ISFB Insight

Interview with Laetitia Staehli: How the ISFB Family Officer Certificate Supports the Evolution of the Profession

April 7, 2026

As a professional dedicated to assisting families with wealth management and estate planning matters, Laetitia Staehli completed the ISFB Family Officer Certificate program to gain a more comprehensive and structured understanding of the field. She discusses the key takeaways from this training and the added value it brings to her professional practice today.

Looking back, what are your thoughts on your experience with the ISFB Family Officer Certificate program?

A very positive outcome. This training program served as a real catalyst, helping me develop a comprehensive and rigorous understanding of the role of a Family Officer. It enabled me to further strengthen my expertise in supporting families through a structured, 360-degree approach that seamlessly integrates family and wealth management considerations.

I particularly appreciated the quality of the speakers, whose insights were grounded in real-world experience, as well as the rich discussions among participants from diverse professional backgrounds. It was a stimulating experience that clearly contributes to the ongoing development of expertise in the field of family office management.

What key lessons have you taken away from this experience that you apply to your professional practice today?

The main lesson I have learned is the importance of a resolutely holistic, interdisciplinary, and family-centered approach. This program has reinforced a fundamental conviction: behind every estate, there is first and foremost a family, with its own values, goals, and dynamics. This means starting by listening to the family and understanding its human dimensions, before then addressing the financial, legal, and tax aspects with greater coherence by placing them within an overall vision. This nuanced understanding of the family dynamics underlying wealth management decisions is essential to ensuring the sustainability of the family’s wealth and the successful intergenerational transfer of assets.

The program is structured around three key themes: family, governance, and investments. How has this approach to analyzing family and estate situations been helpful to you?

This particularly insightful framework provides a comprehensive and coherent overview of the role of a Family Officer.

It helps place investments within a broader context—both family-oriented and strategic—and understand the central role of governance in ensuring the sustainability and transfer of wealth.

In practical terms, this has enabled me to further refine my approach to providing long-term support to families by fully incorporating the importance of dialogue and intergenerational cohesion.

You have also completed the CFWA—Certificate in Family Wealth Advising—from the Family Firm Institute. In what ways do you think these two programs complement each other?

The CFWA provided me with a solid conceptual and international framework, enriched by insights from thought leaders, which allowed me to deepen my understanding of the human and structural dynamics specific to multigenerational families. The ISFB Certificate, on the other hand, stands out for its highly practical approach, directly rooted in real-world application. Together, these two programs have given me a comprehensive view of the role of a Family Officer—one that is both strategic and practical.

They have reinforced my belief that family wealth management is based on a truly holistic and interdisciplinary approach that brings together various areas of expertise.

As wealth management evolves toward a holistic approach and the family office sector seeks to establish standardized practices, how do you think the ISFB Family Officer Certificate fits into this evolution?

Wealth management is clearly shifting toward a comprehensive approach to wealth, encompassing not only financial capital but also human capital. In this context, the family office sector is working to establish professional and training standards in order to meet the growing demands of the industry.

The ISFB Family Officer Certificate is fully aligned with this trend, offering a rigorous, interdisciplinary, and resolutely practice-oriented program. As such, the program is gradually establishing itself as a benchmark in the field.

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