Family offices have traditionally been seen – well, not actually seen – as a diverse, hard to reach, and somewhat unquantifiable distribution channel for asset management firms.

With many representing families and individuals that prefer a certain level of privacy and anonymity, there is a perception that family offices are also hush-hush and off the radar in terms of their culture.

With asset managers increasingly more ‘channel agnostic’ family offices are increasingly deemed a target market worth pursuing.

One can read this as: ‘We will invest anyone’s* money if it boosts our FUM!’… (*excluding despots and tyrants, unless you’re BNP Paribas!).

This newfound interest appears to be mutual, which feelings reciprocated across the other side of the table.

Family offices are increasingly looking to the asset management industry to provide innovative and smarter ways for them to provide their wealthy clients with the best opportunity for outperformance and alpha.

There are now said to be over 200,000 ultra-high net worth individuals across the globe – with around another 15,000 joining the club every year, while the Family Association group, a sort of association for family offices, boasts over 84,000 members.

It is no secret therefore that fund managers are going out of their way to court this group – gaining private wealth business means they will have to rely less on other channels, such as financial advisers and institutional clients in order to fuel business growth.

Meanwhile, wealth is particularly on the rise in Asia – despite the market gyrations through August – resulting in more family offices emerging in the region, and presenting further growth opportunities for asset managers.

One of the key opportunities is in the alternatives arena; it’s an investment sector that family offices have traditionally shied away from, but the last year has seen a growing trend of interest in the sector including hedge funds, private equity, and real estate.

According to a new report from CoreData Research, family offices now hold over a quarter of their assets in private equity – larger than any other investor type and 2015 sees an increased interest in hedge fund allocations.

For family offices that have low liquidity concerns and a high risk tolerance, alternative assets can provide huge rewards. Investing in alternatives also provides essential diversification to portfolios, allowing them to take an institutional approach to investing.

As the trend continues, family offices are looking to partner with assets managers that can provide solutions and services that match the needs of their clients, with confidentiality and security being key considerations.

But for fund managers, winning family office assets will not come easy; this secretive bunch will need convincing and asset managers must demonstrate the right balance of people and technology in place to woo them into partnering together.