Family Office Exchange (FOX)

Family Office Exchange has been running for about thirty years, which makes it one of the oldest membership organisations serving family offices anywhere. It describes what it offers as peer exchange, continuous learning and objective guidance gathered over that period, and the emphasis on research is what separates it from networks built mainly around events.

Who joins

General membership is open to families and individuals involved in managing or overseeing family wealth. Applicants have to qualify against criteria FOX sets, and the organisation admits family principals, the executives of single and multi-family offices, and approved advisers.

That last category matters when you are comparing options. FOX is not a principals-only network. Advisers are admitted under their own terms, which widens the room compared with organisations such as The Family Office Association, and brings in practitioners you may actively want access to. Which you prefer depends on whether you want a closed peer circle or a professional community.

Beyond general membership there is council membership, for people who want to take an active part in working through the operating questions family offices face rather than only receiving the output.

How membership works

Membership is the gate for the forums, and FOX does not publish dues. You inquire and the organisation begins a membership conversation.

Non-members are not shut out entirely, which is unusual and useful. FOX opens workshops, public webcasts and virtual showcases to them, and allows participation in selected forums. That gives you a way to test the quality of the content before committing to an annual fee you cannot see in advance.

What members get

Four things, in rough order of what members tend to value. Councils, which are the standing peer groups where the substantive discussion happens. Research reports, which go deeper into how offices actually operate than most industry surveys. Workshops on specific subjects. And annual forums, including the Private Family Capital Summit that focuses on direct and private investing.

Many FOX programmes carry continuing professional education credits, which matters to the accountants, lawyers and investment professionals inside a family office who have to log them and would otherwise spend separate time and money doing so.

The research is the strongest argument. Conference panels give you anecdote, because each speaker can only describe their own office. Thirty years of aggregated research tells you what is normal across many offices, which is what you need when deciding whether your own staffing, costs or governance are reasonable or an outlier.