Private members’ club for family offices and investment professionals AYU has launched the Approved Family Office (AFO) Programme, a vetting initiative that seeks to tackle a “critical rise” of ‘fake’ family offices.

AYU stated that it developed the programme because too many organisations are calling themselves a family office when they are not to try and get in the room or around the table with wealth holders.

The AFO Programme will look to address this by authenticating each applicant to prove they are genuine and provide them with a certified badge to show they are a credible family office.

It will include a vetting process that ensures applicants manage wealth on behalf of families with more than $50m in assets under management.

Any family office will be able to apply for certification at no cost or obligation, with AYU planning to make a public search function available.

They must define their structure, whether a single- or multi-family office, or a family office offering external services, and demonstrate a commitment to the ‘ethical use’ of AYU’s platform.

AYU said that, as the family office sector expands, it recognised the need to address the rise of ‘fake’ family offices looking to exploit exclusive access to high value investors and events.

“The AFO Programme is a significant step forward in addressing misrepresentation within the family office sector,” commented AYU CEO and founder, Gus Morison.

“By setting high standards and filtering out those who do not meet our criteria, AYU is building a trusted, quality-driven community for family offices.

“This programme will raise the bar across the industry and help create a benchmark of transparency and integrity in wealth management.”

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