The Fake Family Office Problem

NEWSLETTER

Family office insights this week:

• Solving the fake family office problem

• More on Trump’s gold card scheme

• How to find a family office on social media

• A podcast on an unusual route to the family office world

• Three new family office job opportunities

The Fake Family Office Problem 

As the number of family offices grows, so do the pretenders.

Wealthy families have long guarded their privacy, but as the global family office industry grows, this discretion has become a smokescreen for imposters.

Individuals falsely claiming to represent or have their own family office have become increasingly common.

Headlines in the last year include stories of a fake sheik promising to set up a family office in Hong Kong, and a family office pretender almost making it onto a panel at an esteemed Singapoire conference before being ejected at the last minute.

And most in the industry who attend conferences or networking events have their own experience with those that have not been entirely truthful.

It’s not a good look for family offices or the wealth management industry in general, where trust is so vital.

As the number of family offices grows, verifying the authenticity of individuals and the families they represent is becoming more crucial than ever.

Who are the phonies

Some pretenders don’t seem to have an angle beyond growing their network. They have no funds to invest but nothing to sell. They are likely doing it to cultivate a grandiose sense of importance. But they are arguably the least harmful (although perhaps the most odd!).

Individuals that represent a fund or service and pretend to represent a family office or arbitrarily name themselves a family office to get themselves in the room with other genuine family offices are perhaps the most common.

Ultimately, if that’s the marketing strategy of the fund, some basic due diligence will quickly identify the lack of substance.

The worst type of fakers are those that have built up entirely false identities to ingratiate themselves into the industry, and use that status to launch events or sell services.

The most famous example of these is Anthony Ritossa, who was outed as a real life Dirty Rotten Scoundrel in a high-profile Vanity Fair piece.

What’s in it for them

The individuals involved are actually rarely attempting to deliberately defraud wealthy families - they are usually more focused on selling access, building relationships, selling a service or raising funds.

With family offices representing such vast wealth, financial centres and large institutions are jockeying to attract them - high-end freeloaders take advantage of this.

Events and conferences are another challenge since organisers are eager to have a full house of attendees, but any fake individuals that attend devalue the experience for genuine family offices. 

Organizers need to quickly weed them out in order to maintain trust in their events. They have had to evolve their methods to incorporate more research and fact-checking as the industry gains attention.

We spoke to Keith Johnston, co-founder of the family office community, SFO Alliance that hosts the annual SFO Week conference in London. “The vast majority of members now come through referrals from other members, so that gets rid of most of the nonsense”, Johnston says, “We interview every new member, ask direct questions and verify that by checking their websites and LinkedIn - then we expel people if there are complaints.”

But it’s not always that straightforward, there are also family offices that have shifted their position and their reason for joining networks and attending events has changed, as Johnston notes: 

“The most difficult type to spot is the genuine single family office who are now raising capital for commercial reward, either through a fund or by habitually charging fees on club deals. Almost certainly they have crossed a line and are no longer single family offices.”

Certified and approved

Another route is to build out a database of vetted family offices, an approach taken by AYU, a global private members club for family offices and alternative funds.

After numerous encounters with people posing as family offices, they launched their Approved Family Office Program with the goal of verifying anyone claiming to be a family office, is precisely that.

The five-step verification process includes providing business, banking and investee references, but is also sensitive to the need for discretion.  

“Our process allows them to remain private,” says Gus Morison, founder and CEO at AYU. “They only share sensitive info with us, this is completely private and not shared anywhere. If they don't want to do even that, then it's highly likely they are fake.” 

Morison reports the program has been well-received by members and the wider market, with individuals coming forward to report fake family office players they’ve encountered.

But even within a strict set of parameters to work with, the shifting nature and wide variety of family office structures can cause difficulties, and requires thorough understanding, as Morison points out:

“There is significant nuance in the family office space - especially when an SFO becomes an MFO and when MFOs actually start to look more like banks. It takes a long time to really understand the landscape and the minutiae of the space.”  

Discretion is the better part of valor

While discretion is an inherent part of the family office world, and it’s standard to not disclose who a beneficial owner is, there will always be a need for transparency to join high quality communities.

“Privacy can be a smokescreen for the dishonest and evasive, but there are certain essential questions you have to answer to get access to these exclusive networks,” says SFO Alliance’s Johnston. “If you can't tell me who your principal is, you're not coming in because it's not fair on the others, as I know who theirs are.”

Ultimately, as the global family office industry grows, the more value these tightly knit groups and networks deliver to genuine family offices, allowing them to interact with trust.

And the closer the relationships between them, the quicker and easier it is for them to flag any dubious characters themselves and help others avoid any direct interaction, or confrontation.

* Mr Family Office reached out to Anthony Ritossa for comment but never received a reply.

𝕏 highlights

Digging into the US Gold Card scheme. (see poll below)

Family offices by numbers.

Finding a family office on X.

 💼 where to work

Three notable family office job opportunities currently open…

Chief of Staff - Private Family Office (Houston / Single Family Office)

Senior Manager, Family Office Services - BDO (New York / Service Provider)

Client Service Manager - Moneta (Clayton, MO / Multi-Family Office)

📚 what to read

We’re sticking with fakes and con artists. You may have seen the film, but have you read the book? Catch Me If You Can is the true story of Frank Abagnale, a master con artist who posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer—all before his 21st birthday. He swindled millions using charm and fake checks, staying one step ahead of the FBI until his eventual capture.

📻 what to listen to

The AYU Family Office Podcast is a new podcast from private investment community AYU. In this episode, Sam Copley from Ness Investment Advisors, a European single family office, talks relationships, fake family offices and his unusual route into the industry. 

📺 what to watch

The big news this week for UHNW global citizens is Trump’s proposed Gold Card scheme. An explainer from the WSJ.

And finally…

There’s been a lot of hype around the US Gold Card scheme. I’d love to hear your views on this. Results coming next week.

Coming up, there will be a look at the accounting challenges at family offices, there will be interviews, profiles, and we’ll dig into some different family office locations.

If you’re a SFO in the Cayman Islands or Dubai, hit reply and say hello.

Monday’s Family Office Buzz looked at small family offices, a university family office program, private banks vs family offices and much more.

Until next week, see you on 𝕏 or LinkedIn.

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