Seven Defining Features Of Purpose-Built Family Office Software

Partner content by Chirag Nanavati, Managing Director at Asset Vantage.

Every enduring company begins with a problem that refuses to be ignored. 

For us that problem did not surface in a pitch deck or a market study, but inside a family office in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. 

While markets eventually recovered, a structural blind spot was exposed on how complex family wealth was managed.

Despite access to top private banks and advisors, the family office of the UNIDEL Group founder realized they were navigating fragmented data, delayed reporting, opaque products, and unknown risks. 

Their issue was not purely about managing investments but one of overall control and clarity. 

While the family operating business was a global tech and engineering organisation driven by data, the contrast within the family office was stark.

Instead of real-time, integrated systems, they operated off scattered Excel sheets and accounting systems, with no single source of data.

They weren’t alone: with no off-the-shelf solutions on the market, most other family offices had resigned themselves to spreadsheets, QuickBooks, Sage, Xero or other similar fragmented workarounds that were not designed for investment accounting. 

Full-service platforms were built for financial institutions, not families, and only solved either accounting or reporting, not both. 

Having concluded that the system we needed simply did not exist, we did something unconventional: we built it ourselves.

Bringing together software expertise from our technology businesses, inhouse accounting and investment analysts from the family office, and external experts, we developed a platform engineered under the daily operating conditions of a full-service family office. 

Because of this, every feature was shaped by first-hand friction, each workflow stress-tested against real world expectations. 

While the family office software market has evolved considerably in the last decade, there are seven core features that still set Asset Vantage apart, all derived from our foundation of being purpose built from within a working family office.

1) Integrated general ledger and performance reporting 

Trust in data is foundational: without it, everything else breaks. A purpose built family office platform delivers one source of truth for the entire balance sheet to eliminate disconnect between accounting books and investment performance. This means faster month-end closes and cleaner audits, and principals that have clear visibility on net worth, exposure, and returns. It provides confidence that “the numbers are right” before making decisions.

2) Designed for complex, multi-entity family wealth 

Family offices are not single portfolios, they’re ecosystems. Generic tools simply don’t understand that, and aren’t built for how complex family wealth is structured. A purpose-built platform handles trusts, SPVs, partnerships, operating companies, foundations, and global accounts. 

It supports intercompany transactions and allocations cleanly, with consolidated views and entity-level drill-downs. Key areas like tax, legal, and reporting workflows should be simplified, and importantly, the software should scale as structures evolve over time 

3) Built to deliver control, clarity, and confidence 

Control equals independence: principals hate flying blind, so being purpose built meant  ownership of data and decision-making. How? Centralizing data from custodians, banks, and advisors to reduce dependency on third-party reports and delays. 

This also enables clear audit trails and transparency, with fewer blind spots across assets and cash - empowering the office to operate proactively, not reactively 

4) Reducing key-person risk and spreadsheet dependency 

Operators will already know this pain intimately. No one wants a billion-dollar office dependent on one elaborate spreadsheet. Institutional knowledge is greater than individual knowledge, so the platform entirely replaces fragile Excel models and manual processes. 

It also removes reliance on “the one person who knows how this works”. It also standardizes workflows across the team to ensure continuity if someone leaves or transitions

5) Timely insight, not month-end surprises 

Speed of insight results in better outcomes. Waiting 30–90 days is operationally unacceptable today: decisions have to be based on today’s reality, not last month’s reports. Being built during real-time operation created a platform that offers near on-demand visibility into liquidity, exposures, and performance, with faster response to capital calls, distributions, or market shifts. 

No more ‘fire-drill reporting’ at period ends, with improved cash planning and allocation decisions, means principals are empowered to act with confidence, not hindsight. 

6) Built for illiquid, alternative, and non-standard assets 

Most family wealth isn’t purely in public markets yet most family office software works like it is. Being purpose built means reflecting what family portfolios actually look like: it seamlessly handles private equity, venture, direct deals, real estate, and operating businesses. 

It tracks capital calls, distributions, waterfalls, and look-through ownership, and supports custom valuations and irregular cash flows. There’s no need for shadow tracking outside the system, since it provides a complete, accurate picture of total wealth. 

 7) Institutional-grade controls without institutional bureaucracy 

As wealth grows, scrutiny grows. Families want controls but at the same time, they don’t want Wall Street complexity. There are software solutions out there that require new employees just to manage! 

A purpose built platform delivers professional rigor without slowing the team down, offering role-based permissions and approvals, clean audit trails for transactions and changes and standardized processes without adding headcount. It enables easier year-end audits and compliance reviews while supporting governance as the office becomes more sophisticated. 

When the first version of our platform went live in 2014, it resonated with other family offices immediately. What we had suspected all along was proven: this was not a niche problem, it was a growing universal pain.

Soon we had 25 other family offices using the platform, early adopters that joined as clients and had us realize the potential.

Asset Vantage was formally spun out as an independent wealth technology company to serve family offices, multifamily offices, and their advisors including accounting firms and wealth managers.

Every step we’ve taken since has been focused on delivering a globally scalable and secure cloud-based SaaS solution

This includes our 2017 acquisition of long-established US accounting technology firm Financial Navigator, and moving their clients from a legacy accounting platform to our modern integrated one.

Today, we operate an 80+-member strong global team with a mindset not as a vendor, but as a partner for modern family offices. 

Built from the inside out, our story is still being written but it’s our purpose-built origin that defines us.

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Chirag Nanavati is the Managing Director and part of the founding team at Asset Vantage, the financial operating system of choice for more than 400 family offices across 10+ countries, with over US$400B in assets tracked.

Powered by an integrated general ledger and advanced performance reporting, the platform delivers a complete, real-time view of assets, liabilities, and overall total wealth- enabling principals and their trusted advisors to make confident, informed decisions. 

A UNIDEL company, Asset Vantage provides a scalable, secure foundation for comprehensive wealth oversight and operational excellence.