John O’Connell Published in Wealth Solutions Report: No Examiner Is Coming. That Doesn’t Make Family Offices Safe.

John O’Connell authored this article for Wealth Solutions Report where he discusses the AI governance gap in family offices. Even though most family offices are not RIAs and most do not answer to FINRA, light regulation does not mean light accountability when it comes to the use of AI tools. The goal is not a compliance program. It is a defensible decision-making process that can be explained to a counterparty, a beneficiary or a court.

In the article, John spells out five steps family offices should build: AI Tool Inventory, Written AI Acceptable Use Policy, Vendor Security Review, Decision Documentation, and Annual Review. Family offices compete for co-investment opportunities, institutional partnerships and access to managers who have choices about whose capital they accept. The due diligence on the other side of those relationships is thorough, and AI governance is an increasingly standard line of questioning. No examiner is coming. The accountability still is.