Family office compensation is not a salary market. It is a collection of bespoke packages, shaped by the size of the office, the preferences of the principal, the geography, and the scarcity of the individual. Published benchmarks exist. They describe a narrow slice. The rest is negotiated one package at a time, behind the confidentiality that characterises the sector.
This guide sets out 2026 ranges for the roles we place most frequently: family office leadership, operational, legal and tax, investment, and support. It reflects placements completed by Oplu across single-family offices, multi-family offices, and principal investment platforms in the UK, US, Dubai, and Europe.
The ranges are guidance, not quotation. A CIO in a London-based £500m family office and a CIO in a New York-based $5bn family office are both titled CIO. Their compensation is separated by a factor of three or more. Treat these numbers as a starting point for scoping, not a rule.
For current opportunities, see our job board. To discuss a search, see our Family Office page. For domestic and estate staff compensation, see our Private Staff Salary Guide 2026. For luxury hospitality and brand roles, see our Luxury Hospitality and Brands Salary Guide 2026.
Before the numbers, a note on structure. Family office packages typically have four components.
Base salary. Paid monthly. The predictable part. Usually benchmarked against comparable private office or investment roles.
Annual bonus. Discretionary or formulaic. For operational roles, typically 20% to 50% of base, paid for performance against qualitative objectives. For investment roles, higher, tied to portfolio or fund performance.
Long-term incentive. For senior and investment staff, carry, deferred bonus, phantom equity, or co-investment rights. Typically vested over three to five years. Often the largest economic component over time.
Benefits and in-kind compensation. Health cover, pension contributions, relocation where relevant, and for some senior roles, accommodation, car, school fees, or flight allowances. In certain jurisdictions, these are structured to optimise tax treatment.
Gross versus net matters. US and UK roles are usually quoted gross. Some Middle East and Asia roles are quoted net of tax. Currency of payment, tax residency, and jurisdiction of the employment contract all affect take-home substantially. A number on a term sheet is not a comparison until the structure is understood.
Family Office Director / CEO (UK). £250,000 to £450,000 base for mid-sized offices. £400,000 to £700,000+ base for large single-family offices. Bonus typically 40% to 100% of base. Carry or long-term incentives common at the senior end, sometimes in lieu of cash at signing. Total compensation in the largest offices can exceed £2m on a good year.
Family Office Director / CEO (US). $350,000 to $600,000 base for mid-sized offices. $550,000 to $1.2m base for large offices. Bonus 50% to 150%. Carry and co-investment rights standard at the senior end. Total compensation in large US offices frequently exceeds $2m to $5m.
Family Office Director / CEO (Dubai). Quoted net of tax. $300,000 to $600,000 net base, with housing, schooling, and transport often provided. Bonus structures tracking UK and US mid-tier.
Chief of Staff to Principal (UK). £180,000 to £320,000 base. Bonus 30% to 60% of base. Long-term incentives less common than in investment roles but growing, particularly in structured offices. Total compensation £230,000 to £450,000+. The role is harder to benchmark than the numbers suggest because scope varies so widely between principals.
Chief of Staff to Principal (US). $220,000 to $400,000 base. Bonus 30% to 75% of base. Total compensation $300,000 to $600,000+, with significant outliers where the role effectively runs the office.
Chief of Staff (Dubai). $180,000 to $320,000 net base, with housing and schooling provided in most arrangements. Packages vary by principal preference.
Chief Operating Officer (UK). £200,000 to £350,000 base. Bonus 30% to 60%. Total compensation £250,000 to £500,000.
Chief Operating Officer (US). $250,000 to $425,000 base. Bonus 30% to 75%. Total compensation $325,000 to $700,000.
Chief Financial Officer (UK). £180,000 to £320,000 base for mid-sized offices. £280,000 to £475,000+ for large offices. Bonus 30% to 75%. Total compensation £220,000 to £700,000. Qualified accountants with private capital or family office experience command the upper band.
Chief Financial Officer (US). $220,000 to $450,000 base. Bonus 40% to 100%. Total compensation $300,000 to $800,000+.
Head of Operations (UK). £110,000 to £200,000 base. Bonus 20% to 40%. Total compensation £130,000 to £280,000.
Financial Controller (UK). £85,000 to £145,000 base. Bonus 15% to 30%. Total compensation £100,000 to £185,000.
Financial Controller (US). $140,000 to $220,000 base. Bonus 15% to 35%. Total compensation $160,000 to $300,000.
Accountant / Bookkeeper in-house (UK). £55,000 to £95,000 base. Bonus 10% to 20%.
General Counsel (UK). £200,000 to £400,000 base. Bonus 30% to 75%. Long-term incentives common in investment-heavy offices. Total compensation £260,000 to £700,000+. Senior private practice partners joining at the top end negotiate packages closer to their former PEP, which shifts the number materially.
General Counsel (US). $280,000 to $550,000 base. Bonus 40% to 100%. Total compensation $400,000 to $1m+.
Head of Tax (UK). £180,000 to £325,000 base. Bonus 30% to 60%. Total compensation £220,000 to £500,000. Private client tax expertise, particularly cross-border, sits at the upper band.
Head of Tax (US). $250,000 to $475,000 base. Bonus 35% to 75%. Total compensation $325,000 to $800,000.
Head of Compliance (UK). £130,000 to £240,000 base. Bonus 20% to 40%. Total compensation £160,000 to £330,000. Ranges stretch where the office runs a regulated fund or manages third-party capital.
Legal Counsel / Senior Counsel (UK). £120,000 to £220,000 base. Bonus 20% to 45%. Total compensation £145,000 to £300,000.
Tax Manager (UK). £85,000 to £145,000 base. Bonus 15% to 30%.
Investment compensation is where structure matters most. Base and bonus tell a fraction of the story. Carry, co-investment, phantom equity, and deferred incentives frequently account for the majority of long-term earnings. These are negotiated role by role.
Chief Investment Officer (UK). £275,000 to £500,000 base for mid-sized offices. £400,000 to £750,000+ for large offices managing diversified portfolios. Bonus 50% to 150% of base. Carry or performance fees common where the office runs fund-like structures, typically 10% to 20% of net portfolio performance above a hurdle, over a vesting period. Total economic compensation in strong years £1m to £5m+.
Chief Investment Officer (US). $400,000 to $750,000 base. Bonus 75% to 200%. Carry standard. Total annual compensation $1.5m to $10m+ in strong years for offices with meaningful AUM.
Head of Private Markets (UK). £200,000 to £375,000 base. Bonus 50% to 100%. Carry standard, typically 5% to 15% of the private portfolio's performance. Total annual compensation £400,000 to £1.5m+ in strong years.
Head of Private Markets (US). $275,000 to $500,000 base. Bonus 75% to 150%. Carry standard. Total annual compensation $600,000 to $3m+ in strong years.
Portfolio Manager, Public Markets (UK). £150,000 to £300,000 base. Bonus 40% to 100%. Performance-linked long-term compensation where it exists. Total compensation £200,000 to £600,000.
Portfolio Manager, Public Markets (US). $200,000 to $425,000 base. Bonus 50% to 125%. Total compensation $300,000 to $950,000.
Head of Direct Investments (UK). £200,000 to £350,000 base. Bonus 50% to 100%. Carry on direct investments, typically 5% to 15%. Total compensation £350,000 to £1m+.
Investment Director / Senior Investment Manager (UK). £140,000 to £250,000 base. Bonus 30% to 75%. Co-investment or carry possible. Total compensation £180,000 to £450,000.
Investment Director / Senior Investment Manager (US). $200,000 to $375,000 base. Bonus 50% to 100%. Co-investment standard. Total compensation $300,000 to $750,000.
Investment Associate (UK). £85,000 to £150,000 base. Bonus 30% to 60%. Total compensation £110,000 to £240,000. Candidates from investment banking or private equity at associate level sit at the upper band.
Investment Associate (US). $140,000 to $225,000 base. Bonus 40% to 80%. Total compensation $195,000 to $405,000.
Investment Analyst (UK). £55,000 to £95,000 base. Bonus 20% to 40%. Total compensation £70,000 to £135,000. Graduates from top banking programmes sit at the top end.
Investment Analyst (US). $95,000 to $150,000 base. Bonus 25% to 50%. Total compensation $120,000 to $225,000.
Head of Philanthropy (UK). £100,000 to £185,000 base. Bonus 15% to 30%. Total compensation £115,000 to £240,000.
Head of Real Estate (UK). £175,000 to £320,000 base. Bonus 40% to 80%. Carry or co-investment possible. Total compensation £245,000 to £575,000+.
Head of Real Estate (US). $250,000 to $475,000 base. Bonus 50% to 125%. Carry standard. Total compensation $375,000 to $1m+.
Head of Ventures (UK). £175,000 to £300,000 base. Bonus 40% to 80%. Carry typical. Total compensation £245,000 to £500,000+.
Head of Collections (UK). £90,000 to £175,000 base. Bonus 15% to 30%. Total compensation £105,000 to £225,000. Depends heavily on the size and complexity of the collection (art, wine, classic cars, watches) and whether it is managed as an investment or as personal property.
Art Adviser / Curator (UK). £75,000 to £150,000 base. Bonus 10% to 25%. Some arrangements structured partly through commission or acquisition-linked incentives.
Executive Assistant to Principal (UK). £75,000 to £135,000 base. Bonus 10% to 25%. Total compensation £85,000 to £165,000. The upper band reflects senior EAs running full chief-of-staff-adjacent scope without the title.
Executive Assistant to Principal (US). $115,000 to $180,000 base. Bonus 15% to 30%. Total compensation $130,000 to $235,000.
Private PA to Principal (UK). £70,000 to £125,000 base. Bonus 10% to 25%.
Executive Assistant to C-Suite (UK). £60,000 to £95,000 base. Bonus 10% to 20%. Total compensation £65,000 to £115,000.
Family Office Assistant (UK). £45,000 to £75,000 base. Bonus 10% to 20%. Total compensation £50,000 to £90,000.
Office Manager (UK). £50,000 to £85,000 base. Bonus 10% to 20%.
Head of Concierge / Lifestyle Manager (UK). £75,000 to £145,000 base. Bonus 10% to 25%. Higher for principal-facing roles covering travel, events, and household coordination at scale.
Head of Governance (UK). £150,000 to £275,000 base. Bonus 25% to 50%. Total compensation £190,000 to £410,000.
Head of Communications (UK). £130,000 to £225,000 base. Bonus 20% to 40%. Total compensation £155,000 to £315,000.
Head of Security (UK). £110,000 to £225,000 base. Bonus 15% to 35%. Higher for roles with formal protection leadership responsibilities. Some roles are structured with allowances and expenses that change the effective economic position.
Three factors explain most of the variation across the bands above.
Office scale. A single-family office managing £250m is a different institution to one managing £5bn. The latter pays 1.5x to 3x at every level above EA. AUM is not the only proxy, but it is the closest single variable.
Principal preference. Some principals pay at the top of the market to attract the best and retain them. Others set deliberately lower bands and accept the trade-off in turnover. Both are common. Candidates should ask, in preparation, which philosophy applies.
Jurisdiction and tax structure. A $500,000 base in Dubai, net of tax, has very different economic value to £500,000 gross in London. Candidates evaluating cross-border moves need to model the whole package, including cost of living and family considerations.
For operational family office roles, bonuses are largely discretionary. The written framework matters less than the principal's track record of paying them. Ask, during scoping, whether bonuses have been paid consistently and at target over the last several years. Offices with volatile bonus histories will lose senior talent regardless of the headline number.
For investment roles, carry and long-term compensation are where offices compete seriously. A CIO or Head of Private Markets without a meaningful long-term incentive will move, almost without exception, to an office that offers one. The structure can take several forms: traditional carry on a specified pool, phantom equity tracking the full portfolio, co-investment rights on favourable terms, or long-term deferred bonuses. Each has different tax, vesting, and retention consequences.
Senior investment hires should expect three conversations on structure: the target total economics at steady state, the mechanics of vesting and clawback, and the treatment of the incentive in the event of principal succession, sale, or wind-down. A package that looks attractive in the steady state can be economically worthless if the family transitions the office in year three.
Family offices frequently offer benefits that do not appear on a compensation spreadsheet but materially change the package.
Health cover, usually private, sometimes with global portability. Pension contributions, in UK offices, above the statutory minimum. Relocation packages for international hires, including school fees, housing allowances, and tax equalisation. Use of family assets (homes, aircraft, boats) for senior staff, occasionally. Structured exit arrangements, including deferred payouts tied to a defined service period.
These elements are negotiable. Strong candidates negotiate them explicitly at offer stage. Weak candidates accept whatever is first offered and discover later that the package is structurally different from what they assumed.
Increasingly common. A senior hire based in London supports a principal with offices in Dubai and Geneva. A CIO in New York reports to a family with assets in Europe and Asia. Cross-border roles pay a premium, usually 10% to 25% above a single-jurisdiction equivalent, reflecting complexity and travel load.
Structuring these roles is non-trivial. Tax residency, employment contract jurisdiction, social security treatment, and permanent establishment risk for the employer all need to be addressed. The best offices engage specialist advice at hiring stage. The ones that do not end up with compensation arrangements that work for no party.
Royal, sovereign, and certain very large single-family offices operate above the ranges given here. Those packages are bespoke and confidential. The compensation for a Chief of Staff in a sovereign office, or a CIO managing a multi-billion-pound family fortune, is set through advisers and rarely discussed in the open market.
Equally, mid-sized family offices that operate as lifestyle management rather than investment platforms compensate below these ranges. A family office with two staff supporting lifestyle and property, no investment activity, and no governance structure is closer to a senior private household. The ranges in our Private Staff Salary Guide 2026 apply.
Every search we run starts with a compensation conversation. Where does the client want to position against market? What is the structure, cash versus long-term? What in-kind or benefits are on the table? What is the flexibility if the right candidate comes at a number above budget?
The candidate conversation is parallel. What is the current package, in detail? What is the candidate willing to move for, cash and non-cash? What are the trade-offs they are making?
The shortlist we present is anchored in these conversations. We do not run searches where the budget and the brief are incompatible, as discussed in our article on why we say no to certain searches. Aligning expectations at the start is a service to both sides.
For more on how published benchmarks can mislead, see our article on why published salary data is misleading. For compensation structure specifics, particularly gross versus net, see net versus gross salaries explained.
For current opportunities, see our job board. To discuss a search, get in touch.
For mid-sized UK family offices, £250,000 to £450,000 base with bonus of 40% to 100% of base. For large single-family offices, £400,000 to £700,000 base with bonus of 50% to 150% and, in the largest offices, carry or long-term incentives adding meaningfully to total compensation. Total annual compensation for directors of large UK offices commonly exceeds £700,000 and can exceed £2m in strong years. US offices pay roughly 30% to 50% more at comparable scale.
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