The following are the key insights from the 2025 Family Office Investment Insights Report: “Adapting to the Terrain” by Goldman Sachs:

Global Sentiment & Macroeconomic Risks

• Geopolitical conflict is the most cited investment risk (61%), especially pronounced in APAC (75%).
• Other leading concerns: political instability (39%), economic recession (38%), global tariffs (35%), and inflation (27%).
• 70% expect tariffs to stay the same or rise, reflecting a belief that protectionism is the new normal.
• Inflation worries are higher in the Americas (34%), compared to EMEA (25%) and APAC (17%).
• Despite this backdrop, family offices remain confident in long-term investment theses and global growth drivers.5

Asset Allocation Shifts (2023 vs. 2025)

Public Equities:

• Increased to 31%, rebounding from a slight dip in 2023.
• AI and tech megacaps drove this trend, with many taking advantage of market volatility to enhance yield and positioning.

Alternatives:

• Dropped slightly to 42% (from 44% in 2023), yet still dominate allocations.
• Private equity remains key, though allocations declined due to muted exits, poor DPI, and market rebalancing.
• Top reasons for trimming alternatives: rebalancing (22%), weak performance (14%), risk concerns (13%).

Private Real Estate & Infrastructure:

• 44% invest directly in real estate, while 56% are engaged in private infrastructure, driven by megatrends like:
• Data center growth (digitalization)
• Medical centers (aging populations)
• Ports/logistics (realignment of trade)

Private Credit:

• Allocation rose to 4%, with strong interest despite a small base.
• Family offices appreciate customized structures, tighter covenants, and the seniority of private credit relative to public debt.

Hedge Funds:

• Static at 6%. Interest is growing in multi-strategy and quantitative hedge funds, but access barriers limit growth.

Cash and Fixed Income:

• Cash remains stable at 12%, used tactically.
• Fixed income allocation grew to 11%, with 72% of respondents holding average portfolio duration of 3+ years.

Forward-Looking Portfolio Trends

Family Offices Plan to:

• Increase allocations to:
• Private equity (39%)
• Public equities (38%)
• Private credit (26%)
• Decrease allocations to:
• Cash (34%)
• Hedge fund, real estate, and fixed income allocations expected to be mostly stable.

The shift reflects optimism around valuation normalization, improved exit environments (IPOs/M&A), and supportive financing conditions.

Technology & Artificial Intelligence

• 58% expect to overweight technology over the next 12 months.
• 86% have invested in AI, primarily through public equities (52%), and AI-empowered companies (38%).
• 51% use AI in investment processes, mostly for:
• Data analysis (85%)
• Research (82%)
• Automation (70%)

Other applications include portfolio optimization, idea generation, and due diligence.

Family offices are also exploring “secondary beneficiaries of AI”, such as energy and industrial sectors—given rising power demands of AI infrastructure (e.g., data centers).

Cryptocurrency & Digital Assets

• 33% currently invested in crypto (up from 16% in 2021).
• Regional disparities:
• APAC: 35% currently invested, 39% interested
• Americas: 37% currently invested, 17% interested
• EMEA: 25% currently invested, 17% interested
• Primary investment methods: spot purchases and ETFs.
• 11% use crypto for tail risk hedging, notably higher in APAC.

Thematic Interest in Sports

• 25% already invested, another 25% are considering.
• Top focus: men’s major leagues (71%), followed by:
• Streaming tech (31%)
• Real estate/venues (31%)
• Emerging sports, women’s leagues, e-sports
• 61% believe media & content are the biggest drivers of value in sports, with a strong view on monetization of data rights and live sports IP.

Tail Risk Positioning

• 35% of US family offices aren’t hedging for tail risk, vs. only 14% in EMEA and 12% in APAC.
• Common strategies include:
• Geographic diversification (53%)
• Gold (24%)
• US Treasuries (22%)
• Cryptocurrencies (11%)

This underscores regional differences in risk appetite and inflation hedging behavior.