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Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co.
Dr. Marc Breidenbach and Magnus Graf von Schlieffen launched the firm in 2003 after careers at the intersection of private banking and institutional...
Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co.
Dr. Marc Breidenbach and Magnus Graf von Schlieffen launched the firm in 2003 after careers at the intersection of private banking and institutional capital markets. Breidenbach had led the family-office and entrepreneur-client unit at Berenberg Bank; von Schlieffen was Head of Equities for Germany and Austria at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he also served on the Executive Committee. The two created an independent multi-family office in Hamburg that advises families and entrepreneurs whose balance sheets are too large and complex for standard private-wealth offerings. Investment design spans private equity, real estate and digital assets across Europe, North America and Asia. The firm frames alternative asset selection around direct access to external managers, bypassing product platforms and their embedded distribution incentives. Its digital family office aggregates global managers — the firm has cited relationships in the US, UK, Switzerland and Germany — and structures portfolios starting at EUR 100,000, a threshold more commonly associated with retail platforms than multi-family offices. Web3 and blockchain investments form a disclosed technology focus; however, the firm does not publicly name current portfolio companies or co-investors. Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co. is a member of VuV, the German association of independent asset managers, and maintains its own BaFin license as a financial services institution under the WpIG. Beyond advisory, Magnus von Schlieffen operates the family's mixed-use land, forestry and real-estate enterprise in Schloß Holte-Stukenbroek. The firm also runs the Klaar Kimming podcast from Hamburg, which extends its brand into German-language wealth discourse. No recent fund closings or promotional events have been confirmed in the past 24 months. The firm's structural position sits between outsourced CIO and single-family-office builder. It accepts no product manufacturer exclusivity, controls manager selection entirely in-house, and explicitly helps clients transition into their own dedicated family offices. That pathway — from multi-family advisory to single-family-office formation — produces a built-in off-ramp that most multi-family offices actively avoid, placing the firm in a structurally distinct niche within German independent wealth management.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
2003
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Germany
City
Hamburg
Corporate office
Hamburg, Germany
Principals
Dr. Marc A. Breidenbach
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Magnus Graf von Schlieffen
Co-founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co.?
Magnus Graf von Schlieffen serves as Chief Investment Officer, drawing on over 25 years in institutional equities, including his role as Head of Equities Germany/Austria at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He and co-founder Dr. Marc Breidenbach jointly set strategic asset-allocation parameters. The firm states it selects external managers globally rather than running internal strategies.
How does the firm structure its investment offering?
The core vehicle is a digital family office that assembles customized portfolios from external managers in private equity, real estate and digital assets. The firm operates under a BaFin license as a financial services institution, rejecting exclusive product-manufacturer agreements and commission-driven distributor models. Portfolios are built starting at a EUR 100,000 minimum.
Is Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co. a product distributor or a strategic advisor?
It positions itself strictly as a strategic advisor. The firm states that it takes no placement fees, avoids exclusive manager agreements, and carries no product-sales quotas. Its regulatory permission under the WpIG authorizes financial-services provision, not the manufacture of investment products.
Does the firm make direct investments or only fund commitments?
The available disclosure highlights manager selection across private equity and digital assets, suggesting a fund-commitment and external-manager model rather than direct company investing. The firm has not publicly disclosed a list of direct portfolio companies or co-investment vehicles.
What is the 'Digital Family Office' and how is it different from a robo-advisor?
The Digital Family Office is a discretionary portfolio-design service that aggregates external institutional managers worldwide, not a passive ETF allocator. It provides consolidated reporting and risk control while allowing a starting investment of EUR 100,000. The firm markets it as a way to give smaller-yet-complex portfolios the manager access typically reserved for large institutions.
How is Breidenbach von Schlieffen & Co. related to the Schlieffen family’s land and forestry operations?
Magnus von Schlieffen operates the Schlieffen Family Estate — a mixed-use land, forestry and real-estate enterprise in Schloß Holte-Stukenbroek — alongside his role at the firm. The advisory firm and the family operating entity are legally separate, but the dual role gives the multi-family office direct operational experience in real assets.
Does the firm help clients build their own single family offices?
Yes. The firm explicitly offers preparation and support for founding a single-family office, including designing governance, reporting infrastructure and investment processes. That service creates a natural endpoint for the advisory relationship and distinguishes the firm from multi-family offices that seek permanent consolidation of client assets.
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