https://youtu.be/p3VtFCVpp8o




IS THE CIO DRAGGING DOWN THE FAMILY OFFICE'S PERFORMANCE? The Family Office CIO job involves a delicate high wire act. The position can be a fraught intersection of:




Asset Allocation (& collision of "endowment" vs "family adjacent" strategy)



Cash Management



Deal Sourcer/Vetter



Club Deal Gatekeeper



Risk & FOMO mitigater



Overall One-Man Band




ADAM SMITH advises families around deal and investment structure via RAS CAPITAL PARTNERS. We discuss the evolving CIO in family offices, We go over the importance of expectation-setting on both sides. We get into what the families can do to understand their own needs (and why they might be the problem!). The goal is to help both sides unlock potential and get out of the way of performance.



Adam Smith's Background (2–3 min)




Adam gives a brief personal background and current work with family offices



Set up the problem: Many family offices operate with misaligned or underperforming CIO structures



Mention growing tension between opportunistic deal flow vs. structured allocation frameworks




CIO Dragging: Defining the“Non-Functioning CIO” (3–4 min)




Describe what a non-functioning or misaligned CIO looks like in a family office



Common traits: reactive, relationship-driven over process-driven, lacking risk discipline



The consequences: inconsistent returns, governance confusion, lack of accountability




Deal-Driven vs. Allocation-Based Models (4–5 min)




Explain the difference between a deal-centric CIO vs. one focused on institutional-style allocation



Why the dealmaker mindset often prevails in emerging family offices



Tradeoffs: speed and access vs. diversification, scalability, and defensibility



Challenges when there’s no clear investment policy statement (IPS)




Why Do Families Tolerate This? (2–3 min)




Emotional and trust-based dynamics—families often default to familiarity over structure



Over-indexing on "access" as value



Underestimating the long-term risks of ad hoc strategies




What CIO Institutionalization Looks Like (3–4 min)




What a functional, institutional CIO framework looks like (clear mandate, reporting, delegation, rebalancing discipline)



Role of governance in supporting this structure



When and how to make the transition—triggers and best practices




Cultural and Generational Resistance (2–3 min)




Why some families resist institutionalization



How generational shifts are challenging legacy CIO models



Importance of aligning values and objectives—not just tactics




Closing Thoughts THE CIO DRAGGING ON THE FAMILY OFFICE PERFORMANCE (2 min)




Tie back to broader themes of sustainability, legacy, and governance in family offices



Call to action: revisit your CIO model—does it reflect your goals or just your past?



Emphasize the importance of aligning investment leadership with broader family vision




Other CIO Dragging Considerations-