Study: Women Taking Charge of Family Offices

Last year Deloitte found that, on average, women were serving in leadership roles at 15 percent of family offices around the globe. 

Now comes new data indicating nearly twice that percentage of family offices have women in executive positions.    

Botoff Consulting — a firm specializing in serving the family office industry — reports that 29 percent of the more than 400 family offices it surveyed have women in management roles, a proportion that surpasses the 25 percent of American corporations where women operate in executive roles.  

More significantly, of the 433 family offices Botoff surveyed, 16 percent said women who were making the investment decisions.  

Is a larger trend unfolding where women are taking the helm as leaders in the family office sector? So it would appear. CNBC recently profiled several women who now serve in key roles at several of the country’s most lucrative family offices.  

“A growing number of women are leading family offices as billionaires like Sergey Brin and Michael Dell name female chief investment officers of their private investment firms,” reports CNBC. 

The network showcased four female executives — Elizabeth Lilly of Pohlad Companies, Kristin Gilbertson of Access Industries, Noelle Laing of Builders Vision and Margo Doyle of S-Cubed Capital  — who shared their stories detailing how they worked their way up the respective ladders at their firms and now help manage several top-ranked family offices. 

Greater Leadership Roles 

Deloitte’s 2024 data suggests these four profiles are not anomalies. Worldwide, women are increasingly emerging as family office decision-makers. 

“While the gender gap is still prevalent, women are increasingly earning their own fortunes and taking on greater leadership roles within the family enterprise,” said Deloitte. 

Its findings confirm that women now serve as the principals in 21 percent of FOs located in Africa, 18 percent of firms in Asia, 20 percent in Europe and 17 percent in South America. Only family offices in the Middle East — where 10 percent of firms have women in executive roles — trail family firms in North America.

The fact that these firms cater almost exclusively to ultra-wealthy clients may factor into Deloitte's findings. 

Deloitte determined that “women are more likely than men to utilize a family office for their wealth management,” something it attributes to the fact that women make up 10 percent of all individuals worldwide who have at least $100 million or more in wealth to manage. (Men, meanwhile, control the other 90 percent.) “However, [women] represent a more notable 15 percent of all family office principals with $100 million or more in wealth.” 

For years, family offices have been viewed as male-dominated wealth management firms catering only to the needs of their high-net-worth clients, but for many, this viewpoint is passé — in part anyway. To compete with large brokerage houses, family offices have had to evolve. Although it has been relatively slow in coming, women are taking charge of family offices, which signals one more way the family office industry is evolving.  

Next Steps? 

Want to know more?

Women assuming leadership roles at family offices is only one of several trends explored in The State of Play for Family Offices, 2025, a new eBook from Avestix. 

The eBook also delves into the coming “great wealth transfer” and what it means to financial services firms, large and small. The eBook also looks at the investment preferences of post-Baby Boomer investors and their growing appetite for AI, blockchain, quantum computing and other cutting-edge investment opportunities.  

If you’re an investment professional seeking to fully serve next-gen investors, we invite you to download a complimentary copy of the eBook. e it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Download The State of Play for Family Offices, 2025.  

This article is for informational purposes only. All investments involve risk and some investments and investment sectors discussed may not be suitable for all investors. Please consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.