Private Wealth and Succession Planning
Owner Managed Businesses

Amanda Nelson
June 2026

For many founders, building a business is only part of the story. The bigger question is what comes next: how to preserve, grow, and pass on that value without losing control along the way.

Family Investment Companies (FICs) are increasingly becoming part of that conversation. Once viewed as niche, they are now firmly on the radar for founders and owner-managed businesses thinking strategically about succession, tax efficiency, and long-term family governance.

What is a FIC, and why are founders using them?

At its core, a Family Investment Company is a private company set up to hold and manage family wealth. Unlike a trust, it gives founders the ability to retain control while gradually transferring value to the next generation.

What makes FICs particularly attractive is this balance: control stays firmly with the founder, while beneficial ownership and future growth can be shared more widely within the family.

For founders used to running their own businesses, that familiarity matters. A FIC operates within a corporate structure, meaning decision-making, governance and oversight can be retained and clearly defined.

A flexible route to succession

Succession is rarely a single moment. It is a process, often evolving over years.

FICs support that phased approach. Founders can introduce children or grandchildren as shareholders early, often through gifting shares or subscribing for new ones, enabling wealth to pass over time rather than all at once.

This creates space for future planning, while also offering potential inheritance tax advantages where transfers qualify under the relevant rules.

Crucially, it allows founders to stay in the driving seat. Voting rights and board control can remain with the founding generation, ensuring continuity in decision-making even as ownership evolves.

Control, but with structure

One of the defining features of a FIC is the ability to tailor how control and value are held.

Different share classes (often referred to as ‘alphabet shares’) can be used to direct income where it’s most efficient, aligning distributions with each family member’s circumstances.

At the same time, rights to capital can be structured so that future growth accrues to the next generation, while founders effectively ‘freeze’ the current value in their own shares.

This isn’t just about tax efficiency. It’s about creating a framework that reflects how families actually want to manage wealth across generations.

More than tax: building long-term governance

Well-structured FICs go beyond financial planning. They can act as a platform for family governance.

Provisions can be built in to protect the integrity of family wealth, for example by restricting who can hold shares or requiring transfers in certain circumstances such as divorce or insolvency.

In practice, this can help mitigate some of the risks founders worry about most, particularly as wealth passes to future generations.

Many FICs also introduce a level of discipline and oversight that mirrors a family office model. Board structures, shareholder agreements and decision-making frameworks help align family members around shared objectives, values and long-term strategy.

Where FICs work best (and where they don’t)

FICs are typically used to hold trading businesses, investment portfolios, property, or to support wider family-owned ventures.

They are less suitable for holding personal-use assets such as holiday homes, or for arrangements involving shareholder loans, where tax implications can quickly become complex.

As with any structure, suitability depends on the wider picture: business interests, family dynamics, risk appetite, and long-term goals.

A strategic tool for founder-led futures

For founder-led businesses, the appeal of a FIC is clear. It reflects a mindset they already understand: control, structure, and strategic planning.

But more importantly, it offers a way to think beyond the immediate exit or liquidity event. Instead, it supports a longer-term view, where wealth is not just transferred, but managed, protected, and grown across generations.

As more founders begin to ask what legacy looks like in practice, FICs are likely to remain firmly on the agenda.