We’ve been working with family offices since 2023, and have noticed their shifting attitude towards impact investing.
Globally, according to UBS’s Global Family Office Report 2025, a quarter of family offices are looking at “how to align the family around its approach to sustainability and impact” through family charters or impact investing policies. This formalisation shows sustainability and impact is becoming a family-wide strategic priority, not just an investment theme.
They are looking for CFOs, COOs, Executive Directors and Investment Directors for their grants, social investment funds and global impact investing funds – so there are options for professionals seeking to transition into a role in impact and leverage their corporate or commercial skill sets.
So, why are family offices interested in impact investing now, and how will this shape hiring in the impact finance sector?
Enormous Generational Wealth Transfer
The World Economic Forum estimates that over $80 trillion in wealth will be transferred into new hands over the next couple of decades. This means the NextGens – traditionally more active in ESG and sustainable investment – will drive the interest in impact investing and push for their money to influence environmental and social transformation.
In 2024, according to the Impact Investing Institute, family members in family offices were presenting the case for impact investing and “advocating internally for impact.” Another more recent study has confirmed this: In 76% of family offices in the UK, conversations about sustainability and nature-based investing are typically driven by a family member.
So, as impact portfolios become more commonplace within family offices, they will be looking for senior finance professionals and executive directors with technical financial skill sets to lead their blended finance and impact investing strategies.
Growing Pressure to Align Family Investments With Values
There’s a growing demand for impact-aligned investing from wealthy families, advisers, institutions and more.
An example to illustrate this is the growth of Tribe Impact Capital – the UK’s first dedicated impact wealth manager. This organisation helps family offices, HNWIs, charities, foundations and Donor Advised Fund clients (DAFs) align their investment portfolios with their specific missions, values and impact goals, offering bespoke impact-focused investment strategies. At the end of last year, Tribe announced three senior promotions and said they’d achieved a 50% increase in revenues and a 25% rise in assets under management (AUM) over three years.
This means new possible career paths are opening up outside traditional asset management, particularly favouring individuals with experience evaluating impact performance alongside financial returns. Family offices will be in need of expertise to translate their values into measurable investment objectives, shape solid impact measurement frameworks or align philanthropic goals with investment strategy.
Impact-First Is Smarter Risk-Taking, Not Concessionary
According to research by investment manager Foresight Group (in collaboration with Campden Wealth), “55% of family offices in the UK are already allocating funds towards natural capital investment strategies.” And although the motivations are mixed, they are “primarily driven by financial returns (27%), climate risk mitigation (24%) and portfolio diversification (20%).” So, this implies that impact considerations are fundamental to economic stability too.
What’s more, firms like Ceniarth – focused on impact-first investments since 2018 – have shown how strategic partnerships, co-investors and blended capital can scale their impact investing efforts.
So, not only will there be a further focus on hiring individuals with experience in due diligence, compliance and reporting. There will also be a need for professionals who understand how to manage complex capital stacks and coordinate multiple stakeholders when partnering with other investors.
Family Offices as Uniquely Long-term Investors with Patient Capital
Family offices often think about future generations and multi-generational stewardship, so they are prepared to wait years for financial returns (aka patient capital). This means they can bridge funding gaps and offer alternative debt financing solutions. Their flexibility and long-term capital can pioneer strategies that institutional firms sometimes avoid, and they are more likely to back high-risk, high-impact ventures that achieve sustained impact and strategic outcomes.
Due to this, we may see family offices showing more of an interest in professionals who’ve worked in emerging markets or underserved sectors, and those who can focus on post-investment engagement, not just deal sourcing.
Final Thoughts
For some family offices, impact investing is no longer one small cut of their portfolio; it is becoming a portfolio-wide strategy. That means they’ll be on the lookout for new talent and need individuals to bridge finance and impact.
If you are interested in a career in impact investing and the family office space appeals, keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn page for more job postings and sector updates!
Other resources: The Impact Investing Institute has several useful resources – one report written in 2024 is still very comprehensive, including case studies of how family offices began with impact investing. For further inspiration from organisations advising family offices on their impact strategy, take a look at New Philanthropy Capital, Bridges Fund Management, Better Society Capital, CAF Impact Accelerator and Advisory Services.
