Dec. 2, 2025

135: What is a Micro Family Office

135: What is a Micro Family Office

For more than 1,400 years, the world’s wealthiest families have used a structured system to preserve, protect, and grow their wealth across generations. From the major-domos of the 6th century to the Rockefellers in the 1880s to the more than 10,000 family offices operating today, this model has quietly powered the longest-lasting fortunes on earth.

But here’s the part nobody talks about:

If you have between $1 million and $30 million in net worth, you’ve been excluded from this system entirely.

I’m Christopher Nelson, and over the past 12 years I’ve studied how ultra-wealthy families manage their money. I used those insights to build my own Micro Family Office—a system that now generates over $200K of annual investment income without selling any assets.

In this video, I’ll show you exactly what a Micro Family Office is, why the upcoming $124 trillion wealth transfer makes this more important than ever, and how people with $1M–$30M in assets are using this framework to take control of their financial future.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why millions of new millionaires are managing their wealth like amateurs

• How family offices evolved—from medieval estate stewards to modern wealth engines

• Why traditional financial advisors aren’t built for people with $1M–$30M

• The three wealth management structures—and where the Micro Family Office fits

• How the four phases of the WealthOps Framework work: Architect, Build, Run, and Succession

• How to use fractional advisors, modern tools, and lean operations to replicate a $100M+ family office

• What it actually costs to run a Micro Family Office (mine was ~$25K last year)

• Who this model is perfect for: tech professionals, founders, equity earners, and anyone stepping into real wealth

• Why professionals are ditching traditional advisors and becoming the CEO of their own wealth

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve outgrown generic financial advice… or that your assets deserve a professional-grade system… this video will shift how you think about wealth forever.

And if you want help building your own Micro Family Office, join me in our free monthly live workshop. In two hours, I’ll walk you through the entire Architect phase so you leave with your Legacy Statement, Investment Thesis, and Wealth Structure fully designed.

→ Register at wealthops.io/go

If you’d prefer to keep learning, watch the next video in the series to dive deeper into Evergreen Portfolios and wealth operating systems.

Transcript
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00:00.031 --> 00:09.887
[SPEAKER_00]: for over 1,400 years, the wealthiest families in the world have used a secret system to preserve and grow their wealth across generations.

00:10.208 --> 00:18.000
[SPEAKER_00]: It started in the sixth century with major domos managing royal estates and this evolved through the Rockefellers in 1882.

00:18.621 --> 00:25.212
[SPEAKER_00]: And today there are over

00:25.192 --> 00:27.358
[SPEAKER_00]: than the entire hedge fund industry.

00:27.579 --> 00:29.063
[SPEAKER_00]: But here's what nobody talks about.

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[SPEAKER_00]: If you have between $1 million and $30 million in that worth, you're in a financial services desert where this proven system hasn't been available to you.

00:39.812 --> 00:40.213
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Chris F.

00:40.193 --> 00:45.721
[SPEAKER_00]: for Nelson in over the past 12 years, I've studied how the ultra wealthy managed their wealth.

00:46.062 --> 00:57.139
[SPEAKER_00]: And I took my learnings into building my own micro family office that generates over $200,000 of annual investment income without selling any assets.

00:57.119 --> 01:13.897
[SPEAKER_00]: In this video, you're going to discover what a microfamily office is and why the 124 trillion dollar wealth transfer happening over the next 20 years makes this critical for you and exactly how you can implement this system yourself.

01:14.258 --> 01:23.548
[SPEAKER_00]: By the end, you'll understand why more professionals are ditching traditional financial advisors and building their own wealth

01:23.528 --> 01:29.317
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's talk about why this moment in history is so critical for wealth management.

01:29.557 --> 01:34.846
[SPEAKER_00]: Right now, we're in the middle of the largest wealth transfer in human history.

01:35.166 --> 01:42.297
[SPEAKER_00]: Over the next two decades, more than $124 trillion will change hands globally.

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[SPEAKER_00]: At the same time, we're seeing millionaires created at an unprecedented rate.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The US added over 500,000 new millionaires just last year, a 7% increase.

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[SPEAKER_00]: By 2028, there will be 25.4 million millionaires in the United States alone.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Much of this new wealth is coming from tech equity, with publicly traded companies paying out

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[SPEAKER_00]: So you have millions of people, suddenly crossing the one million dollar threshold, people who are brilliant at building systems in solving complex problems.

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[SPEAKER_00]: But they're managing their wealth like complete amateurs, scattered spreadsheets, reactive decisions, generic advice from financial advisors who treat them the same as somebody with $100,000 net worth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is the financial services desert I'm talking about.

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[SPEAKER_00]: to understand why microfamily offices are the solution, you need to understand where family offices come from.

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[SPEAKER_00]: The concept isn't new.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Back in the sixth century, European Nebility used major domos, trusted stewards who managed land, wealth, and household operations.

02:54.637 --> 03:00.786
[SPEAKER_00]: During the medieval period, this evolved into formal trust structures to preserve generational wealth.

03:01.066 --> 03:04.611
[SPEAKER_00]: The modern family office was born during the industrial revolution.

03:04.932 --> 03:09.178
[SPEAKER_00]: In 1838, the Morgan family created the house of Morgan.

03:09.398 --> 03:15.447
[SPEAKER_00]: Then in 1882, John D. Rockefeller established what's considered the first.

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[SPEAKER_00]: true single-family office, a full-service structure with investment oversight, philanthropy, and succession planning.

03:23.066 --> 03:24.970
[SPEAKER_00]: These weren't just accounts keeping books.

03:25.351 --> 03:31.326
[SPEAKER_00]: They were strategic wealth engines built to preserve and grow fortunes across

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[SPEAKER_00]: multiple generations.

03:32.969 --> 03:38.339
[SPEAKER_00]: By the 1980s, single-family offices became common among ultra wealthy families.

03:38.699 --> 03:44.089
[SPEAKER_00]: But they required at least $100 million in assets to justify the cost.

03:44.349 --> 03:50.901
[SPEAKER_00]: A traditional single-family office runs about $1 million to $2 million per year in operating expenses.

03:50.881 --> 03:53.085
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came three major inflection points.

03:53.406 --> 03:56.932
[SPEAKER_00]: Number one, the dot com boom created a wave of new wealth.

03:56.952 --> 04:02.442
[SPEAKER_00]: Number two, the 2008 financial crisis made families want more control and privacy.

04:02.963 --> 04:08.113
[SPEAKER_00]: And number three, technology enabled leaner structures with global reach.

04:08.093 --> 04:24.479
[SPEAKER_00]: Today, 68% of all family offices were established after 2000, and 50% have been created since 2008, family offices now collectively manage $10 trillion surpassing all hedge funds combined.

04:24.699 --> 04:26.642
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you don't have 100 million,

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[SPEAKER_00]: you've been locked out of the system.

04:28.446 --> 04:29.428
[SPEAKER_00]: So here's the problem.

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[SPEAKER_00]: There are three types of wealth management structures.

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[SPEAKER_00]: At the top, you have the single family offices for families with $100 million plus.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They have full-time staff, comprehensive strategies, and cost about $1 to $2 million per year, roughly $1 to 2% of assets on our management.

04:47.024 --> 04:52.394
[SPEAKER_00]: In the middle, there are multi-family offices for families with 30 million to 100 million.

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[SPEAKER_00]: They share resources across multiple families and cost around $300,000 to $1 million per year to operate.

05:00.428 --> 05:05.337
[SPEAKER_00]: And at the bottom, you have generic personal financial advice.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is for people under $1 million net worth.

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[SPEAKER_00]: We're talking basic budgeting, a 6040 portfolio, and a financial advisor who will treat you the same as the 362 other clients that they're managing.

05:18.724 --> 05:22.752
[SPEAKER_00]: But what if you're between $1 million and $30 million net worth?

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[SPEAKER_00]: You're too sophisticated for personal financial advice, but you don't have the scale for a traditional family office.

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is what I call the financial services desert, and this is exactly who the microfamily office was designed for.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In microfamily office, brings you the strategic depth of a traditional family office.

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[SPEAKER_00]: comprehensive investment strategy, advanced tax planning, asset protection, succession planning, but with the efficiency of a streamlined system and fractional services model.

05:53.439 --> 05:59.527
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of hiring a full-time team, you use vetted external professionals on a project or retainer basis.

05:59.848 --> 06:03.673
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of massive overhead, you use technology platforms.

06:03.653 --> 06:08.498
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of reinventing everything from scratch, you follow a proven framework.

06:08.759 --> 06:13.704
[SPEAKER_00]: A microfamily office operates like a lean, purpose-built financial business.

06:14.145 --> 06:20.872
[SPEAKER_00]: It's designed to give you the control and customization of a single family office without the cost or complexity.

06:21.213 --> 06:22.954
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's how it works in practice.

06:23.235 --> 06:27.079
[SPEAKER_00]: You follow the Wellfops framework, which has four phases.

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[SPEAKER_00]: architect, build, run, and succession.

06:30.486 --> 06:33.934
[SPEAKER_00]: In the architect phase, you define your wealth philosophy and vision.

06:34.455 --> 06:40.428
[SPEAKER_00]: You create a legacy statement and develop your investment thesis in design your organizational structure.

06:41.130 --> 06:46.401
[SPEAKER_00]: This is where you clarify what success actually means beyond just returns.

06:46.381 --> 06:49.585
[SPEAKER_00]: This is what we cover in our monthly free live workshop.

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[SPEAKER_00]: I'll share more on that at the end.

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[SPEAKER_00]: In the build phase, you structure your legal, financial and operational systems.

06:56.515 --> 07:03.685
[SPEAKER_00]: You set up entities like LLCs and trusts, formalize your accounting and reporting structures, and choose your tech stack.

07:03.905 --> 07:10.414
[SPEAKER_00]: You also onboard your fractional advisors, certify tax planners, attorneys, and a bookkeeper.

07:10.394 --> 07:12.938
[SPEAKER_00]: In the run phase, you operate with discipline.

07:13.319 --> 07:20.070
[SPEAKER_00]: You maintain regular portfolio reviews oversee your external team using clear roles in KPIs.

07:20.390 --> 07:28.183
[SPEAKER_00]: And you stay focused on high-levelish decisions like asset allocation and tax optimization and legacy planning.

07:28.443 --> 07:32.349
[SPEAKER_00]: In the succession phase, you prepare for legacy and continuity.

07:32.570 --> 07:35.254
[SPEAKER_00]: This is where you establish family governance,

07:35.234 --> 07:39.921
[SPEAKER_00]: create education systems for the next generation and finalize the state planning.

07:40.041 --> 07:42.866
[SPEAKER_00]: You develop leadership transition strategies.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Your job is to ensure your wealth management systems outlast you and empowers future generations.

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[SPEAKER_00]: A microfamily office typically costs between $15,000 and $100,000 per year to operate, depending on complexity and size.

07:59.431 --> 08:02.355
[SPEAKER_00]: Last year, mine cost around $25,000 for operate.

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[SPEAKER_00]: So who should consider building a microfamily office?

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[SPEAKER_00]: This is for you if you've recently had a large liquidity event such as selling a business, exercising stock options, or receiving an inheritance.

08:16.391 --> 08:27.043
[SPEAKER_00]: Or it could be that you just built a large portfolio of assets over time, and you're ready to go beyond DIY investing, and you want strategic streamlined execution.

08:27.023 --> 08:33.816
[SPEAKER_00]: It's for people who view their portfolio as an engine for financial freedom and legacy, not just a passive nest egg.

08:34.136 --> 08:38.445
[SPEAKER_00]: People who want to be the CEO of their wealth and not hand it off to someone else.

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[SPEAKER_00]: A microfamily office lets you reduce mental overhead

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[SPEAKER_00]: delegate operational noise and focus on high leverage decisions that align with your values.

08:49.589 --> 08:58.009
[SPEAKER_00]: If you have outgrown mass market financial advice and want professional grade systems tailored to your assets, mindset and goals,

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[SPEAKER_00]: this is for you.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Here's exactly what I want you to understand.

09:01.736 --> 09:07.588
[SPEAKER_00]: The wealthy have been using this system for over a thousand years to preserve and grow their fortunes.

09:07.929 --> 09:11.516
[SPEAKER_00]: The only difference is scale and technology.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You don't need one hundred million dollars to think like a family office.

09:16.265 --> 09:20.974
[SPEAKER_00]: you just need the right systems, the right team, and the right framework.

09:20.994 --> 09:23.739
[SPEAKER_00]: The microfamily office isn't about downsizing.

09:24.280 --> 09:25.884
[SPEAKER_00]: It's about right sizing.

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[SPEAKER_00]: It's about taking institutional grade wealth management and making it accessible to people who are building real wealth right now.

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[SPEAKER_00]: You can manage your money like the ultra wealthy just at your scale.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Look, if you're tired of scattered spreadsheets in generic financial advice, it might be time to build your own microfamily office.

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[SPEAKER_00]: Join our free monthly live workshop where we'll walk you through the complete architect phase.

09:52.539 --> 09:58.506
[SPEAKER_00]: You'll leave with your own legacy statement, investment thesis, and wealth structure

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[SPEAKER_00]: designed head to wealthops.io forward slash go or click the link in the description section or if you just want to learn more about microfamily offices and how they operate you should check out this video right see you in the next video