Family offices, created to help ultra-wealthy families manage their wealth and preserve it from generation to generation, are changing the way they operate so they can continue to serve their clients. At the same time they are grappling with increased regulatory scrutiny, as well as dealing with demanding clients, the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next, a growing need for client security and a rising interest in direct real estate investments.

“Family office professionals are, at intervals, expected to act as advisers, problem solvers, team builders, analysts and confidants,” says Rick Flynn, managing partner of Flynn Family Office, a New York–based multifamily office serving ultra-wealthy individuals, families and their advisers. “Within that framework, there is really no limit to the range of services that the family office may be asked to provide.”

Flynn says ultra-wealthy clients often turn to the family office as the first c