As family offices and private investors navigate an increasingly complex landscape of capital allocation, succession, and multi-generational wealth strategy, Travis Pittman, Managing Partner, Strategic Investments at Leon Capital Group responsible for accelerating and expanding their Family Office and Private Capital Advisory Services and General Partner investing strategies, is focused on reimagining how sophisticated families and private investors engage with advisory services.  

Pittman shares his perspective on the evolving dynamics shaping family office and private capital advisory, the shifting priorities of today’s investors, and how Leon Capital is developing distinctive new advisory models built for the next generation of private wealth.  

CM: How does Leon Capital Group’s operating model—owning and developing businesses across multiple industries—enhance your ability to advise and partner with family offices?  

TP: Leon Capital Group manages private investments not through traditional allocation, but by developing real estate assets and operating businesses primarily with its own capital. This approach enables the firm to capture a greater share of the value-creation process in ways that set it apart from conventional asset managers.  

Three-to five-year timeframes don’t really get us anywhere because we want to grow capital and net worth about 10x in the first 10 years. Our thought is that we don’t get to the best outcomes until years 10-20. This makes it difficult to invest in people or assets that have a three- to five-year shelf life. It forces us to be an agile machine that pivots constantly, adjusting quickly before we’re forced to do so. 

CM: What structural or strategic shifts are driving family offices to rethink how they source, evaluate, and execute private investments? 

TP: Family offices are at the epicenter of a massive generational wealth transfer—over the next five years; family offices are expected to add more than $2 trillion in assets. With the number of family offices forecasted to increase from ~8,000 today to 10,700 over the same period (34%), assets are expected to grow even faster, topping $5.4 trillion by 2030 (74% growth) representing an increase from $3.1 trillion today and more than doubling since 2019. This growth demands institutional rigor combined with flexibility. Today’s family offices are leveraging longer investment horizons, direct deal access, and tax-efficient structures to compete effectively with traditional financial sponsors while driving strong value creation. 

CM: Are you seeing a greater appetite for direct deals versus fund allocations, and how is that changing the way advisors and capital partners engage with families? 

TP: Yes. Families are increasingly allocating more capital to diverse investment strategies across alternatives, direct investments, and co-investment opportunities as they professionalize and scale internal investment teams. Advisors and partners are adapting by engaging family offices more like institutional investors—bringing specialized insights and bespoke opportunities that align with each family’s investment thesis. Family offices are also not unlike institutional investors in that they are pushing for fee disintermediation and require their managers to bring them differentiated returns. Direct investments are part of the solution to the problem of fee systems that are uncorrelated to returns. 

CM: How do generational transitions within families influence investment strategy and governance priorities? 

TP: Generational transitions can reshape investment strategies and priorities, though this largely depends on family culture and governance maturity. For example, many next-generation leaders emphasize impact and purpose-driven investing, while others prefer to maintain an established, multi-generational framework. Either way, strong governance enables alignment across generations without compromising agility or shared vision. 

CM: You’ve mentioned a vision for “unique and differentiated advisory services.” What does that mean in practice, and how is Leon Capital Group executing that vision? 

TP: Family offices operate with fundamentally different objectives and timelines than private equity. Our Advisory platform—built from within a leading family office—bridges that gap. Our team combines data-driven insights, operational expertise, and the discipline of those that have launched and led businesses to deliver situational and lifecycle solutions throughout the entire investment lifecycle. We are unencumbered by accounting firm independence conflicts and restrictions, as well as inefficient delivery teams that lack relevant experience and expertise; rather, we are singularly focused on helping family office, private equity and lenders solve complex problems.  

CM: What does the next generation of family office clients expect from their advisors that previous generations did not? 

TP: Next-generation clients expect transparency, measurable impact, and alignment of values. They seek advisors who can pair financial performance with purpose—offering insight, agility, and authenticity in how capital is deployed, and relationships are managed. 

CM: Real estate has long been a cornerstone of family office wealth. How are you seeing family offices evolve their real estate strategies amid higher financing costs and shifting demographics? 

TP: Real estate remains foundational, given the durability of its underlying rental income streams, but families are increasingly pursuing hybrid strategies that blend operating company value with real assets. Sectors like data centers, healthcare, and logistics reflect this convergence, where underwriting now integrates both real estate fundamentals and business performance drivers. 

CM: Finally, if you could offer one piece of advice to family offices building for the next generation—what would it be? 

TP: Build with intention, discipline, and structure early. Establish governance, talent, and data infrastructure that enable flexibility while preserving family values. But change your mind often, and pivot based on new knowledge that surfaces. Longevity comes from treating the family enterprise like an enduring institution, not just a collection of investments.