Family Office Consulting
Independent Guidance for Families Building an Enduring Legacy
As family wealth, businesses, and responsibilities grow, so does the complexity of managing them well. A family office can become the central point of coordination for investments, governance, reporting, philanthropy, education, and family engagement; but every family office is different, and every family faces unique decisions along the way.
We help families understand not only how their family office is functioning today, but also how it compares to leading practices observed across hundreds of family offices.
Big Canyon Advisors provides independent family office consulting to help families evaluate where they are today, clarify where they want to go, and develop practical strategies that support their long-term vision. Whether you're considering establishing a family office, improving an existing one, or preparing for the next generation of leadership, we provide experienced guidance tailored to your family's goals.
Why Families Seek Family Office Consulting
Family offices rarely remain static. As families grow, ownership expands, leadership transitions occur, and priorities evolve, today's structure may no longer serve tomorrow's needs.
Families often reach a point where they benefit from an experienced advisor who can step back, evaluate the broader picture, and help ensure that governance, operations, technology, communication, and family engagement continue to support the family's vision.
Our role is not to replace your attorneys, accountants, investment professionals, or other trusted advisors. Instead, we help coordinate those relationships, identify opportunities for improvement, and provide an independent perspective that keeps the family office aligned with both the family's objectives and the realities of an increasingly complex environment.
When Families Engage Us
Every family's journey is different, but many clients come to us during periods of growth, transition, or increased complexity.
Families often seek our guidance when they are:
- Considering whether it's time to establish a family office
- Evaluating whether their existing family office is serving the family effectively
- Preparing for leadership or ownership transitions
- Coordinating multiple advisors and outside professionals
- Strengthening governance and decision-making processes
- Improving communication and reporting across generations
- Reviewing technology, operations, or internal controls
- Looking for an objective assessment of their current family office
Often, the greatest value comes from asking thoughtful questions before challenges become significant problems.
Family Office Consulting Services
We advise families across many aspects of designing, operating, and continually improving their family office.
Strategic Planning
Helping families define priorities, establish long-term objectives, and create practical roadmaps for future generations.
Governance
Developing governance structures that clarify responsibilities, improve decision-making, and strengthen accountability.
Organizational Design
Evaluating staffing, leadership responsibilities, advisor coordination, and operational effectiveness.
Operations & Technology
Reviewing reporting, workflows, systems, cybersecurity, and internal processes to improve efficiency and reduce operational risk.
Family Communication
Helping families create healthier communication practices, educational initiatives, and decision-making processes that encourage long-term engagement.
Advisor Coordination
Working alongside attorneys, accountants, investment professionals, trustees, and other advisors to help ensure every part of the family's enterprise works together effectively.
Family Office Diagnostics & Best Practice Review
Even well-established family offices benefit from an independent review. As families evolve, new generations become involved, technology advances, and operations become more complex, it becomes increasingly valuable to step back and evaluate whether the family office continues to support the family's long-term goals.
Our Family Office Diagnostic provides a structured assessment of your family office, comparing its governance, operations, technology, reporting, succession planning, and organizational practices against leading family office practices developed through decades of experience working with family enterprises. Rather than simply identifying issues, the diagnostic delivers practical recommendations and a prioritized roadmap for continuous improvement.
What We Evaluate
Our diagnostic examines seven key dimensions of an effective family office:
- Legacy & Family Engagement
- Enterprise & Family Businesses
- Operations
- Technology
- Succession
- Investments
- Compliance
The review combines document analysis, interviews, observations, benchmarking, and practical recommendations tailored to your family's objectives.
What You'll Receive
Every diagnostic includes a comprehensive assessment documenting your current environment, identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement, benchmarking key areas against leading practices, and providing prioritized recommendations that help guide future decisions. Sample deliverables include SWOT analyses, detailed scorecards, benchmarking reports, organizational diagrams, process documentation, and practical recommendations.
Family Office Consulting FAQ's
Family Office Embedded in Family Business?
Family business staff have increasingly taken on personal (mostly financial) tasks for family members, and the family wants to expand those services to next generation or perhaps to owners not working in the business. However, family offices are complex: what services should be offered, to which generation or family members, what is in-sourced vs. outsourced, does it remain embedded in the business or separated, and how will it be funded?
Single- or Multi-Family
Office?
We've had a liquidity event and our friends are telling us we should form a family office. Our investment advisor says we can use their multi-family office. There are a lot of options; how do we decide which one is best for our family?
Are We Growing into a Family Office?
Our business is probably not large enough to justify a family office yet, but we expect to be there in the next few years. Are there services we can begin to offer today that can grow into a family office as the business and wealth continues to expand? Let's create a business plan, including triggers for how and when to expand the office.
Best Practices for our Family Office?
We've had a family office for several years and are very private. As a result, we don't always know what other family offices are doing. Is our office too small or too large? Do we have the right controls in place? Are there services we should out-source? Are we using the right technology?
What is family office consulting?
Family office consulting helps families evaluate, design, improve, and govern the structures that support their wealth, businesses, investments, and long-term legacy.
Do you replace our existing advisors?
No. We work alongside your attorneys, accountants, investment professionals, trustees, and other advisors, helping coordinate their efforts while providing an independent perspective focused on the family's overall objectives.
Can you help us decide whether we need a family office?
Yes. Many families engage us before establishing a family office to evaluate whether one is appropriate, what services it should provide, and how it should be structured.
Can you review an existing family office?
Absolutely. Our Family Office Diagnostic evaluates your current family office against leading practices and provides practical recommendations for improvement.
How long does a consulting engagement last?
Every engagement is different. Some families seek guidance on a specific project, while others retain us as an ongoing advisor through periods of growth, governance development, or generational transition.
How confidential is the process?
Confidentiality is fundamental to every engagement. Family offices manage deeply personal and sensitive matters, and we approach every relationship with professionalism, discretion, and respect for your family's privacy.
Related Insights
Continue exploring topics that families commonly consider when establishing, evaluating, or evolving a family office.
Begin the Conversation
Every family office reaches important decision points.
Whether you're considering creating a family office, strengthening an existing one, or preparing the next generation of leadership, Big Canyon Advisors provides experienced, independent guidance grounded in decades of advising family businesses and family offices.
Let's begin a conversation about how your family office can continue to support your family's vision for generations to come.
