Family offices increasingly defining ‘purpose of wealth’ to prepare next generation

Family offices are increasingly exploring and defining the purpose of their wealth to prepare the next generation for taking up the mantle, according to AlTi Tiedemann Global and Campden Wealth.

Their Family Office Operational Excellence Report found that 48 per cent of family offices had begun to formally define the purpose of their wealth and were taking steps to achieve this, up from 33 per cent in 2025.

The firms said the findings suggested many families were moving past foundational governance tools, such as investment policy statements, to tackle the broader challenge of understanding what the wealth will support, enable, and sustain across generations.

Almost two thirds (65 per cent) of family offices who had begun defining their wealth purpose were motivated by providing guidance to the next generation.

However, 71 per cent had not yet fully engaged the next generation in the process, highlighting an engagement gap.

The report stated that this engagement gap presented a clear opportunity for families to involve the next generation earlier and more meaningfully in discussions about the role, responsibilities, and future of family wealth.

Around 60 per cent of respondents who had defined their wealth purpose either used external support or later acknowledged they would have benefited from it.

“Many family offices are at a pivotal moment as they prepare to transition wealth to the next generation who may have markedly different world views and values,” commented AlTi Tiedemann Global head of governance and education, Jill Shipley.

“For many families, the conversation is shifting from simply preparing the wealth for the heirs, to preparing the heirs for the wealth.

“The findings reveal a growing recognition that wealth alone does not prepare the next generation for ownership, responsibility, or stewardship.

“Families that are intentional about what their wealth is intended to support and make possible over time, are more likely to sustain both their wealth and their cohesion across generations.”

---