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The Charging Bull in the Financial District in New York City. Mairo Cinquetti | Nurphoto | Getty Images A version of this article appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Nearly two thirds of family offices cited inflation as their top investing concern, according to a new report from Citi Wealth. However, investment firms of the ultra-wealthy are still prioritizing growth with plans to increase allocations to public equities, private equity and direct investments over the next 12 months, per the findings. In the annual survey of 351 firms conducted in June and July, 63% of respondents selected inflation as their top concern, up from 37% in 2025.
Fear around trade disputes and tariffs was ranked as the top concern by 18% of respondents, compared with 60% last year. Inflation woes also outranked other fears like interest rate changes (ranked as a top concern by 44% of respondents), market volatility (34%) and the Middle East conflict (32%). Alexandre Monnier, head of family office advisory at Citi Wealth, said he was surprised by how inflation fears surged among family offices so quickly.
He added, however, that the survey indicated that family office portfolio allocations have not changed as dramatically. "I think family offices are becoming more sophisticated and see risk management as something more active that allows you to stay invested during periods of uncertainty, instead of having to retrench the way they might have done it historically," Monnier said. Despite inflation concerns, fixed-income allocations were largely stable.
On net, just 3% more respondents decreased their allocation than increased it over the past 12 months. While a net 34% of firms increased their public equities exposure, 42% reported not adjusting their allocation. After stocks, private equity and cash attracted the most incremental capital with a net 15% of respondents increasing their allocations in each category, according to the survey.
Looking forward, nearly a third of respondents, on net, said they planned to increase their exposure to global developed equities over the next 12 months. About a net 10% of family offices said they planned to ramp up their allocation to private equity either through direct investments or funds. Family offices were the most bearish on private credit, with a net 12% of respondents planning to decrease their allocation over the next 12 months, per the survey.
While average sentiment was negative for emerging market fixed income and cash, those categories leaned toward decreasing allocations by a difference of only 6%. Monnier said family offices might be motivated to hold onto liquid but inflation-sensitive assets in order to maintain flexibility to invest later or as a defensive play. Only 11% of family offices, or 3% on net, said they would invest more in commodities.
Monnier said this was surprising given the potential of commodities, particularly oil and gasoline, as inflation hedges, but said that family offices might be outsourcing these investments to advisors. North American family offices indicated the most interest in real estate, with 37% planning to allocate more to the traditional inflation hedge versus 25% of the overall respondent pool. Monnier noted that North American family offices report the highest average allocations to directly owned real estate and direct private equity holdings.
"I think it highlights the appetite, the orientation towards ownership and private market exposure that we see in North America," he said. Fears of inflation and market instability have not blunted family offices' appetite for direct investments, with 40% of family offices reporting they intend to increase their activity by some degree. Only 11% said they plan to make modest decreases or pause, according to the report.
Monnier credited this enthusiasm to family offices wanting not only more control over their PE portfolios but also a way to engage heirs in the family office. "The next generation is drawn to direct investments, tangible assets, more so than a paper portfolio," he said. "You know, if you invest in a hedge fund, it's a line in your report, but it's hard to understand, what is it that you own.
If you own a stake in a business or in real estate, you can touch it. It's across the street."
Source: cnbc.com
