More family offices are planning to alter their strategic asset allocations than at any other time in the 2020s, according to a new UBS report.
According to the latest edition of the UBS Global Family Office Report, released today, some 60 per cent of family offices plan to make changes to their strategic asset allocations this year as many reconsider ‘long-term positioning, against the current backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty’.
During the pandemic-affected years of 2020, 2021 and 2022 only 25-34 per cent of family offices planned to alter strategic asset allocation within the year. Until 2026, the highest figure in the 2020s was 35 per cent, which was recorded last year.
‘Strategic capital allocation’ refers to long-term portfolio strategy that sets target allocations across asset classes to balance risk and return. It ‘has traditionally been one of the most stable elements of family office portfolio construction, with changes unfolding only gradually over time,’ noted the report.
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‘This marks a break from the stable allocation patterns of recent years and suggests a reassessment of established portfolio assumptions,’ the report authors added.
‘These planned changes go beyond routine changes: they appear to reflect structural shifts driven by risk perception, valuation concerns, and changing expectations for returns across public and private markets.
‘The scale and breadth of planned allocation changes seem to highlight a more active, conviction-led approach to long-term portfolio management, with diversification an important part in the defence against the challenges of a fragmenting world.’
The 2026 UBS Global Family Office Report, which surveyed 307 family offices with an average net worth of $2.7 billion across 30 different markets, highlighted that while more family offices are making changes in response to a volatile geopolitical climate, alterations to investments may not themselves be drastic.
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‘These changes are incremental and not radical. Among the changes considered, it is important to highlight that developed markets and the US remain the anchor of clients’ portfolios,’ said Yves-Alain Sommerhalder, head of global wealth management solutions at UBS.
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Indeed, strategic allocations in developed markets remained steady, according to the bank’s data. Family offices were planning to allocate 14 per cent of assets to fixed income in 2025, and those surveyed expect to keep this at the same level in 2026. They intend to allocate 27 per cent to developed markets equities in 2026 – again the same as the year before.
‘On the flip side, real estate is one of the areas where clients are scaling back,’ said Max Kunkel, CIO of global family and institutional wealth at UBS. ‘The lower allocation is partly explained by recent relative performance and the near-term outlook, which has favoured other asset classes. That said, the allocation to real estate remains sizeable.’
Family offices planned to reduce their real estate exposure to 8 per cent of their overall portfolio in 2026, compared with 11 per cent in 2025. The motivations behind this shift range from liquidity needs to a preference for higher-yielding alternatives, such as infrastructure.
Emerging market equities are set to remain a smaller component of portfolios: 6 per cent in 2026 against 5 per cent in 2025.
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A slight increase in exposure to gold is also being considered by family office executives, from 2 per cent of overall investments in 2025 to 3 per cent for those planning changes in 2026. Diversifying away from the US dollar and long-term potential were cited as reasons for this decision.
Family offices are also thinking ahead, anticipating further tension in the geopolitical landscape. ‘Major geopolitical conflict’ emerged as the most significant perceived risk for family offices – both over the next 12 months (64 per cent considered it a major risk) and over a five-year timeframe (61 per cent). Only 17 per cent of respondents considered a global recession to be a major risk over the next 12 months, but half of all respondents said it is a serious risk over the next half-decade.
While global risk is expected to increase, exposure to risk assets should not necessarily be decreased, said Kunkel.
‘The plan is not to reduce exposure to risk assets,’ he said. ‘It is to increase diversification, be it geographically or single-security specific, and to diversify when it comes to booking centres, namely in multi-shoring.’
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