Family Office Networks (FON)

Family Office Networks runs a mixture of private meetings, open receptions and published content for the family office world. It presents itself as a platform where families can reach opportunities, insight and solutions, and its programme is broader and more frequent than most single-purpose networks.

Who takes part

The audience spans family office principals and executives, next generation family members, and service providers.

What distinguishes FON is that it does not put all of them in the same room. It runs two separate formats: closed peer-to-peer meetings held by invitation, taking the shape of lunches, dinners and small group gatherings, and open networking receptions where service providers and asset managers are present by design.

That separation is more honest than the common alternative, which is to advertise a peer event and quietly fill the empty seats with sponsors. Here you can tell which kind of gathering you are attending before you accept.

How access works

There is no published application process, no membership tier and no pricing. FON directs interested parties to a contact form or to its phone and email.

The absence of a published qualification test is worth weighing. Networks with a stated threshold tell you who else will be there; this one does not, so the composition of any given meeting is something to ask about when you are invited.

FON also sells advertising and sponsorship to brands wanting to reach its audience. That is a normal way to fund this kind of platform and it is disclosed rather than hidden, but it does mean the content and the introductions sit alongside a commercial relationship. Read recommendations with that in mind.

What participants get

Beyond the two event formats, FON makes direct one-to-one introductions between people in its network, which for a family office seeking a specific kind of counterpart is often more useful than another reception.

It also runs roadshows and presentation series, and publishes weekly newsletters and podcasts covering investment trends, market intelligence and lifestyle subjects. The published content is the part with no barrier to entry and is a reasonable way to judge whether the network reaches the kind of people you want to meet before you engage further.

For a family office, the sensible approach is to be specific about which format you want. Ask for the closed peer meetings if you want other principals, and treat the open receptions as what they are, a place to meet the market.