Retaining non-family executives in a family office

Retaining non-family executives is reported as a problem by around half of family offices, and the causes the surveys identify are structural rather than financial: a short promotion ladder, undefined roles and a dependence on one principal's goodwill. The tools offices use in response are long-term incentives, co-investment, flexible working and, less often, written governance that makes the job survivable when the family changes its mind.

How bad is the problem

The AlTi Tiedemann Global and Campden Wealth 2025 Family Office Operational Excellence Report, covering 146 single family offices, found 54% of large offices (over $1bn), 61% of mid-sized ($250m to $1bn) and 50% of small (under $250m) have difficulty retaining staff. The previous year's edition, reported by Crain Currency, found 65% voicing retention concerns. Campden Wealth and RBC's North America Family Office Report 2025 found nearly half of offices report difficulty with retention, against more than 90% reporting difficulty with recruitment.

Regional patterns differ. The AlTi and Campden 2025 report found Asia Pacific offices recruit more easily than peers but struggle more with retention, North American offices find retention relatively easy but recruitment hard, and European offices report both.

Hard turnover rates are not published by the benchmark reports. Morgan Stanley's 2025 Single Family Office Compensation Report does not include them. The closest indicators are anecdotal: Iris Xu of Jenga told CNBC in 2025 that turnover in investment roles runs largely between one and two years, while Linda Mack of Mack International told Family Wealth Report that families typically seek a tenure of 10 to 15 years. The gap between those two figures is the retention problem.

Why executives leave

The AlTi and Campden 2025 report named an unclear or unattractive long-term career path in investment roles as the biggest challenge, and quoted the CIO of a large office saying good investment professionals are always ready to leave for a bigger role. Erik Christoffersen of AlTi told Chief Investment Officer that many offices have kept long-tenured staff while letting their pay fall behind market, which stores up a departure.

The CNBC piece recorded the candidate's view. A lawyer who declined a general counsel role described it as putting all your eggs in one basket, because one person could decide to fire him, and cited a lack of transparency around pay and promotion. Reto Jauch of SZ&J contrasted this with the corporate world, where everything is fungible including the CEO.

The governance data supports the complaint. UBS's Global Family Office Report 2026 found only 53% of offices hold an annual performance review for all staff, 49% have job descriptions and 35% have a succession plan for the office itself. Morgan Stanley's 2025 report found family principals are involved in compensation decisions at 74% of investment-focused offices. An executive whose pay, role and future depend on an individual's discretion, with no written framework, has a rational reason to keep options open. The governance framework is therefore a retention tool.

What offices use to retain

Morgan Stanley's 2025 report found 76% of offices with an LTI build in upside sharing rather than fixed awards, which ties the executive's outcome to the family's. The structures are set out in long-term incentives and carry in family offices. Campden Wealth and HSBC's European Family Office Report 2024 found bonuses at 80% of offices, with co-investment at 26%, profit shares at 12% and phantom equity at 5%. The KPMG and Agreus 2025 benchmark found 71% of respondents can work from home and 12% do so full time, and that 62% received a salary uplift in 2024/25. Adam Ratner of Campden Wealth told Crain Currency that flexible working is among the most effective retention measures for the broader team.

Culture and the principal

Pay and plans do not substitute for the relationship. UBS's 2025 report found offices rank personality fit (73%) and family trust (72%) above qualifications when hiring, and the same criteria govern whether an executive stays. Paul Reynolds, who ran Thamesis for sixteen years, told Institutional Investor in 2026 that trust is earned over time and that the role rewards those who value managing a single stakeholder. Offices where the principal treats the executive as a long-term partner report longer tenures than those where the role is treated as staff. Executive succession planning signals which of the two the family intends.

Closing

The data points to three fixable causes of departure: pay allowed to drift below market, no multi-year incentive, and no written definition of the role. Each has a benchmark the office can measure itself against.