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Family Office Succession Planning Is Also a Hiring Plan

Family office succession planning covers two transitions. The first moves wealth and leadership to the next generation. The second replaces the senior professionals who run the office, including the chief financial officer (CFO), the chief investment officer (CIO), and the executive director.

This article is for family office principals and the family members who oversee the office. It explains why staff succession carries real risk and what a complete plan covers.

The short answer: a family office succession plan should name every role the office cannot run without, set a timeline for each transition, and define how the office will find and pay the next person. Half of the family offices surveyed do not have a complete plan, according to a 2026 report from RBC Wealth Management and Campden Wealth.

What does 2026 research say about family office succession planning?

Two major 2026 reports show that most family offices are not ready to replace key people.

RBC Wealth Management and Campden Wealth, a global membership organization for families of significant wealth, surveyed 155 single-family and private multi-family offices across the Americas for the 2026 North America Family Office Report, released September 29, 2026. Of those offices, 123 are based in the U.S. The findings:

  • 23% went through a generational transfer in the past five years.
  • Nearly a third are concerned about the retirement of key family leaders and staff.
  • Half have a succession plan that is incomplete or does not exist.

The report states that a proper succession plan builds an office that can withstand transitions of both wealth and talent.

J.P. Morgan Private Bank found the same pattern in its 2026 Global Family Office Report, which surveyed 333 single-family offices in 30 countries. A third of respondents ranked the lack of a succession plan for key decision makers among the top risks to their office. Another third named overreliance on a single individual or provider.

Why do senior staff create succession risk in a family office?

Most family offices run on small teams, so one departure can stop a core function.

Elisa Shevlin Rizzo leads family and family office advisory at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in the U.S. In a webcast on the bank’s 2026 report, she said many offices run as lean shops. They rely on decision makers and executives who have worked with the family for many years.

In a lean office, one person often holds the portfolio history, the family’s preferences, the advisor relationships, and the reporting process. When that person retires, the office loses all of it at once.

Consider a single-family office where the CFO manages tax coordination, banking relationships, and quarterly reporting to the family. If that CFO gives six months’ notice, the office has six months to document those relationships and hire a successor. Without a plan, the family absorbs the gap.

Why does talent competition raise family office costs?

Competition for talent is raising what family offices pay to run.

J.P. Morgan lists talent competition as one driver of rising operating costs. An office with $1 billion or more in assets now spends an average of $6.6 million a year to operate, up from $6.1 million in the bank’s 2024 report.

Rizzo said costs climb as an office brings in non-family professionals for key roles. Investment professionals expect pay at the rates large wealth management firms and hedge funds offer.

A succession plan that names a role without a budget for it is incomplete. Benchmark compensation for each critical role before a search begins.

How does wealth management consolidation affect family office hiring?

The firms that compete with family offices for finance and investment talent are changing owners at a record pace.

Echelon Partners counted 120 registered investment adviser (RIA) transactions in the second quarter of 2026, according to Investment News. Private equity-backed buyers made 91 of them, or 75.8%. That was the highest share on record. Echelon projects about 500 deals for the full year, above the prior record of 466 in 2025.

An ownership change may bring new compensation structures and reporting lines for senior professionals. A family office with a defined succession plan and a budget is ready to act when qualified candidates enter the market. [VERIFY: Brittany to confirm this matches what Dossier Search sees in active searches]

What should a family office succession plan include?

A complete plan covers six steps.

  1. Map critical roles. List every role whose departure would stop a core function, such as the CFO, CIO, controller, general counsel, and executive director.
  2. Document key-person dependencies. For each role, record the relationships, systems, and decisions that sit with one person.
  3. Set a timeline. Ask each senior professional about retirement plans and update the answers every year.
  4. Identify internal successors and gaps. Decide which roles you can fill from within and which need an external search.
  5. Benchmark compensation. Price each role against the firms you compete with for talent, including wealth management firms and hedge funds.
  6. Plan the overlap. Budget time for the outgoing and incoming executive to work side by side.

Angie O’Leary, head of wealth strategies and solutions at RBC Wealth Management in the U.S., said families need succession planning “well before a transition is imminent.”

How Dossier Search approaches family office succession hiring

Dossier Search is a boutique executive search firm that places senior leaders in family offices, investment and financial services firms, foundations, and trusts. It launched in July 2026 as the sister firm to Pocketbook Agency, which brings 12 years of recruiting experience. Read the launch announcement.

Every Dossier Search engagement starts with discovery. The team maps the office’s culture, structure, and goals before sourcing begins. For succession hiring, that means defining what the outgoing executive does today and what the office needs from the next one.

“We built this firm to be the one clients call when a leadership hire has to be right the first time,” said Brittany Dolin, Founder and CEO of Dossier, in the firm’s July 2026 launch announcement.

Family office succession planning FAQ

What is family office succession planning?

Family office succession planning is the process of preparing for changes in who owns, leads, and runs a family office. It covers the next generation of the family and the senior professionals who manage the office day to day.

Which roles should a family office succession plan cover?

The plan should cover every role whose departure would stop a core function. Depending on the office, that can include the CFO, CIO, controller, general counsel, and executive director.

When should a family office start succession planning?

Start before anyone announces a departure. RBC’s 2026 report found that nearly a third of the family offices surveyed are already concerned about the retirement of key family leaders and staff.

Should a family office promote from within or hire externally?

It depends on whether an internal candidate already handles the role’s core responsibilities. Where no one does, the plan should budget for an external search and an overlap period.

Start your family office succession hiring plan

If a senior professional in your office is within five years of retirement, map the role now. Dossier Search helps family offices define and fill CFO, CIO, and executive director roles before a transition becomes urgent.

Talk to Dossier Search about family office executive search.

Dossier is an affiliate firm of Pocketbook Agency, an award-winning boutique recruitment firm placing exceptional, high-level administrative and support roles across the US in both corporate and domestic settings. Pocketbook is recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Professional Recruiting Firms for 2024, 2025 & 2026, as well as by Business Insider America’s Top Recruiting Firms and Inc Magazine’s PowerParter’s List. For additional inquiries, please reach out to Hello@dossiersearch.com.

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