About 60,000 business owners will grapple with how to transfer assets in coming years. That should boost demand for services to smooth the transition, according to Narutskiy.

“When he turns 50, he suddenly understands that he has a portfolio of complex assets, and it’s completely unclear how to pass their ownership and management to the next generation,” said Roman Reshetyuk, Narutskiy’s partner at Leon. Clients are also interested in allocating more funds to charity and involving their children in philanthropic projects.

The head of a family office is usually someone who the main beneficiary "trusts boundlessly", according to Dmitry Klenov, partner at UFG Wealth Management.

"We have seen a lot of examples when a CFO, chief accountant or corporate lawyer sits on two chairs dealing with both corporate and personal affairs," said Narutskiy. "Some new clients come to us through them because they want to divest from responsibility to manage personal assets which require a different approach and skill set".

Once they do set up family offices, Russia’s wealthiest are mostly a conservative group.

“Ninety percent of our clients want to have the most liquid portfolio,” rather than investments that are locked up for 5 to 7 years, said Confideri co-founder Marat Savelov.

‘Huge Pressure’
Compliance is also a concern, especially as Russia faces sanctions over its annexation of Crimea. Tighter regulations have pushed banks to scrutinize their client bases and even shift to higher-value customers.

“Russian high-net-worth individuals experience huge pressure due to the sanctions,” Savelov said. “Russia equals toxicity now.”

Vladimir Putin’s government is pushing wealthy citizens to bring assets back home. Last year, Russia joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development convention on counteracting tax evasion. And next month, the nation will receive unprecedented levels of financial data on its overseas residents for the first time through an OECD-led initiative to target individuals evading taxes.

Under the Common Reporting Standard, banks and other financial institutions disclose data on foreign account holders to their local tax authority. Once a year, the authority will then automatically exchange relevant information with their counterparts overseas, allowing governments to zero in on overseas tax evaders.