How Much Does a Family Office Cost in 2026? The Full Breakdown
By Aurelius Advisory Team · Published 2026-06-02 · Updated 2026-07-07 · 7 min read
The short answer: A dedicated single family office typically costs $1M–$2M a year at the small end (4–6 staff) and $8M–$10M+ for a large office, which works out to roughly 30–120 basis points of assets under management. Setup adds $50,000–$250,000 depending on jurisdiction and structure. Below roughly $50M–$100M in investable assets, a multi-family office — usually charging 0.3%–1% of assets — is almost always the more rational choice.
The honest answer nobody leads with
When families ask us what a family office costs, they usually mean the licence fee. That is the smallest number on the page. The licence is thousands of dollars; the office is millions — because a family office is not a registration, it is an operating company with payroll, systems, premises and auditors.
After sixty-plus mandates across the DIFC, Switzerland and Singapore, our rule of thumb has not changed: budget the running cost first, and only then decide whether the structure deserves to exist. The families who get this backwards build offices they quietly dismantle three years later.
Annual running costs, by office size
Industry benchmarks and our own mandates converge on the same brackets. Staff is always the dominant line — typically 60–70% of the total — followed by technology, premises, and professional fees.
| Office profile | Team | Typical annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lean SFO (outsourced investing) | 2–4 staff | $700k – $1.5M |
| Standard SFO | 5–8 staff | $1.5M – $3M |
| Full-capability SFO | 10–15 staff | $3M – $6M |
| Institutional-grade SFO | 20+ staff | $8M – $10M+ |
Cost as a percentage of assets
Measured against assets under management, family offices cost between roughly 30 and 120 basis points a year. The spread is mostly scale: offices below $500M in AUM average around 100 bps, while offices above $1B fall to 35–40 bps. This is why the size of the balance sheet — not the family's appetite for control — should drive the decision.
A useful test we give every family: if your office's projected annual cost exceeds 1% of investable assets, the structure is consuming the return advantage it was built to protect.
Setup costs by jurisdiction
One-time establishment costs vary more by jurisdiction than families expect. Indicative 2026 figures for a single family office:
| Jurisdiction | Key fees | Realistic year-one total |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai (DIFC) | $8k application + $12k licence + service providers | $45k – $80k |
| Switzerland | CHF 5k–15k formation + CHF 100k AG capital | CHF 60k – 150k |
| Singapore | Entity + fund structure + advisory | S$80k – S$200k |
| London (UK) | Company formation + FCA analysis + advisory | £40k – £120k |
When a multi-family office is the cheaper answer
A multi-family office typically charges 0.3%–1% of assets, sometimes with fixed retainers. For a family with $30M, that is $90k–$300k a year — against $1M+ to run even a lean dedicated office. The arithmetic only flips somewhere between $50M and $100M+, and even then, families who dislike managing staff often stay with an MFO deliberately.
The decision is rarely purely financial. Control, privacy and the family's operating businesses all weigh in — we cover the full trade-off in our comparison of single and multi-family offices.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum wealth needed for a family office?
There is rarely a statutory minimum, but a dedicated single family office usually becomes cost-effective from $50M–$100M in investable assets. Below that, multi-family offices (from as little as $5M–$10M) deliver similar services at a fraction of the cost.
Why do family offices cost so much to run?
Because they are real operating companies: investment and accounting staff, portfolio and reporting technology, premises, custodians, auditors, legal and compliance. Staff alone is typically 60–70% of the budget.
How much does a DIFC family office cost to set up?
In the DIFC, expect an $8,000 application fee, a $12,000 annual commercial licence, plus corporate services and office space — a realistic year-one total of $45,000–$80,000 before staff.
Are family office costs tax-deductible?
It depends on jurisdiction and structure. Some structures allow management-company expenses to be offset; others do not. This is a design decision that should be made at setup, not discovered at the first audit.