The five questions every family office asks a first-time fund manager

Family offices are often the first institutional-quality capital an emerging manager raises. They can move faster than pension funds and accept structures that larger allocators cannot. But their diligence is rarely a box-ticking exercise: it is a judgement about people.

1. Why you, and why now? The edge must be specific — a network, a sourcing advantage, a sector insight others lack.
2. Whose money is already in? Anchor investors signal that someone else has done the work.
3. How are you aligned? The size of the manager's own commitment speaks louder than the deck.
4. What happens when it goes wrong? Families want to see how a manager behaved in a bad deal, not just a good one.
5. Will you still talk to us in year five? Reporting, access and honesty over the life of the fund matter more than the launch event.

The relationship is the product

Unlike committee-driven institutions, many family offices invest as an extension of the family's values and legacy. Managers who treat them as just another LP tend to find the second fund harder to raise.