Hiring a CIO, a portfolio manager, or the person who runs a family's office is one of the most personal decisions a principal makes. The people who fit these roles are rarely looking. The family's privacy has to be protected throughout. And the right hire often comes from a very different world: a trading firm, a private bank, an operating business. Here is how we run a search, from the first conversation to the new leader's first months, and why each step matters.
1. Defining the Role Before the Search Begins
A family office is shaped by the family behind it, so two roles with the same title can look very different. Before we approach anyone, we spend time with the principal — and, where relevant, the CIO or other family members — to agree on what the role must accomplish, who it reports to, how decisions are made, and what success looks like after one year and after five.
We also test the compensation range early. A package that looks generous next to the family's existing team may be well below what an experienced investment or trading professional earns today. It is far better to discover that gap at the start than at the offer stage.
2. Mapping the Market
Next, we identify where the strongest candidates are likely to be: other family offices, RIAs and private banks, hedge funds and asset managers, digital‑asset firms, and Chicago's proprietary trading firms. For many family‑office roles — investment, risk, operations, and trading support — some of the best candidates come from trading firms, where people are paid, restricted, and judged differently than in traditional wealth management. Understanding those differences is a large part of our work.
Most of the people we approach are not looking for a new role. That is why the map comes first: it lets us build a focused list of qualified people rather than relying on whoever happens to be available.
3. Confidential Outreach and Assessment
We approach candidates directly and quietly. The family's name stays protected until a candidate has shown real interest and the principal is ready to share it, and candidates' conversations with us stay confidential on their side too.
We assess each person for what a résumé can't show: judgment, how they handle risk and pressure, how they work with a principal rather than a corporate board, and whether they will fit the family's way of doing things. The principal then receives a short list of candidates we would be comfortable recommending — not a long stack of profiles.
4. Selection, Offer, and the Move
We guide final interviews and referencing, then help structure an offer the candidate can accept. For candidates coming from trading or investment firms, that usually means looking beyond base salary to bonus timing, deferred or unvested compensation they would leave behind, and any non‑compete or garden‑leave period. These details often decide whether a move happens, and when the new leader can actually start, so we raise them early instead of discovering them at the end.
How the Engagement Is Structured
Every search is retained and paid in three installments, each tied to a milestone: the start of the engagement, delivery of the shortlist, and the final placement. A retained structure means the search has our full attention from the first day, and the principal can see progress at each stage rather than waiting for a result.
After the Start Date
A search isn't finished when the offer is signed. We stay in touch with both the family and the new leader through their first months, so small issues are raised early and the hire has the best chance of lasting.
Planning a leadership hire, even one that's months away? Start a confidential conversation.