Private Client · Family Office CIO
Family Office CIO and Head of Investments search.
The investment leader for a family office’s public-markets, private-markets and direct-deal exposure.
What the role is
A short definition.
A Family Office CIO owns investment strategy for a UHNW principal — asset allocation across public markets, private markets, direct deals, alternatives and real assets — and leads the internal investment team. The role is typically accountable to the principal directly or via an investment committee, and often carries direct decision authority up to defined limits.
Core responsibilities
What we assess candidates against.
- Investment strategy and asset allocation across public markets, private markets, alternatives and real assets
- Manager selection and monitoring across the external portfolio
- Direct deal origination, diligence and execution where the office runs an in-house programme
- Portfolio construction, risk management and performance reporting
- Leading the internal investment team and coordinating with external advisors
- Presenting to and taking direction from the principal or investment committee
When to run this search
Typical triggers.
At the point the office’s investment activity has grown beyond what external wealth managers can effectively coordinate; on a generational transition where the principal wants direct oversight of investment strategy; when the office moves from a fund-of-funds model toward direct investing; when an existing CIO moves on.
How we search for this role
The specific approach we take.
The strongest candidate pools are: prior Family Office CIOs from comparable single family offices; senior Partners at multi-manager private wealth platforms; senior investment leaders from endowments and foundations who have led similar-scale, multi-asset portfolios; and, for direct-investing offices, senior PE Partners moving into a permanent-capital environment. Every search is retained and matched to the specific investment archetype the office operates under.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do you recruit for public-markets, private-markets or generalist CIO roles?
All three. Most family office CIO mandates are generalist across asset classes, but we occasionally run more specialised searches — for example, a Head of Direct Investments alongside an existing generalist CIO.
What experience is required?
Most successful candidates have 15+ years of investment experience and prior team leadership. The specific profile depends on the office’s dominant strategy — public-markets-heavy offices favour multi-manager or hedge-fund backgrounds; direct-heavy offices favour PE or venture experience; generalist offices often prefer endowment or comparable family office experience.
How large does an office need to be to justify a dedicated CIO?
Broadly, an office with $500m+ under management and an active direct-deal or complex asset-allocation programme typically warrants a dedicated CIO. Smaller offices often combine the role with the CFO or engage an outsourced CIO service.
How long does the search take?
Twelve to sixteen weeks is typical, brief to accepted offer. CIO searches tend to run slightly longer than CFO searches because compensation negotiation, particularly on carry and long-term components, is more complex.
Do you support the office in constructing the investment committee alongside the CIO appointment?
We can, where the mandate calls for it. In offices moving from principal-led to governance-led, the CIO appointment often precedes or coincides with the formation of an investment committee, and we can support both.
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