, by charging basis →
| AUM band | Single-family | Multi-family | Virtual / outsourced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $250M | ~50–130 bps | ~50–100 bps | ~25–55 bps |
| $250M–$1B | ~30–55 bps | ~45–70 bps | ~18–40 bps |
| $1B+ | ~15–40 bps | ~40–60 bps | ~12–30 bps |
Source: J.P. Morgan 2026 · UBS 2025 · RBC/Campden 2025 — survey averages, not this tool’s output. Enable JavaScript for a figure built on your own assets, jurisdiction, entities and services.