Now, with organic recovery for the family-office-search business in the air, Rankin sees another sore spot for boutiques, like his and Mack's, that traditionally held sway in the space. "The search business has been commoditized to a degree I've never seen before," he says.

The perception that one executive search is much like another has prompted several big-name headhunters-he names Los Angeles-based Korn Ferry and Chicago-based Heidrick & Struggles-to pursue family-office mandates, according to Rankin.

In fact, Heidrick & Struggles has been placing senior executives in family offices for at least a decade, according to Renee Neri, an New York-based engagement manager with the search firm's asset- and wealth-management practice.

In recent years though, it has been making "more of a push" into the space-and the initiative is paying off. "Our family-office activity has absolutely increased," says Neri. And unlike the boutiques, she says it was about as brisk during Wall Street's recent crisis as it is now."

Rankin doesn't think big search firms can compete with niche players for long.

"Big firms can't afford to have their people take the time it takes to understand a family office's needs," he says, adding that the process from engagement to hiring can take up to eight months. "The big banks may go to the big firms; family offices have special requirements."

Mack takes a similar view of her large competitors. "I don't think it will be attractive to them in the long run," she says. "Family-office searches are better suited to boutiques where the partners are doing the actual work."

 

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