Co-investment · 2026-06-24

The capital bridge: why family offices look for a deal-and-governance partner

By Massimiliano Moreni · 2026-06-24

Family-office direct investing is at record levels, but it is shifting toward club deals and co-investments: families lack in-house sourcing and governance capacity. That is where a trusted bridge is needed.

In brief

Family offices invest directly like never before, but increasingly through club deals and co-investments because they lack internal teams to originate and govern deals. The value is not in the capital — it is in the bridge: whoever originates, structures and governs the deal alongside those who put up the money.

In 2025 family-office direct investments reached record levels in the tracked global data, with Europe the second-largest region behind North America. But the figure that matters is not the headline — it is the direction. Pure solo dealmaking volume actually fell, while club deals and co-investments grew. The reason is structural, and primary sources state it plainly: most family offices invest directly, but they lack the in-house capacity a fund has to originate and govern deals.

At the same time, private-equity fundraising is at a multi-year low: funds need capital, families need quality deal flow. They meet in co-investment. In this market the competitive edge is not having the capital — it is being the trusted bridge between capital and the real asset.

Where value is created (and lost)

A direct industrial investment does not fail on the financial model: it fails on execution and governance. Whoever enters a real-asset business without clear decision rights, without a board that protects value and without operating oversight, discovers the problem too late. That is why sophisticated family offices are not looking for another intermediary: they want a single counterpart who originates the deal, designs its governance and oversees its execution, aligned with their interests.

How I work

I support funds and family offices in exactly this space: origination and selection of the industrial opportunity, structuring of the co-investment, governance architecture (rights, board, controls) and execution oversight. With an ownership-first discipline: the capital's objective and risk appetite first, then the structure. It is the bridge between capital and real industry — my reason for being.

Frequently asked

Why should a family office co-invest rather than go it alone?

Because co-investment gives access to deals they could not originate or govern alone, while keeping control and costs low. The constraint is not capital — it is in-house sourcing and governance capacity, which a dedicated partner provides.

What is your role in the deal?

Single counterpart between capital and asset: I originate and select the opportunity, structure the co-investment, design the governance and oversee execution, aligned with the interests of those who deploy the capital.

Sources

S&P Global Market Intelligence — Family-office direct investments (2026) · Citi Global Family Office Survey (2025) · BCG — As Scale Grows, So Does Investor Ambition (2026) · CNBC — Family offices & private equity (2026)

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