What share of family offices are planning to change their asset allocation in the next year?

According to UBS, 60% of surveyed family offices plan to change their strategic asset allocation over the next twelve months. The UBS survey covered more than 300 family offices across more than 30 markets, with average family net worth of $2.7 billion.

Investment Strategies

Family Offices Split Into Two Camps on Direct Investment and Liquidity

Established offices seek diversification and hedge-fund exposure while newly tracked offices favor direct deals and private equity, UBS and FINTRX data show.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Thursday, September 10, 2026·1 min read

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Are family offices shifting toward direct investments and away from fund structures in 2026?

Family-office capital is splitting into two groups based on institutional maturity, according to UBS and FINTRX data. UBS found 60% of surveyed offices plan to change strategic asset allocation in the next twelve months, while FINTRX data on 96 newly tracked offices shows 92.7% interest in direct investments. Established offices seek diversification and liquidity; entrepreneurial and newly organized offices favor direct deals and private equity.

Key facts

UBS reports that 60% of surveyed family offices plan to change strategic asset allocation over the next twelve months.
FINTRX data on 96 offices added during Q2 2026 shows 92.7% stated interest in direct investments and 89.6% in private equity among newly tracked offices.
Among the 96 offices added to the FINTRX database in Q2 2026, only 6.3% reported interest in private credit and 10.4% in hedge funds.
UBS reports that only 35% of surveyed family offices have a defined succession plan.
FINTRX data shows 68.6% of newly classified single-family offices in the Q2 2026 sample are tied to entrepreneurial wealth, versus 29.2% linked to generational wealth.
FINTRX says 59.4% of the 96 additions in Q2 2026 were based outside the United States, up from 52.1% in the prior quarter.

Family Offices Split Into Two Camps on Direct Investment and Liquidity — Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from linkedin.com

Family-office capital is dividing along lines of institutional maturity and operating model, according to September data from UBS and FINTRX. Established offices are repositioning portfolios across currencies and asset classes, while newly tracked offices show concentrated interest in direct investments and private equity.

UBS surveyed more than 300 family offices across more than 30 markets, with average family net worth of $2.7 billion. Sixty percent plan to change strategic asset allocation over the next twelve months, the bank said. Sixty-five percent expect confidence in the US dollar's reserve role to weaken.

FINTRX data on 96 offices added to its database during the second quarter showed stated interest of 92.7 percent in direct investments and 89.6 percent in private equity. Interest in private credit was 6.3 percent and in hedge funds 10.4 percent. Sixty-eight of the 96 additions were single-family offices and 28 were multi-family offices.

Entrepreneurial wealth accounted for 68.6 percent of the newly classified single-family offices, versus 29.2 percent linked to generational wealth, FINTRX said. Chief Investment Officer reported the figures on 1 September 2026.

Recent family-linked transactions concentrate around the physical and operational layers of artificial intelligence, including energy-efficient chips, robot intelligence, AI-native finance systems, compute infrastructure and natural-gas capacity expected to support power demand. Sixty-five percent of UBS respondents rank AI among the leading themes for capital allocation.

Governance remains a constraint. Only 35 percent of surveyed offices have a defined succession plan, UBS said. Citi highlighted resource constraints, uneven operational-risk management and continued outsourcing even as core decisions remain internal.

Deloitte estimated 8,030 single-family offices globally in 2024, up from 6,130 in 2019, and projected 10,720 by 2030. It estimated family-office assets under management at $3.1 trillion in 2024, rising to $5.4 trillion by 2030. FINTRX said 59.4 percent of the 96 additions in the second quarter were based outside the United States, up from 52.1 percent in the prior quarter.

The Deployment Angle

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

The split creates two parallel deployment paths. Offices with succession plans and governance bandwidth can support direct ownership and co-GP structures in AI infrastructure, compute and energy—sectors where the source documents show family capital is clustering. Offices without those structures should favor LP commitments or co-investment rights within a fund wrapper, where the sponsor handles operational risk and the family retains liquidity.

The private-credit gap is the tell. If 92.7 percent of newly tracked offices want direct deals but only 6.3 percent want private credit, those offices are prioritizing control over yield. That argues for separate-account structures in real assets or AI hardware, where the family can influence asset management and exit timing. It argues against blind-pool funds or long-dated credit vehicles.

Underwrite governance as part of expected return. If 65 percent of offices expect dollar weakness and 60 percent plan to change allocation, but only 35 percent have succession plans, the offices making multi-year direct commitments today may face forced sales or restructuring when the principal exits. Co-GP partners should price in governance continuity and require family-office board representation or a documented succession trigger before closing.

Questions this story answers

02Are newly formed family offices more interested in direct deals or fund structures?

FINTRX data on 96 offices added to its database in Q2 2026 shows 92.7% stated interest in direct investments and 89.6% in private equity. By contrast, only 6.3% reported interest in private credit and 10.4% in hedge funds, suggesting newly tracked offices strongly favor direct ownership over fund structures.

03How many family offices globally does Deloitte estimate exist and what assets do they manage?

Deloitte estimated 8,030 single-family offices globally in 2024, up from 6,130 in 2019, and projected 10,720 by 2030. Deloitte also estimated family-office assets under management at $3.1 trillion in 2024, rising to $5.4 trillion by 2030.

04What are family offices investing in around artificial intelligence in 2026?

According to the source, family-linked transactions are concentrating on the infrastructure beneath AI applications, including energy-efficient chips, compute capacity, robotics, energy and financial controls. UBS also reports that 65% of surveyed respondents rank AI among the leading themes for capital allocation.

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Original reporting

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