Family Office Investment Committee

A Family Office Investment Committee is the formal (or semi-formal) group responsible for approving investments, setting risk boundaries, and evaluating performance. In practice, “committee” can range from a structured institutional-style IC to a small set of family principals with a CIO acting as translator.

From a diligence perspective, committee design is a predictor of decision speed, mandate consistency, and follow-through reliability.

How allocators define IC quality drivers

Allocators evaluate the IC through:

• Voting authority: who votes vs who advises
• Quorum rules: what is required to approve
• Cadence: scheduled meetings vs ad hoc approvals
• Threshold escalation: what size requires family principal sign-off
• Risk framework: concentration caps, drawdown tolerance, leverage policy
• Exception handling: how “one-off” deals are governed
• Documentation: memos, minutes, and decision rationales
• Post-mortems: how mistakes are reviewed and learned from

Allocator framing:
“Is this a repeatable investment system — or a personality-driven approval loop?”

Where IC design matters most

• time-sensitive deals (co-invests, secondaries, distressed)
• concentrated positions (directs, real estate, single-asset opportunities)
• first-time manager commitments where trust must be earned
• cross-asset mandates where prioritization is essential

How IC structure changes outcomes

Strong IC structure:

• increases speed with clear thresholds and cadence
• improves mandate consistency and manager retention
• reduces “decision drift” caused by family politics

Weak IC structure:

• creates unpredictable approval timelines
• increases reversal risk late in process
• pushes CIOs to “sell internally” rather than diligence externally

What slows decision-making

• unclear escalation thresholds (“depends on the family”)
• committee meetings too infrequent for deal flow reality
• lack of clear veto rules
• decisions contingent on family availability, not process

Common misconceptions

• “Committees mean slow decisions.” → disciplined committees can be faster.
• “CIOs decide alone.” → many CIOs recommend; principals decide.
• “ICs only approve investments.” → they also govern exits and follow-ons.

Key questions during diligence

• Who are the voting members, and what is the quorum?
• What is the typical decision cycle from intro to approval?
• What ticket size requires principal involvement?
• How are exceptions handled and documented?
• How often does the IC meet, and can it convene ad hoc?