Talking to Family Offices vs. Institutional Investors

Not all capital is created equal, and neither is the path to securing it. Emerging managers often chase both family offices and institutional investors, wanting to maximize interest without missing out on either side. But while these investors may share the same end goals (returns, alignment, downside protection), how they assess a manager couldn’t be more different.

Family offices and institutions live in different worlds: culturally, operationally, and psychologically. If you don’t recognize that early, you risk misfiring in both directions and end up seeming too buttoned-up for the family, but too loose for the allocator.

This piece breaks down the differences (and how to tailor your pitch and materials accordingly), shaped by firsthand experience helping allocators assess managers, and helping managers prepare for those conversations.

1. Different Timelines, Different Temperaments

Family offices often move on conviction. They’re fast-moving, relationship-based, and interested in the people behind the strategy as much as the strategy itself. They’re likely to decide based on a few conversations, a good lunch, and a strong sense that you understand the risks you’re taking.

Institutional investors like endowments, foundations or pension funds generally have more formal processes that take time. They’ll want to speak to references, conduct background checks, meet your ops team, and review your risk reports before making a move.

Takeaway:

Don’t try to compress an institutional process, and don’t stretch a family conversation into a 40-page deck walkthrough. Know what kind of capital you’re courting, and pace yourself accordingly.

2. The Materials Gap

Family offices want clear, simple materials that reflect clarity of thought and a coherent story. A 12–15 slide deck is fine. They’re unlikely to ask for attribution by factor or an operational memo, but they will notice if your materials feel recycled, generic, or overly engineered.

Institutionals want the full package: strategy overview, team bios, track record with attribution, risk methodology, compliance infrastructure, and reporting samples. If your materials feel light, you’ll signal unreadiness, even if your returns are excellent.

Takeaway:

Build two versions of your story. One is conversational, founder-led, and focused on how you think. The other is structured, detailed, and built for scrutiny. Don’t use the same PDF for both meetings.

3. Narrative vs. Proof

With family offices, the art of storytelling matters. Why you are doing this, how you developed the strategy, what you believe the market is missing—they’re leaning in for your worldview. They often don’t have an investment committee to convince, they’re simply trying to figure out whether they trust you.

With institutions, repeatability matters more than originality. They want to know how the machine works. How does the risk process scale? What are the guardrails? Where has the strategy broken down before? Can it be explained to a board?

Takeaway:

Make sure you can lead with story for families and with process for institutions. You need both, but which comes first depends on who’s listening.

4. Different Questions, Different Subtext

Here’s how the questions you’ll hear might differ—and how to interpret them:

Family Office:

“What’s your edge?” → Do you believe in this more than I do?

“How do you think about risk?” → Will I be able to sleep at night when I’ve entrusted you with my money?

“How do you handle it when a position goes against you?” → Are you self-aware enough to manage downside?

Institutional:

“Can you walk us through your worst month?” → Do you understand drawdown mechanics and investor psychology?

“How do you construct your portfolio?” → Is this process built to survive turnover and scale?

“Who manages reconciliation and cash controls?” → Are you operationally sound, or is this a one-person shop with a spreadsheet?

Takeaway:

Prepare for both sets of questions. Most answers are less about facts and more about how you think under pressure.

Closing Thought

At the end of the day, both family offices and institutions are asking a version of the same question: can I trust you with my capital? How you get to that answer depends on who you’re sitting across from. Some want to hear how you think. Others want to see how you operate. Most want both, just in different order, and at different depth. You might not change the substance of your pitch, but the language needs to match the moment.

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Kevin Becker is a Co-Founder and CEO of Kiski. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.