Sophisticated investors are increasingly active in reshaping their portfolios with a record 60 per cent of family offices globally planning changes to their strategic asset allocation over the next 12 months as geopolitical and economic uncertainty intensifies, two major global surveys have found.

UBS's Global Family Office Report 2026 found concerns about geopolitical conflict, sovereign debt and a more fragmented global economy which are prompting wealthy families to reassess how portfolios are positioned for the years ahead. 

The findings were similar in J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s 2026 Family Office Report, which surveyed 333 single family offices and found geopolitics was the most frequently cited investment risk, followed by interest rates, economic growth, inflation, and trade policy.

Both reports identified geopolitical uncertainty and concentration risk as key dynamics driving allocation changes.

The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026, drawn from 307 family offices in over 30 markets, and with an average net worth of US$2.7 billion noted: 

“In an environment where risk is increasingly seen as a lasting feature rather than a cyclical phase, questions of long-term portfolio structure are coming into sharper focus, challenging assumptions that have shaped strategic positioning in recent years.”

While neither report points to wholesale portfolio repositioning, both indicate family offices are making targeted adjustments designed to improve diversification, flexibility, and resilience while maintaining core strategic exposures.

Both reports flagged the fact that family offices are selectively increasing exposure to areas such as private equity, emerging markets, infrastructure and thematic growth opportunities, while reviewing concentrations in currencies, regions and asset classes that have benefited from a decade of strong performance.

Developed market equities continue to anchor portfolios. UBS found that developed market equities account for 27 per cent of average allocations, while J.P. Morgan found public equities represent 38.4 per cent of family office portfolios, with US large-cap equities continuing to dominate listed market exposure.

Diversifying beyond US equities and the US dollar

One of the clearest portfolio construction themes emerging from the UBS report is a reassessment of concentration risk, particularly where portfolios have become heavily exposed to a single region, currency or market cycle.

The UBS report found 47 per cent of family offices globally believe they are overexposed to the US dollar, while 65 per cent expect confidence in the currency's reserve status to weaken over the next five years. Some 29 per cent have already reduced, or are considering reducing, exposure to US dollar-denominated assets, while 30 per cent are increasing diversification across multiple currencies.

Family offices in the Asia-Pacific are also making this shift. UBS found investors in the region are increasing allocations to Asia Pacific, Greater China, and Western Europe while reducing exposure to US dollar-denominated assets. North Asia family offices currently allocate 47 per cent of portfolios to North America, while Southeast Asian family offices allocate 58 per cent.

Importantly, this does not reflect a wholesale retreat from the United States. North America remains the largest regional allocation globally, accounting for 53 per cent of portfolios in 2025 and an expected 52 per cent in 2026.

J.P. Morgan's findings point to a similar dynamic confirming the dominance of US large-cap equities. One-third of global family offices have more than 30 per cent of their portfolio allocated to US large-caps, with around 41 per cent carrying smaller allocations of between 10-29%.

J.P. Morgan’s report also found that while investors are not abandoning the US, they are increasingly conscious of the concentration risk that can emerge with a narrow group of outperforming markets or companies. More than 80 per cent of family offices have little or no exposure to US mid and small-cap stocks, or developed international equities in Europe and the UK.

Where family offices are deploying capital 

Both surveys that found family offices plan to increase exposure to growth-oriented investments over the next 12 to 18 months. 

UBS found that among those family offices planning changes, portfolios are seen tilting slightly toward emerging markets equities, alongside selected alternatives such as infrastructure. At the same time, real estate allocations are expected to decline, and gold is attracting greater interest as a geopolitical hedge and potential diversifier away from US dollar exposure.

J.P. Morgan identified private equity as the strongest area of intended allocation growth, with 37 per cent of family offices planning to increase exposure over the next 12 to 18 months. Interest also remains strong across private markets more broadly, including private credit, venture capital, infrastructure and real estate. Overall, family offices were 2.5 times more likely to increase private market allocations than reduce them.

Thematic investing also remains a priority. J.P. Morgan found 65 per cent of family offices are prioritising AI-related investments, making it the most widely cited thematic opportunity globally, followed by healthcare innovation (50 per cent) and infrastructure (41 per cent).

The UBS findings suggest investors are increasingly looking beyond AI developers to the infrastructure enabling adoption, including data centres, digital infrastructure, power generation and energy networks. This reflects a broader trend towards seeking diversified exposure across an investment theme rather than relying on a small number of direct beneficiaries.

Portfolio construction lessons for financial advisers

Taken together, the UBS and J.P. Morgan findings suggest family offices are asking the same portfolio construction questions facing many investors: how to manage concentration risk, liquidity, diversification and long-term growth exposure.

Rather than making dramatic portfolio shifts based on short-term volatility, UBS says family offices are building resilience for a wider range of potential outcomes, reflected in the larger number of family offices planning to change how they strategically allocate capital.

“This report shows that family offices continue to adjust portfolios in measured ways – diversifying across assets, currencies and regions, while maintaining exposure to long term themes such as artificial intelligence with greater selectivity.”

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