The family office sector is becoming a major focus at top business schools, with universities introducing new programs to prepare future leaders in the field. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business recently launched the Booth Family Office Initiative, which includes research, courses, and summits tailored to current and prospective family office executives. This initiative is backed by a steering committee of family office leaders and Booth alumni.
Family offices are growing rapidly, with over 8,000 now in existence, and assets are projected to reach $5.4 trillion by 2030. As more wealthy families establish their own offices, universities like Harvard, Columbia, and Northwestern are also rolling out courses targeting this market. The Booth program, however, is the most significant of its kind since the Wharton School partnered with CCC Alliance in 2004 to create the Wharton Global Family Alliance, which offers research, roundtables, and courses for family offices.
Family offices are increasingly looking to universities for research and training, especially with a shortage of talent in the field. The Booth initiative will offer access to valuable, anonymized data from software companies, helping offices refine their investment strategies. Interestingly, the top research priority identified by family offices isn’t financial, but rather behavioral economics, focusing on family dynamics and decision-making.
Universities are also providing family office professionals with rare opportunities to gather without commercial influence. Events like Wharton’s Family Office Roundtable Forum and Booth’s upcoming Family Office Summit offer private, non-commercial settings for networking and knowledge-sharing. These programs not only serve family offices but also attract funding and students to universities, further strengthening their financial ties to the family office sector.
