Think of multi-family offices as the Costco of wealth management—one relationship, bulk allocations. Yet somehow, most fundraisers are still shopping at boutique single-family office “corner stores” one at a time like it’s 1995.
The MFO Math That Should Make You Pay Attention
Here’s some simple arithmetic that apparently escapes most fundraisers: Get approved by one multi-family office, and suddenly you’re not just talking to one family—you’re potentially accessing their entire client roster.
The beautiful reality: Land one MFO relationship and watch 5-10 family offices magically appear with $5-10 million checks each. That’s $25-100 million in allocations from what started as a single conversation. Chef’s kiss to efficiency.
But First, Find the Right Person (Spoiler: It’s Not Who You Think)
Here’s where most people fumble spectacularly—they contact the wrong person entirely. You need the fund manager research specialist, not the receptionist or some random VP who handles client onboarding.
Enter Octum: We actually know who does the fund research at these MFOs, so you can stop playing telephone tag with people who have zero authority to approve your fund. Revolutionary concept, we know.
The Trade-offs (Because Nothing Good Comes Easy)
The slightly annoying reality: The big MFOs can move slower than continental drift. They’ve got committees, processes, and bureaucracy that would make a government agency proud. Think endowments and pensions, but with better coffee and more family drama.
The patience-testing truth: While single family offices might give you a quick “yes” or “no,” MFOs will put your fund through more due diligence than a presidential security clearance.
Why the Wait Is Worth It
Sure, the decision timeline might test your sanity, but here’s the payoff: instead of courting 10 different families individually (each with their own quirks, preferences, and decision-making theatrics), you get multiple allocations flowing from one successful relationship.
Bottom line: MFOs are the fundraising equivalent of buying in bulk; more upfront effort, but the volume discounts are chef’s kiss beautiful. Just make sure you’re talking to the right person from day one, or you’ll be spinning your wheels while your competitors are cashing checks.
Octum helps you skip the amateur-hour mistakes and go straight to the MFO decision-makers. Because life’s too short for inefficient fundraising.
