The family office is no longer just for the superrich — here’s how even smaller fortunes can use one to last generations

• Julius Baer’s head of wealth planning says family offices are no longer just for billionaires.

• María Eugenia Mosquera says hybrid and virtual models allow smaller fortunes to grow wealth like those of the rich.

• She says a well-designed family office can help preserve wealth and values for generations.

Once reserved for billionaires and old-money estates, the family office — a private structure for managing investments, estates, and succession — is undergoing a quiet revolution.

What began as the domain of the Rockefellers and Rothschilds is now being reimagined for entrepreneurs, founders, and even upper-middle-class families seeking to professionalize their approach to managing and preserving wealth.

“The idea that one must have billions to justify a family office is rooted in outdated thinking,” María Eugenia Mosquera, Head of Wealth Planning Key Clients & Family Office Services at Julius Baer, wrote in a blogpost on Friday.

“Similarly, the belief that such structures are overly complex or only relevant to dynastic wealth overlooks just how adaptable the modern family office model has become,” she said.

“Often, the real issue isn’t feasibility, it’s not knowing where to begin.”

A global survey by Julius Baer and PwC — covering 2,485 wealth management and family office experts across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America — found that 41% of ultra-high-net-worth respondents cited cost as the main barrier to setting up a single-family office, followed by management complexity and the belief that their wealth wasn’t substantial enough.

But Mosquera said those concerns are often misplaced.

With the rise of technology, regulation, and global mobility, new models have emerged that allow smaller fortunes to access the same level of professionalism as billionaires, she said.

“Some families prefer to keep control of areas like philanthropy or governance, while others prioritize access to specialized expertise via external partners,” she wrote. “In reality, most family offices adopt a hybrid model, combining internal oversight with outsourced services such as legal, wealth planning, or investment advisory.”

You don’t need dynastic wealth to take a family-office approach, according to Julius Baer.

The same principles that once served Renaissance estates can be applied by today’s entrepreneurs, business sellers, and globally mobile families — at a fraction of the cost.