Why Hong Kong’s family offices are thriving, as high-net-worth individuals build their wealth

Family offices are making themselves felt in Hong Kong. In recent years, not only has the city attracted many more such companies – which take care of all a family’s financial needs, employing their own experts – but the scope of those companies has been growing.

They are typically established after a family’s assets grow, usually through a successful business, and its members want to do more with their money. Their role can be a varied one: naturally, it involves asset allocation, but it can also take in everything from succession planning to philanthropy.

The family office model was pioneered by some of the wealthiest US families in the 19th century but has become increasingly popular since the 1980s. They’re still most common in North America, but they’ve also taken off in Hong Kong in recent years, and there are now more than 2,700 in the city, according to a 2024 report from Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and Deloitte. The government’s target is to attract another 200 more by the end of 2025.

The growth has happened largely as a result of government measures introduced in 2023. The eight-pronged approach includes an advantageous profits and salaries tax regime; the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, which makes it easier to move assets to the city; and the establishment of FamilyOfficeHK, a dedicated team within InvestHK.

The main distinction among family offices is between single and multifamily offices. As the name suggests, the former take care of the needs of a single family; they can vary in size from a single principal controlling tens of millions to the likes of Walton Enterprises, which controls the fortune of the Walmart-owning Walton family and is worth about US$225 billion. Multifamily offices can be anything from an overgrown single family office – typically, where a successful family has opened their office up to their friends – to massive external service providers that more closely resemble traditional asset managers, and tend to focus more on a suite of financial services.

There are a number of advantages to a family office structure. They allow families to have everything under their control, with staff directly employed by them who are unambiguously looking out for their interests, not trying to sell them certain products. They can take a comprehensive view and look after everything the family needs, employing a flexible approach. They also offer privacy, the ability to separate business and family assets more easily, and transparent governance.

“At a certain point, with a large amount of wealth, families need diversification in their investment portfolio: deals, real estate, luxury assets,” said John Wong, China family business and private client services leader for accountancy firm PwC. “The services offered by banks and traditional asset managers might not be able to fulfil that.