Family offices double down on stocks and dial back on private equity

Core Insights - Family offices are increasing their investments in public equities while reducing their allocations to private equity, with an average allocation of 31% to public equities, up 3 percentage points from 2023, and a decrease in private equity allocation from 26% to 21% [2][3] Investment Trends - U.S. family offices raised their average allocation to public equities from 27% to 31%, while their private equity allocation decreased by 2 percentage points to 25%, still higher than international counterparts [3] - A significant 86% of family offices reported investments in artificial intelligence, with public equities and ETFs being the preferred investment vehicles [6] Market Sentiment - Despite concerns over geopolitical risks and inflation, family offices maintain a relatively high allocation to private equity, with 72% investing in secondaries, an increase from 60% in 2023 [4][7] - More than three-quarters of family offices expect tariffs to remain the same or increase, and valuations to stay the same or decrease in the next 12 months [4] Future Investment Plans - 39% of family offices plan to increase their private equity investments in the next year, while 38% intend to invest more in stocks [8] - A third of family offices plan to deploy more capital, with only 16% looking to increase cash and cash equivalents [10] Geographic and Asset Class Diversification - Family offices in the Americas are more optimistic, with over a third not positioning for tail risk, compared to 14% in EMEA and 12% in APAC [12] - Geographic diversification is the most popular method for preparing for black-swan events, with 53% adopting this strategy [12] Cryptocurrency Interest - A third of family offices are invested in cryptocurrency, up from 26% in 2023, with Asian family offices showing the highest interest at 39% [14]