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Private Clients

A Dedicated Command Centre for Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families

A Single Family Office is the gold standard of private wealth management, a bespoke entity dedicated exclusively to the financial, administrative, and personal affairs of one family. Aurevya advises on every aspect of SFO formation, structure, and ongoing governance.

Overview

What is a Single Family Office?

A Single Family Office (SFO) is a private company established to manage the total wealth, investments, administration, succession, and lifestyle, of a single ultra-high-net-worth family. Unlike a private bank or wealth manager, an SFO serves no other clients: its entire mandate is the financial well-being of one family, across generations.

Mauritius is one of the world's premier SFO domiciles. Its stable legal framework, tax efficiency, FSC regulation, and positioning as a hub for Africa and Indian Ocean investment make it an ideal base for families whose wealth spans multiple jurisdictions. An SFO in Mauritius is typically structured as a Global Business Company (GBC), providing access to the country's network of double taxation agreements and a credible, regulated base for consolidated family governance.

Where an SFO manages assets on behalf of family members (as distinct from merely managing the family's own assets), FSC licensing as an Investment Adviser or Investment Dealer may be required. Aurevya advises families on the precise licensing threshold and ensures that the SFO's regulatory framework is correctly calibrated from establishment.

Aurevya provides end-to-end SFO advisory: from the initial mandate definition and regulatory analysis, through entity structuring and staff recruitment, to the ongoing governance, reporting, and compliance that keeps the SFO operating at the highest standard year after year.

$50M+
Typical Family Asset Base
An SFO is most cost-effective for families with $50 million or more in investable assets, though the appropriate threshold depends on the scope of the mandate.
360°
Full-Service Offering
From investment management and tax co-ordination to philanthropy, succession, and lifestyle services, an SFO covers every dimension of family wealth management.
Premier
Mauritius SFO Jurisdiction
Mauritius is consistently ranked among the world's leading jurisdictions for SFO establishment, combining tax efficiency, legal stability, and a high-quality professional services ecosystem.

Key Features

What an SFO Delivers

01
Consolidated Investment Oversight
All family investment assets, across asset classes, custodians, and geographies, are managed under a single consolidated mandate, with a unified investment policy statement and co-ordinated asset allocation strategy.
02
Customised Reporting
Bespoke consolidated reporting across all family entities, investments, property, business interests, and liabilities, delivered in whatever format and frequency the family requires, providing a single, authoritative view of total family wealth.
03
Tax Planning Co-ordination
The SFO co-ordinates tax planning across all jurisdictions in which family members are resident and assets are held, working with local tax advisers to minimise tax leakage and ensure full compliance with reporting obligations in each country.
04
Philanthropy Management
The SFO manages the family's charitable giving, including oversight of charitable foundations, grantmaking programmes, impact investment mandates, and community engagement strategies, as an integrated component of the total wealth management mandate.
05
Succession Integration
The SFO sits at the intersection of all succession structures, trusts, foundations, holding companies, and family governance frameworks, ensuring that the succession plan is implemented and maintained coherently across the family's total asset picture.
06
Family Governance & Risk Management
The SFO provides the institutional framework for family governance, including board and family council support, family constitution management, insurance co-ordination, and risk management, ensuring the family's wealth is protected from both financial and non-financial risks.

Process

How It Works

01

Mandate Definition

We work with the family to define the SFO's scope of mandate, determining which functions will be in-sourced versus outsourced, which family members will be served, and what services the SFO will provide, from pure investment management to full-service lifestyle and concierge.

02

Entity Structuring

The SFO is typically structured as a Mauritius GBC. We advise on the optimal holding structure, including the relationship between the SFO entity, underlying trusts and foundations, and the family's investment vehicles, to ensure tax efficiency and regulatory coherence.

03

Regulatory Analysis

We assess the SFO's licensing requirements under Mauritius FSC regulations, determining whether an Investment Adviser, Investment Dealer, or other licence is required, and prepare the licence application if applicable. AML/CFT compliance programmes are designed from the outset.

04

Staffing & Systems

We assist in defining the SFO's organisational structure, drafting job descriptions, sourcing qualified candidates for key roles (CIO, CFO, COO), and selecting and implementing reporting, portfolio management, and compliance systems appropriate to the SFO's mandate.

05

Go-Live & Asset Consolidation

Once the SFO entity is licensed and operational, we co-ordinate the migration of assets from existing custodians and structures into the SFO's consolidated framework, establishing new banking relationships, custody accounts, and investment mandates as required.

Practical Considerations

Requirements & Eligibility

Regulatory & Structural Requirements

  • SFO entity typically structured as a GBC, requiring FSC Global Business licence
  • Investment Adviser or Investment Dealer licence required where SFO manages assets on behalf of separate family entities or members
  • Minimum two resident directors; registered office in Mauritius
  • Substance requirements must be met, active management and control exercised from Mauritius
  • AML/CFT compliance programme in place from incorporation
  • Annual audited accounts, FSC reports, and MRA tax returns filed each year
  • FATCA and CRS reporting obligations managed for all controlled entities

Family & Asset Considerations

  • SFOs are typically cost-effective from USD 50 million in family assets, the break-even point depends on the mandate's scope and staffing model
  • Families with assets in multiple jurisdictions benefit most from the SFO's consolidated reporting and co-ordination function
  • A family charter or governance framework is strongly recommended as a companion to the SFO structure
  • Succession to SFO governance roles (board, investment committee) should be addressed in the SFO's constitutional documents
  • Key person risk, particularly the concentration of knowledge in one individual, should be mitigated through documented processes and knowledge management systems

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

The traditional rule of thumb is that an SFO becomes economically justified when a family has at least USD 50–100 million in investable assets, sufficient for the cost of operating the SFO (typically 0.5–1% of AUM) to be outweighed by the savings on external management fees, the co-ordination benefits, and the governance value it provides. However, this threshold is not absolute: for families with very complex structures, multiple jurisdictions, or particularly demanding service requirements, an SFO may make sense at a lower asset level. Alternatively, a Multi-Family Office may provide a cost-efficient alternative.
An SFO that manages only its own assets, i.e., assets belonging to the SFO entity itself or to the family holding structure that directly owns the SFO, typically does not require an Investment Adviser or Investment Dealer licence. However, where the SFO provides investment management services to separate entities (such as trusts where different family members are beneficiaries), individual family members' personal accounts, or charitable foundations, licensing requirements under the Securities Act 2005 are triggered. Aurevya conducts a precise licensing analysis based on the SFO's proposed mandate before any structure is implemented.
Yes. Many SFOs operate with a distributed team, a Mauritius-based governance and compliance function, alongside investment professionals in financial centres such as London, Singapore, or Dubai. The key regulatory requirement is that the SFO's central management and control, board meetings, key strategic decisions, and senior management oversight, is exercised from Mauritius. Remote working and multi-location teams are entirely compatible with this requirement, provided the Mauritius substance obligations are genuinely met and documented appropriately.
A private bank is a commercial institution that serves many wealthy clients, balancing its own commercial interests against the needs of each client. An SFO is a private entity that serves only one family, with no commercial conflicts of interest. This distinction is significant: the SFO's investment decisions are guided entirely by the family's objectives, without any pressure to allocate to products that generate fee income for the institution. The SFO also provides a far broader range of services than a private bank, encompassing governance, succession, philanthropy, administration, and lifestyle management, in a fully co-ordinated framework.
Annual operating costs for an SFO vary widely depending on the scope of the mandate and the size of the team. A lean, externally outsourced SFO can operate for USD 300,000–500,000 per year; a full-service SFO with a resident investment team, compliance function, and lifestyle services may cost USD 2–5 million or more annually. As a general benchmark, SFO costs of 0.5–1% of AUM are considered reasonable, making the structure most economical at higher asset levels. Aurevya provides a detailed cost model during the mandate definition phase to ensure the SFO is structured at a cost-to-service ratio appropriate to the family's wealth and objectives.
Yes. Many SFOs are explicitly mandated to oversee both financial investments and family business interests, providing consolidated reporting across the total wealth picture, co-ordinating governance between the SFO investment committee and the business board, and managing the interface between personal and business succession planning. Where business interests represent a significant portion of family wealth, the SFO may also play a direct role in corporate governance, providing board representation, management reporting oversight, and strategic advisory to the family business operations.

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Related Services

Multi-Family Office
For families who want institutional-quality wealth management without the full cost of a dedicated SFO, an MFO delivers comparable services at a shared cost base.
Learn More →
Trusts
The Mauritius trust provides the primary succession vehicle for an SFO's asset holding framework, integrating with the SFO's consolidated governance and reporting structure.
Learn More →
Succession Planning
The SFO is most powerful when paired with a comprehensive succession plan, ensuring wealth transfers across generations in accordance with the family's wishes and governance framework.
Learn More →

Your Wealth Deserves a Dedicated Command Centre

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