Recruiting for Discretion

Hiring for a family office is one of the hardest problems in wealth management. Three things make it that way: a tiny candidate pool, a need for personal discretion that no interview can really measure, and a confidentiality requirement that shapes everything from the first phone call.

I've spent years running retained searches for single-family offices. Almost every engagement starts the same way: no one can know it's happening. That changes who you can call. What you can say when you do. How long everything takes. You don't post these roles and sort through applications.

Why is the family office talent pool so small?

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Supply and access. Both are working against you. Campden Wealth's 2025 North American report found that 96% of family offices find it difficult or extremely difficult to hire talent. RBC and Campden Wealth's December 2025 data puts the figure above 90%.

Part of it is pure math. As of late 2024, there were roughly 8,030 single-family offices globally. Senior positions turn over slowly. Sometimes once every ten or fifteen years. The candidate pool for any given search is small by definition.

But the deeper problem is access. Before a search even starts, many families hand me a list of offices and firms I can't approach. They want to protect long-standing relationships and avoid signaling that something is changing inside their organization.

Brian Adams, a partner at recruiting firm Mack International, told Modus News: "Some of these families have been doing business together for a very long time, or have known each other socially for a very long time." You start with a smaller map than most people realize.

What does discretion mean in family office recruitment?

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Judgment. Restraint. An innate sense of what should and shouldn't be shared, and with whom. The Agreus Group put it well: technical skills can be taught, but these qualities are what differentiate a good hire from a great one.

Think about what a typical week looks like. A family office professional might coordinate international travel, manage a $500 million portfolio, handle estate planning documents, and facilitate a complex real estate deal. Along the way, they learn things about medical conditions, family disagreements, pending deals, and high-stakes negotiations.

Holding all of that without letting it slip, even casually, is what defines trustworthiness here. Chris Dickson of RSM made this point clearly: even the best technical hire won't last without trust, rapport, and confidence with the family.

Why is every family office hire now a security decision?

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Because the person you bring in will have access to financial records, personal information, estate structures, and investment strategies. One misplaced trust can cause damage that goes well beyond a bad hire.

And the threats have gotten worse. Deloitte's 2024 cybersecurity report found that 43% of family offices experienced a cyberattack in the prior 12 to 24 months. RSM reports that 83% of single-family offices cite cyberattacks or data breaches as their top operational risk.

Many offices now segment access so different team members see different information based on role, tenure, and the level of trust they've earned. This isn't paranoia. It's just good practice.

What does a retained search look like for a family office?

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It's a different animal than institutional hiring. Five stages, roughly:

1. Confidential mandate. The search parameters are often shared verbally, not in a written brief. The family's priorities, concerns, and constraints come directly to the recruiter.
2. Restricted sourcing. Candidates are approached one at a time, carefully. Certain firms and offices are off-limits to protect existing relationships.
3. Graduated disclosure. The family's name might not come up until a second or third conversation. Sometimes not until the offer stage.
4. Behavioral assessment. This goes beyond credentials. It's about how a candidate talks about previous employers, whether they volunteer details they shouldn't, and how they handle ambiguous scenarios involving sensitive information.
5. Compensation alignment. Family office compensation, which now sits at a median of $825,000 in total pay for investment-focused CEOs and $900,000 for CIOs, comes up later in the process than it would elsewhere.

I've run searches where the Principal's own children didn't know the family was looking for a new CEO. Where the outgoing CFO was still in the seat, performing well, but the family had quietly decided the next chapter required a different kind of judgment.

The red flags are subtle. I use what I call the "shiny object test." I watch for name-dropping. An eagerness for public recognition. A lack of sensitivity to what goes unspoken in a room. These signals matter more than any credential on a resume.

Finding the right person for a family office is slow, careful work. It takes patience and relationships built over years, paired with the understanding that the process itself has to be as discreet as the role demands. Discretion isn't something you list on LinkedIn. It's a quality that proves itself when no one is watching.

For a closer look at how to structure the professional team around a Principal, see our piece on building high-performance teams for family offices.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Why is it so hard to hire for family offices?

The candidate pool is tiny. Roughly 8,030 single-family offices exist globally. Senior roles don't turn over often. And confidentiality requirements limit which candidates and firms you can even approach. Campden Wealth's 2025 data shows 96% of family offices find hiring difficult or extremely difficult.

What is the biggest challenge in family office talent acquisition?

Finding people who are both technically excellent and genuinely discreet. Family office professionals handle sensitive information about wealth, health, family dynamics, and business dealings. You can't assess someone's judgment about what to share and what to keep quiet through a standard interview.

How much do family office executives earn?

As of 2025, median total compensation for investment-focused family office CEOs is $825,000. CIOs earn a median of $900,000. Compensation discussions typically happen later in the search process than they would in institutional finance.

Why do family offices use retained search firms?

Because the process demands absolute confidentiality, careful candidate outreach, and deep knowledge of how these offices actually work. A retained engagement gives the recruiter room to move slowly and protect the family's privacy throughout.

What cybersecurity risks come with family office hiring?

Every new hire is a potential cybersecurity exposure. Deloitte found that 43% of family offices experienced a cyberattack in the prior 24 months. And 83% of single-family offices cite cyberattacks as their top operational risk. Many offices now segment information access by role and tenure to manage this.

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