Family Offices Hold 54% in Public Markets as Alternatives Share Falls

Addepar data tracking $1.4 trillion shows private companies remain the largest alternative holding at 15% of portfolios.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Thursday, September 3, 2026·2 min read

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What does the average family office portfolio actually hold in Q2 2026?

Addepar's Family Office Quarterly for Q2 2026, tracking more than 650 family offices holding close to $1.4 trillion, found public markets accounted for 54% of the average family office portfolio while the alternatives share fell by nearly 3 points over the quarter. Private companies were the largest alternative holding at 15%, nearly three times the private equity allocation of 5.8%. Equities returned 11.5% over the quarter, compared with 4% for hedge funds.

Key facts

Addepar's Family Office Quarterly for Q2 2026 tracked more than 650 family offices holding close to $1.4 trillion as of 30 June 2026.
Public markets accounted for 54% of the average family office portfolio and alternatives accounted for 46%, according to Addepar's Q2 2026 data.
The alternatives share fell by nearly 3 points over the quarter, pushed down by markdowns in private capital, strong public equity performance and new money moving into shares, according to Addepar.
Private companies were the largest alternative holding at 15% of the average family office portfolio, ahead of real estate at 7.5%, hedge funds at 7%, other alternatives at 6.2%, private equity at 5.8%, venture capital at 2.5%, private credit at 1% and private real assets at 0.5%, according to Addepar.
Equities returned 11.5% over Q2 2026 while hedge funds returned 4%, fixed income returned 1.3% and cash returned 0.7%, according to Addepar.
Real assets led private fund returns over the trailing twelve months at a median of 9.1%, followed by private credit at 7.6%, private equity at 7%, venture capital at 5.2% and real estate at 3.4%, according to Addepar, with valuations lagged one quarter to 31 March 2026.

Family Offices Hold 54% in Public Markets as Alternatives Share Falls — Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from LinkedIn

Family offices shifted toward public markets in the second quarter, with liquid holdings rising to 54% of the average portfolio and alternatives falling to 46%, according to Addepar's Family Office Quarterly released this week. The report tracked actual holdings of more than 650 family offices managing close to $1.4 trillion as of June 30.

The alternatives share fell by nearly three percentage points over the quarter, pushed down by markdowns in private capital, strong public equity performance and new money moving into shares. Within the public half, equities were the largest single holding at 37%, followed by cash at 9.1% and fixed income at 8.2%.

Within alternatives, private companies accounted for 15%, ahead of real estate at 7.5%, hedge funds at 7%, other alternatives at 6.2%, private equity at 5.8%, venture capital at 2.5%, private credit at 1% and private real assets at 0.5%. Private companies remained the largest alternative holding by a wide margin.

Equities returned 11.5% over the quarter. Hedge funds returned 4%. Fixed income returned 1.3% and cash 0.7%. The equity rally followed a first-quarter sell-off and was carried by a strong earnings season, as productivity gains from wider use of artificial intelligence began reaching company profits.

Cash now stands at 9.1% of the average portfolio against 8.2% in fixed income, even though bonds returned 1.3% over the quarter and cash returned 0.7%. The gap between two-year and ten-year Treasury yields narrowed to roughly 21 basis points, some 15 below its ten-year average. Inflation stayed stubborn, the Federal Reserve held rates, and the market began pricing a high probability of an increase before the year is out.

Real assets led private markets over the trailing year with a median return of 9.1%, driven by demand for data centres and power grid capacity. Private credit followed at 7.6%. Private equity returned 7%, supported by a resilient economy and rising public markets, even as exit routes remained constrained. Venture capital returned 5.2%. Real estate returned 3.4%.

Over the quarter 25% of recent private credit funds were marked down, alongside 16% of real estate funds and 11% of venture funds, in each case well above their historical averages.

The Deployment Angle

Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's

The portfolio composition argues for keeping near-term deployment capacity liquid rather than committing to blind-pool funds with extended call schedules. With cash at 9.1% and the two-to-ten spread at 21 basis points, families are effectively paying 60 basis points annually to preserve optionality. That makes sense only if they expect to act within twelve months.

The private-fund markdown pattern is what to price in. If 25% of recent private credit funds and 16% of real estate funds marked down last quarter, a co-investment or separate-account structure that lets you underwrite the collateral yourself becomes worth the additional governance cost. The gap between a fund's reported NAV and what its assets would fetch in a sale is widening, and that gap is where co-GP economics are made.

The strongest private returns came from physical infrastructure supporting the technology build-out. Data centres and power capacity returned 9.1% over the trailing year. That is the same force lifting public equities, reached by a different road. A programmatic joint venture with an operating partner in that subsector lets you capture the return without the two-year lockup and the 2-and-20. Structure it as preferred equity at a 12% current pay and you solve the liquidity problem the top-line allocation is telling you exists.

Questions this story answers

01What does the average family office portfolio actually look like in Q2 2026?

According to Addepar's Q2 2026 data covering more than 650 family offices and close to $1.4 trillion, the average portfolio was 54% in public markets and 46% in alternatives. Within public markets, equities led at 37%, followed by cash at 9.1% and fixed income at 8.2%. Within alternatives, private companies were the largest holding at 15%, ahead of real estate at 7.5% and hedge funds at 7%.

02Why are family offices holding more cash than fixed income right now?

Addepar's Q2 2026 data showed cash at 9.1% of the average portfolio against 8.2% in fixed income. According to the source, inflation stayed stubborn, the Federal Reserve held rates, and the market began pricing a high probability of a rate increase before year-end. The gap between two-year and ten-year Treasury yields narrowed to roughly 21 basis points, some 15 below its ten-year average, making the extra wait for long-duration bonds unrewarded.

03How did private real estate perform for family offices in the trailing twelve months?

According to Addepar, real estate returned 3.4% over the trailing twelve months to 31 March 2026, the weakest result among the private fund categories tracked. Over the same period, 16% of real estate funds were marked down, which Addepar noted was well above the historical average. Real estate represented 7.5% of the average family office portfolio as of 30 June 2026.

04Are family offices moving away from alternatives and into public markets?

Addepar's Q2 2026 data showed the alternatives share fell by nearly 3 points over the quarter, driven by markdowns in private capital, strong public equity performance and new money moving into shares. The source notes that some of this shift is arithmetic rather than intention, since public and private holdings are repriced at very different speeds, but describes the direction as clear: portfolios are becoming more liquid.

05What drove strong private market returns for family offices in the past year?

According to Addepar, real assets led private fund returns over the trailing twelve months with a median of 9.1%, driven by demand for data centres and power grid capacity. The source described data centres and power capacity as the physical infrastructure of the technology build-out. Private credit followed at 7.6%, with the source attributing its performance to elevated rates sustaining high yields.

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