Family offices have become one of the most talked-about, yet inconsistently approached, channels for emerging managers.
The number of single- and multi-family offices has expanded significantly over the past decade, fueled by liquidity events, private equity distributions, and generational wealth transfers.
At the same time, competition for their attention has intensified, and allocators are overwhelmed with inbound outreach. As a result, waiting until you “feel institutional enough” is no longer a viable strategy.
These best practices reflect how successful emerging managers are approaching the family office channel today, and how Dakota Marketplace helps teams identify the right offices, decision-makers, and timing to build durable relationships.
Why This Channel Matters Now
Family offices represent one of the fastest-growing pools of private capital. Many were formed after the sale of operating businesses or private equity-backed companies, consolidating significant liquidity into flexible investment vehicles. Unlike traditional institutions, these groups often have shorter decision chains, direct access to capital, and the ability to evaluate differentiated strategies without rigid consultant-driven processes.
Across thousands of fundraising conversations and platform activity, Dakota consistently sees that managers who start engaging family offices early, and who run the process with clarity and consistency, are the ones who convert initial conversations into long-term LP relationships. This perspective is grounded in firsthand fundraising execution, allocator dialogue, and years of observing what actually drives momentum inside the family office ecosystem.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to see how you can identify family offices aligned with your strategy and organize targeted outreach with discipline.
Top 10 Best Practices for Emerging Managers
1. Understand That Family Offices Are Not “Small Institutions”
It’s easy to underestimate family offices. Don’t.
Many first-generation family offices were built by founders who created or sold operating businesses. Others were formed after large private equity exits. These groups often think like operators, move faster than large pensions, invest directly and alongside sponsors, and expect institutional-quality materials.
Treat them with the same professionalism you would bring to a public plan or endowment. The setting may feel different, but the expectations around preparation and clarity are often just as high.
2. Be Crystal Clear About Your Strategy in One Sentence
If you’re an emerging manager, your brand is not yet well known. That means clarity is everything.
When you send a meeting request, your one-sentence description should make it immediately obvious what asset class you’re in, what you do, and who it’s for. If a family office professional can’t quickly understand your mandate, they will move on.
Even if they don’t take the meeting, that clarity acts as free advertising. Your strategy may get saved into the right folder for future reference. Ambiguity kills momentum. Specificity creates memory.
3. Embrace Cold Outreach as a Core Discipline
If you are emerging, you must do cold outreach. There is no shortcut.
Family offices are relationship-driven, but that doesn’t mean they magically discover new managers. They discover managers because those managers consistently show up in a professional and persistent way.
Cold emails and calls are not just about immediate conversion. They create awareness, build familiarity over time, and signal seriousness. Consistency beats intensity. A steady drumbeat of thoughtful outreach builds long-term opportunity.
Book a demo to see how to operationalize long-term family office relationship building.
4. Focus on Education, Not Hard Selling
Family offices often view themselves as partners, not just LPs.
Approach conversations as an educational dialogue. What are you seeing in the market? Why does your strategy exist? What problem does it solve? This is consultative sales, not product pushing.
Your job is to inform, not pressure. Emerging managers who come across as thoughtful and transparent tend to earn second meetings. Aggressive sales tactics usually don’t travel well in this channel.
5. Leverage Content to Build Familiarity
The investment industry has historically underinvested in content. That’s changing.
Family office professionals consume LinkedIn insights, podcasts, short thematic commentary, and webinars. You don’t need a massive budget. You need consistency and substance.
Talk about trends you’re seeing, industry themes, lessons from operating experience, and observations about your sector. Avoid promotional fluff and performance-heavy messaging. Insight builds familiarity, and familiarity lowers barriers when your email eventually hits their inbox.
6. Use Quarterly Webinars as Table Stakes
A structured quarterly update builds credibility.
Even for an emerging manager, a simple and professional webinar can demonstrate transparency, showcase your team, reinforce discipline, and highlight your thought process. It doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs to be consistent.
Allocators often say they wish more managers communicated clearly and regularly. If you do, you immediately differentiate yourself.
7. Respect the Diversity Within the Channel
“Family office” is not a single buyer type.
Within this universe, you’ll find single-family offices with direct deal teams, multi-family offices allocating across managers, CIO-led structures, and founder-led decision-making models. Some are highly institutional. Others are relationship-driven and informal.
Do your homework before every meeting. Tailor your approach. Avoid assuming uniformity across the channel.
Book a demo to explore how to segment and prioritize the right family office prospects.
8. Play the Long Game
Family offices may move faster than pensions, but that doesn’t mean they move quickly on new relationships.
Trust builds over time. You may need multiple touchpoints, ongoing commentary, periodic updates, and patience. The manager who disappears after one unanswered email rarely gets a call back later.
The manager who shows up quarterly, thoughtfully and professionally, often does.
9. Align With Their Entrepreneurial Mindset
Many family offices were created by entrepreneurs, and that shapes how they evaluate managers.
They value conviction, clear decision-making, an ownership mentality, and alignment of interests. Be prepared to speak clearly about your personal capital commitment, your team structure, how decisions are made, and why this strategy matters to you.
Family offices often invest in people as much as portfolios. Authentic alignment resonates.
10. Combine Process With Personality
Fundraising is not just a numbers game. It’s a relationship business.
Have a defined sales process: a target list, consistent outreach, a follow-up cadence, and structured updates. Discipline creates momentum.
But pair that process with authentic communication. Family offices respond well to professionalism that still feels human: Clear, direct, and respectful. No theatrics required.
Why These Best Practices Matter Now
The family office universe continues to expand. Liquidity events, generational wealth transfers, and private market growth are increasing the amount of capital controlled by these groups.
At the same time, competition among managers is rising. Emerging managers cannot rely on brand alone. They must create familiarity deliberately.
Allocators are inundated with inbound opportunities. The managers who break through are those who communicate clearly, show up consistently, and build trust over time.
In today’s environment, discipline is a competitive advantage.
How Dakota Supports These Best Practices
At Dakota, we believe fundraising is a repeatable process.
Through Dakota Marketplace, emerging managers can identify and organize targeted family office prospects, structure outreach efforts, and maintain consistent follow-up. Our platform is built to support disciplined cold outreach and relationship management.
Beyond data, the Dakota Way emphasizes clarity, consistency, and long-term relationship building, the same principles outlined above.
For emerging managers navigating the family office channel, the opportunity is real. The managers who win are those who combine process, professionalism, and persistence.
Book a demo today to see how Dakota Marketplace helps you execute these best practices with scale and precision.
