Comparison · 10 material differences
Family Firm Institute (FFI) vs Invest Europe
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Professional association
Verified September 2026 Family Firm Institute (FFI)
Advisers, consultants, educators and researchers who serve family enterprises, plus family enterprise members themselves, who join at the same individual rate
Professional association
Invest Europe
European private equity, venture capital and infrastructure fund managers and the institutional investors who back them
What the records say
- Accredited-investor status: Family Firm Institute (FFI): Not required for membership; FFI's Global Education Network certificates in Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising are optional and priced separately; Invest Europe: No published accredited-investor status.
- Geographic restriction: Family Firm Institute (FFI): No published geographic restriction; Invest Europe: Full members must be located in Europe.
- Annual dues: Family Firm Institute (FFI): $975 a year; Invest Europe: Not publicly disclosed: neither the membership page nor the become-a-member page publishes a subscription rate; enquiries are directed to the Head of Membership & Sponsorship.
Side by side
| Family Firm Institute (FFI) | Invest Europe | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1986 (FFI's history page states the organisation was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1986 with 22 founding members. It is now headquartered in Boston.) | 1983 (Founded in 1983 as the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA); renamed Invest Europe in 2015) |
| Headquarters | Boston, United States | Brussels, Belgium |
| Geographic footprint | Global membership; the annual Global Conference moves between cities and the 2026 edition is scheduled for New York | Members based in 57 countries, 42 of them in Europe; offices in Brussels and London |
| Members | Could not be independently verified: secondary sources describe "nearly 2,000 individuals and organizations from more than 80 countries", but FFI's own about, membership and contact pages do not publish a member or country count. | 650as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | FFI has no chapters. It organises members through virtual study groups, the Global Education Network and the annual conference. | Not applicable: Invest Europe has no chapters; it organises members into four platforms |
| Primary audience | Advisers, consultants, educators and researchers who serve family enterprises, plus family enterprise members themselves, who join at the same individual rate | European private equity, venture capital and infrastructure fund managers and the institutional investors who back them |
| Typical member | The core membership is professional: lawyers, accountants, wealth managers, family business consultants, psychologists and academics working with family firms and family wealth. FFI also admits family enterprise members, educators and researchers, and students, and sells organisational memberships to advisory firms, universities and associations priced by headcount. | Full members are private equity, venture capital and infrastructure firms and the investors in those funds, including large European pension funds and insurers, funds of funds, secondaries funds and banks. Associate members are advisers and service providers: law firms, consultants, financial advisers, academic institutions and NGOs. Honorary membership is reserved for national private equity associations. |
| Qualification | ||
| Accredited-investor status | Not required for membership; FFI's Global Education Network certificates in Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising are optional and priced separatelyverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published accredited-investor status |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Full members must be located in Europeverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Sometimes |
| Application process | Applicants select a membership category on FFI's membership page and pay the published rate. There is no published sponsorship, interview or committee stage. Organisational memberships are bought by the firm, institution or association and cover a stated number of named people. | Prospective members first check the member search tool to see whether their firm already holds membership, then apply through the become-a-member page or contact the Head of Membership & Sponsorship directly. Applications are assessed against the platform criteria and the Professional Standards Handbook code of conduct. Honorary applicants (national associations) must supply references from two current full members and are considered case by case. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed: FFI describes membership categories and prices but no screening or acceptance process. | Not publicly disclosed: Invest Europe publishes eligibility criteria but no acceptance data |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $975 a yearIndividual membership: Professional and Family Enterprise members each pay this rate.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed: neither the membership page nor the become-a-member page publishes a subscription rate; enquiries are directed to the Head of Membership & Sponsorshipverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Dues are fully published by category. Organisational members receive 15% off Global Conference registration; conference fees themselves are separate from dues. | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed: the FFI Global Education Network certificate fees are not published on the membership page.verified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. Invest Europe publishes no fee schedule for any membership category. |
| Membership term | Annual | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Annual Global Conference plus virtual study groups and learning sessions through the year | A year-round conference and training calendar including the Venture Capital Forum and the Investors' Forum |
| Peer forums | Virtual study groups organised by topic; no confidential peer-forum structure | No peer-forum structure; members organise through four membership platforms and their councils |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Could not be independently verified: no published confidentiality policy was found beyond the Professional Standards Handbook |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual, Cohort-based | Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | No |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | Partial | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | No |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | Medium |
| Social emphasis | Low | Low |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Family Firm Institute (FFI) · Invest Europe