New Delhi, May 25 -- Family offices are channeling ever more capital directly into companies over investing in private-market funds.

Last year, these investors-institution-size organizations that manage investments for wealthy families-boosted the value of their direct investments in private companies by 123.3% from a year earlier to nearly $13 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

These investments offer more transparency into the companies getting their money, and sometimes, they offer families more control. By investing directly, families also avoid the high fees charged by private-equity firms, typically a 2% annual management fee on assets and 20% of profits above an agreed-upon threshold.

"If you think about a fam...