- The latest Global Family Office Report released by UBS Group shows that about sixty percent of surveyed family offices plan to adjust their strategic asset allocation within the next year. This proportion is twice the average level of the past five years, highlighting a systemic reassessment of existing asset portfolios by the super-wealthy class.
- Global family offices are accelerating the implementation of jurisdictional diversification strategies, with more than a quarter of institutions planning to reduce their holdings of dollar-denominated assets. About two-thirds of respondents expect confidence in the dollar's status as a global reserve currency to weaken in the long term.
- There is a significant polarization in domestic and overseas asset allocation strategies. Non-U.S. family offices are actively increasing allocations to emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa, as well as gold, while U.S. domestic family offices are instead increasing their stakes in the domestic market, with asset allocation rising to eighty-eight percent.
Asset Allocation Faces Largest Adjustment in Five Years
According to the latest survey results released by UBS Group, the global wealth management sector is experiencing the largest reshuffle in recent years. Up to sixty percent of family offices have confirmed they will adjust their strategic asset allocation within the next twelve months. This significant trend is mainly driven by rising global geopolitical risks, expanding public debt, and the long-term interest rate environment. UBS Americas Private Wealth Management points out that the focus of wealthy families has shifted from short-term trade frictions to long-term systemic risks, forcing these long-term fund management institutions to break past inertia and seek greater resilience in asset portfolios.
Jurisdictional Diversification to Hedge Dollar Asset Risks
In terms of specific regional allocations, North America is the only region where family offices generally plan to reduce exposure. The report notes that concerns are deepening over the high concentration in the U.S. stock market, overvaluation of artificial intelligence, fiscal policy uncertainty, and the continuous rise in U.S. bond yields. To address potential market revaluation, the international wealthy class is implementing jurisdictional diversification strategies. Nearly a third of family offices have already diversified their investable assets across four or more different regions. In terms of currency choices, more than a quarter of institutions have explicitly stated they will reduce dollar exposure, with the Swiss franc and euro becoming the main diversification targets for safe-haven funds.
Traditional Safe-Haven Assets and Emerging Markets Gain Allocation
Geopolitical uncertainty is listed as the top macro threat for the coming year and the next five years. Against this backdrop, the flow of funds from global family offices is undergoing a fundamental shift. Traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and inflation-resistant infrastructure investments are once again favored. Meanwhile, funds are rapidly flowing into equity assets in emerging markets such as Latin America and Africa, aiming to achieve multidimensional returns before the slowdown in developed economies and policy uncertainty stabilize. In contrast, cash and real estate assets facing valuation pressure are showing a slight outflow trend overall.
Divergence in Investment Strategies of Domestic and Overseas Family Offices
Notably, the global movement of funds shows a distinct regional divide. U.S. domestic family offices have not followed the global de-dollarization trend but instead exhibit a strong domestic preference, with their U.S. asset allocation rising from the previous eighty-six percent to eighty-eight percent. Conversely, non-U.S. family offices are accelerating the withdrawal of funds from the U.S. market. Chinese family offices have currently allocated about half of their assets to Western Europe, while Western European family offices have also retained forty percent of their funds locally. If U.S. macroeconomic policies trigger another market revaluation, this internal and external divergence in allocation patterns may further exacerbate the volatility of global capital flows.
