Family office investment professional licence map

Who this helps

• - Family office CIOs
• - Investment analysts
• - Multi-family office teams
• - Private wealth founders
• - Family investment companies

Typical job titles

• - Family office CIO
• - Investment director
• - Family office adviser
• - Private wealth investment manager
• - Multi-family office partner

Core question

Is the role managing only family assets inside a private structure, or does it advise, manage, market, or raise capital for external clients, multiple families, funds, or related products?

Activity triggers

• - The office serves more than one unrelated family or operates as a commercial venture.
• - The person manages securities, funds, managed accounts, or discretionary portfolios.
• - The office markets funds, accepts outside capital, charges advisory or performance fees, or introduces investors.
• - Research, investment committee work, or family governance becomes personalised investment advice to non-family clients.
• - The structure relies on intra-group, family office, private fund, or adviser exemptions that need jurisdiction-specific review.

Licence and registration map

• - Hong Kong: check SFC family office guidance, activity-based SFO triggers, Type 9, Type 4, Type 1, and multi-family office facts.
• - US: check SEC family office exclusion, investment adviser registration, Form ADV, private fund adviser, solicitation, and broker-dealer boundaries.
• - Singapore: check CMS fund management, family office/investment office facts, fund marketing, representative, and MAS FID context.
• - UK: check managing investments, advising, arranging, financial promotions, appointed representative, and exemption assumptions.
• - Australia: check AFSL financial product advice, dealing, managed investment scheme, wholesale/retail clients, and responsible manager evidence.

Exam or competence checks

• - Family office roles often need evidence of investment authority, experience, governance, and client scope before exam selection.
• - Where the person gives advice, manages assets, markets funds, or deals, normal adviser/manager/broker competence checks may apply.
• - Single-family and multi-family office labels do not replace activity, client, ownership, control, compensation, and holding-out analysis.

Application evidence

• - Family office structure, ownership, control, family-client, and group relationship memo.
• - Investment committee, discretionary authority, mandate, conflicts, valuation, custody, and reporting evidence.
• - Outside capital, fund marketing, subscription, referral, and compensation analysis.
• - Adviser, fund manager, representative, and responsible person evidence where regulated activity is present.
• - Register and official-source check log for comparable family-office, adviser, manager, and fund routes.

Register checks

• - Check whether a multi-family office, adviser, manager, or associated entity appears on relevant public registers.
• - Check individuals only where the jurisdiction publishes representative, adviser, responsible officer, or authorised representative records.
• - Record the source basis for any family-office exclusion or carve-out separately from commercial advice or fund activity.

Jurisdiction notes

Common mistakes

• - Assuming every family office is exempt or unlicensed.
• - Forgetting that multi-family offices, outside investors, fund vehicles, or success fees can change the route.
• - Not separating investment committee governance from regulated advice, asset management, dealing, or fund marketing.

Disclaimer

Information on LicenseCompare is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, financial, tax, investment, or professional advice. Licensing requirements depend on facts and change over time. Always consult official regulator materials and qualified professional advisers.