Family Office Advisory · Institutional Rigor · Total Discretion
Best Practices for a Family Office That Performs Like an Institution.
Cybersecurity, governance, succession, talent, and operational due diligence — delivered by advisors who built and ran family offices before they advised them.
Every conversation is confidential. Nothing you share leaves the room.
When Did You Last Have an Independent Set of Eyes on Your Controls?
The threats to family wealth today are structural, digital, and generational. Most family offices are under-defended in ways they can’t see from the inside.
43%
of family offices globally experienced a cyberattack within the previous 12–24 months.
72%
of surveyed single-family offices were underinvested or only moderately invested in operational technology.
Source: Deloitte, Digital Transformation of Family Office Operations 2024
86%
of family offices globally lack a clear succession plan for key decision-makers.
Source: J.P. Morgan Private Bank, 2026 Global Family Office Report
Cybersecurity
Wire fraud. Business email compromise. Ransomware. Attackers know family offices are lightly staffed and lightly defended. One compromised email can drain a generation of wealth in a single afternoon.
AI–Powered Fraud
Voice cloning. Deepfake calls to your CFO. Synthetic identities that pass the checks most teams run. None of this is new technology. What’s new is the price: a convincing voice clone now takes seconds of sampled audio and almost no skill. When were your controls last tested against it?
Succession Collapse
Founders get old. Legacy structures get old. Without a documented succession plan and a next-generation ready to receive it, the office you built to protect the family will not survive the transition.
Arootah’s Family Office practice is led by Rich Bello, who spent 25 years designing, building, and operating family offices for leaders in alternative investments.
Led by Rich Bello, Managing Partner
Comprehensive Solutions
Everything the Office Needs. One Partner. Complete Discretion.
Our advisors have built and led family offices at every scale. We work across the full operating footprint — so decisions on any one function are made with the full picture in view.
01
Cybersecurity & Controls
Independent controls review, cyber posture assessment, wire fraud prevention, incident response readiness. The first line of defense — and the first place most offices are underinvested.
02
Governance Design
Family charter, investment policy, decision rights, board and committee structures. The rules of the road when the founder isn’t in the room.
03
Succession Planning
Documented transition plans for the office, the wealth, and the next generation. Built to survive the founder — and to be accepted by the family that inherits it.
04
Investment Due Diligence
Independent manager selection, portfolio review, and ongoing monitoring. Applied with the same rigor institutional LPs use — because you are one.
05
Operational Due Diligence
Deep review of managers, custodians, and service providers. What their marketing materials don’t show and their compliance decks don’t say.
06
Talent Management
Hiring, developing, retaining, and transitioning the office team — from CIO and CFO to family office director and beyond. Every role, every level.
07
Vendor Management
Auditors, lawyers, custodians, tech, insurance. Selection, negotiation, oversight — so you’re not paying institutional prices for retail service.
08
Philanthropy & Impact
Foundation strategy, grantmaking discipline, impact measurement. Purpose that’s operationalized, not aspirational.
Free Assessment
Take the Family Office Best Practices Quiz.
Ten questions across the ten principles that define an institutional-grade family office. Get a same-day snapshot of where you’re strong, where you’re exposed, and where an outside review would pay for itself.
10
Principles
Governance · Cyber · Succession · Investment DD · Operational DD · Talent · Vendors · Philanthropy · Reporting · Risk
Your results are sent only to you.
Ready to go deeper
The Best Practice Review.
Where the quiz gives you a snapshot, the Review gives you a plan. A matched family office advisor conducts a comprehensive assessment across the ten principles — or a focused deep dive into the ones that matter most.
You choose the scope. We deliver the findings, the recommendations, and — if you want it — the execution.
What’s included
- Kickoff with a matched family office advisor
- Document review across in-scope principles
- Structured interviews with key office personnel
- Independent controls and vendor assessment
- Written findings ranked by risk
- Prioritized recommendations with a 90-day plan
- Executive readout with the family principal
How You’ll Work With Us
Three Steps. Fully Discreet. You Control the Pace.
You don’t need to commit to a scope of work to have a first conversation. Most engagements begin with a call — and end with your team stronger than it was.
STEP ONE
Intake & Matching
A 30-minute confidential call with our family office intake team. We understand your office, your priorities, and the level of engagement that fits — whether that’s the Quiz, the Review, or a full advisory relationship.
STEP TWO
Select Your Advisor
You review three shortlisted advisors — each with direct family office operating experience matched to your priorities. You choose. They begin.
STEP THREE
Best Practice Review
Comprehensive across all ten principles, or a focused deep-dive on the ones that matter most. Written findings, risk-ranked recommendations, and — if you want it — execution support.
In Their Words
What Family Offices Say About Working With Us.
“Arootah is a unique, one–stop shop for each functional area of your business. With current cost pressures and tremendous competition, customized services and applications to meet your firm’s needs are even more critical. Arootah is a company worth considering.”
Rich P.
Global Head of Prime Brokerage & Equity Distribution . Morgan Stanley
Every engagement is confidential. Your family, your advisors, and your service providers will not know you’re exploring options unless you choose to tell them.
The Arootah Framework
Every Arootah engagement — including this one — addresses one or more of the four talent pillars thate impact firm performance.
Frequently Asked
Questions Family Offices Ask As First.
What's actually in a Best Practice Review?
A Best Practice Review is a structured assessment against the ten Family Office Principles — Governance, Cybersecurity, Succession, Investment Due Diligence, Operational Due Diligence, Talent, Vendors, Philanthropy, Reporting, and Risk. You choose the scope (all ten or a focused subset), we conduct document review and interviews, and you receive written findings with risk-ranked recommendations and a 90-day execution plan.
How is this different from what my private bank or wealth manager offers?
Private banks and wealth managers are compensated to manage assets. Their advice tends to be organized around what they can sell you. Arootah is independent. We don’t manage assets, custody funds, or sell products. Our recommendations are structured around what’s right for the office, not what’s profitable for us to provide.
How do you handle discretion?
Every conversation is confidential. Every engagement is under NDA. Your family, your advisors, and your service providers will not know you’re exploring options unless you choose to tell them. Our advisors have operated inside family offices — they understand the discretion standard is not a policy, it’s the job.
What are the ten Family Office Principles?
Governance, Cybersecurity, Succession, Investment Due Diligence, Operational Due Diligence, Talent Management, Vendor Management, Philanthropy & Impact, Reporting & Transparency, and Risk Management. The Best Practices Quiz walks you through one question on each — a two-minute self-assessment across the full operating footprint.
Do we have to work with you long-term?
No. Many of our engagements are project-based — a Best Practice Review, a governance redesign, a cyber posture assessment, a senior hire. Some families choose to continue working with us as a fractional CIO or ongoing advisor. You decide the level of engagement, and you can change it at any time.
How much does it cost?
The Best Practices Quiz is free. A scoping call is free. The Best Practice Review is priced based on scope. We’ll give you a scope and a fixed fee before you commit.
Start Where It’s Right For You
Two Ways to Begin.
Take the quiz for a same-day snapshot. Or book a call to scope a Best Practice Review with a matched family office advisor. Both are confidential. Both are free to start.
Every conversation is confidential. Nothing you share leaves the room.