UBS Global Family Office Report 2023: 230 Family Offices Averaging $900 Million Assets & $2.2 Billion Net worth, Total Wealth of $495.8 Billion
3rd June 2023 | Hong Kong
UBS has released the Global Family Office Report 2023, providing key insights into 230 family offices averaging $900 million assets, $2.2 billion net worth, and total wealth of $495.8 billion. For the 230 family offices, the top 5 Purpose of Family Office are Transfer of wealth, Provide income to family members, Diversify from operating business, invest excess cash from operation business, manage administrative tasks. The pure cost of operating family office (61% of family office cost) ranges from 0.288% to 0.466% of asset value, or $288,000 to $466,000 for every $100 million, $2.88 million to $4.66 million for every $1 billion. The cost of operating family office breakdown is Family office pure operating cost (61%), Asset management costs (21%), Banking-related services fees (8%), External structures (7%), Other (3%). The top 10 Family Office Services (In-house) are Strategic asset allocation, Portfolio risk management, Financial accounting & reporting, Bookkeeping and accounting, Portfolio administration, Philanthropy, Succession planning, Investment research, Corporate finance consulting, Lifestyle services. The top 10 Family Office Services (Outsource) are Legal services, Tax planning, Cyber security, Investment research, Pension / Life assurance planning, Portfolio administration, Corporate finance consulting, Succession planning, Bookkeeping & accounting, Financial accounting & reporting. The Asset Allocation in 2022 is Traditional 55% and Alternative 45%. The Portfolio Allocation in 2022: Equities 31%, Fixed Income 15%, Cash 9%, Private Equity 19%, Real Estate 13%, Hedge Funds 7%, Private Debt 2%, Gold / Precious Metals 2%, Art & Antiques 2%, Commodities 1%. The Geographical Asset Allocation in 2022: North America 48%, Western Europe 30%, APAC (Excludes Greater China) 8%, Greater China 7%, Latin America 3%, Eastern Europe 2%, Middle East 1%, Africa Less than 1%. The top 10 Interested Investment Themes are Digital Transformation, Medical Devices / Health Tech, Automation & Robotics, Green Tech, Security & Safety, Food Innovation, Fintech, Smart Mobility, Genetic Therapies, Water Scarcity. The top 3 Private Equity Investment Types are Private equity funds (56%), Direct investment(s) in private equity as an active shareholder (15%), Private equity funds of funds (8%). The Top 8 Planned Allocation to Private Equity in 2023 are Secondaries 45%, Technology 39%, Defensive (healthcare etc) 37%, Distressed 33%, Value 31%, Co-investments 31%, Primaries 18%, Cyclicals 6%. The top 8 Planned Allocation to Hedge Funds in 2023 – Global Macro 77%, Multi-Strategy 73%, Long / Short Equity 67%, Relative Value 47%, Event-Driven 43%, Commodity Trading Advisor 17%. See below for key findings & summary | View: Report
“ 230 Family Offices Averaging $900 Million Assets & $2.2 Billion Net worth, Total Wealth of $495.8 Billion “
UBS Global Family Office Report 2023
UBS has released the Global Family Office Report 2023, providing key insights into 230 family offices averaging $900 million assets, $2.2 billion net worth, and total wealth of $495.8 billion.
Family Office Profile
- 230 family offices
- $900 million assets per family office (average)
- $2.2 billion net worth per family office (average)
- $495.8 billion total wealth
Summary – Managing Family Office
- Top 5 Purpose of Family Office – Transfer of wealth, Provide income to family members, Diversify from operating business, invest excess cash from operation business, manage administrative tasks
- Top 3 Concerns – Geopolitics, Recession, Inflation
- Cost of operating family office – Family office pure operating cost (61%), Asset management costs (21%), Banking-related services fees (8%), External structures (7%), Other (3%)
- Pure cost of operating family office – 0.288% to 0.466% ($288,000 to $466,000 for every $100 million, $2.88 million to $4.66 million for every $1 billion)
- Top 3 Compensation Benefits to Employees – Discretionary bonus, Performance-linked bonus, Co-investment opportunity
- Top 10 Family Office Services (In-house) – Strategic asset allocation, Portfolio risk management, Financial accounting & reporting, Bookkeeping and accounting, Portfolio administration, Philanthropy, Succession planning, Investment research, Corporate finance consulting, Lifestyle services
- Top 10 Family Office Services (Outsource) – Legal services, Tax planning, Cyber security, Investment research, Pension / Life assurance planning, Portfolio administration, Corporate finance consulting, Succession planning, Bookkeeping & accounting, Financial accounting & reporting
- Cyber Threats Incidents: More than once (17%), 1 incident(20%), No (63%)
Summary – Asset Allocation & Investments
- Asset Allocation 2022 – Traditional 55%, Alternative 45%
- Portfolio Allocation 2022 – Equities 31%, Fixed Income 15%, Cash 9%, Private Equity 19%, Real Estate 13%, Hedge Funds 7%, Private Debt 2%, Gold / Precious Metals 2%, Art & Antiques 2%, Commodities 1%
- Planned Portfolio Allocation 2023 Change: Equities +2%, Fixed Income +4%, Cash -1%, Private Equity -3%, Real Estate -4%, Hedge Funds -1%, Private Debt +1%, Gold / Precious Metals No Change, Art & Antiques -1%, Commodities No Change
- Portfolio Rebalance Approach – Own discretion (72%), Systemically (17%), Tend not to (11%)
- Geographical Asset Allocation – North America 48%, Western Europe 30%, APAC (Excludes Greater China) 8%, Greater China 7%, Latin America 3%, Eastern Europe 2%, Middle East 1%, Africa Less than 1%
- Top 10 Interested Investment Themes – Digital Transformation, Medical Devices / Health Tech, Automation & Robotics, Green Tech, Security & Safety, Food Innovation, Fintech, Smart Mobility, Genetic Therapies, Water Scarcity
- Top 5 Diversification Strategy – High-quality & short-duration fixed income, Use manager selection &/more active management, Hedge funds, Defensive geographies & sectors, Derivative to manage risks
- Top 3 Private Equity Investment Types – Private equity funds (56%), Direct investment(s) in private equity as an active shareholder (15%), Private equity funds of funds (8%)
- Top 8 Planned Allocation to Private Equity in 2023 – Secondaries 45%, Technology 39%, Defensive (healthcare etc) 37%, Distressed 33%, Value 31%, Co-investments 31%, Primaries 18%, Cyclicals 6%
- Expected Hedge Funds Performance in next 12 months (2023) – Exceed performance targets (17%), Meet targets (57%), Will not meet (27%)
- Top 6 Planned Allocation to Hedge Funds in 2023 – Global Macro 77%, Multi-Strategy 73%, Long / Short Equity 67%, Relative Value 47%, Event-Driven 43%, Commodity Trading Advisor 17%
- Top 3 Real Estate Investment Types: Direct investments in fully-owned physical real estate (59%), Co-investments in physical real estate (14%), Investments in direct closed-end funds (14%)
- Digital Assets / Decentralized Payments & Technology Allocation – Do not invest (44%), Invest less than 1% of portfolio (38%), Invest more than 1% of portfolio (18%)
UBS Global Family Office Report 2023
1) Family Office Profile
Family Office Profile
- 230 family offices
- $900 million assets per family office (average)
- $2.2 billion net worth per family office (average)
- $495.8 billion total wealth
Family Office Profile
- Europe – 29%
- APAC – 20%
- Switzerland – 17%
- United States – 14%
- Latin America – 13%
- Middle East & Africa – 7%
Main purpose of family office assets & activities:
- Support generational transfer of wealth – 63%
- Provide income to the family members – 55%
- Diversify away from the operating business – 41%
- Invest excess cash from the operating business – 33%
- Manage administrative tasks – 31%
- Give back to society / philanthropy – 27%
- Provide liquidity to the operating business – 13%
- Other – 8%
Family Office Top 3 Concerns in the next 2 to 3 years:
- Geopolitics – 35%
- Recession – 13%
- Inflation – 11%
2) Cost of Family Office
Overall cost of operating family office in 2023:
- Family office pure operating cost – 61%
- Asset management costs – 21%
- Banking-related services fees – 8%
- External structures – 7%
- Other – 3%
Pure cost of operating family office:
- 0.288% to 0.466%
- $288,000 to $466,000 for every $100 million
- $2.88 million to $4.66 million for every $1 billion
Pure cost of operating family office (business):
- With operating business – 0.373%
- Without operating business – 0.432%
Pure cost of operating family office (private wealth):
- $100 million to $250 million – 0.466%
- $251 million to $1 billion – 0.363%
- More than $1 billion – 0.367%
Pure cost of operating family office (staff members):
- 1 to 3 staff – 0.288%
- More than 4 staff – 0.408%
Family office pure operating cost breakdown (61% of family office):
- Staff – 69%
- Legal &/or compliance – 10%
- Physical infrastructure – 9%
- IT/technology 8%
- Research – 4%
- Other – 1%
Net spending change over next 3 years: Increase / No Change
- Staff costs – 60% / 37%
- IT / Technology – 49% / 48%
- Legal &/or Compliance – 36% / 60%
- Research – 25% / 71%
- Physical Infrastructure – 22% / 74%
3) Compensation Strategy in Family Office
Compensation Benefits to Employees:
- Discretionary bonus – 60%
- Performance-linked bonus – 47%
- Co-investment opportunity – 23%
- Indirect financial benefits (Quality pensions, medical coverage, company cars, etc.) – 20%
- Carried interest – 11%
- Guaranteed bonus – 8%
- Phantom equity (Contractual agreement to pay cash in the future tied to the market value of shares) – 6%
- Leverage through non-recourse loans – 5%
- Operating company equity – 4%
- Other – 4%
- Not applicable – 12%
4) Family Office Asset Allocation
Strategic Asset Allocation 2022:
- Traditional asset classes – 55%
- Alternative asset classes – 45%
Global Family Office Portfolio Allocation 2022:
- Equities – 31%
- Fixed Income – 15%
- Cash – 9%
- Private Equity – 19%
- Real Estate – 13%
- Hedge Funds – 7%
- Private Debt – 2%
- Gold / Precious Metals – 2%
- Art & Antiques – 2%
- Commodities – 1%
Sub-allocation
Equities – 31% (25% Developed Markets + 6% Emerging Markets)
Fixed Income – 15% (12% Developed Markets + 3% Emerging Markets)
Private Equity – 19% (10% Funds / Funds of Funds + 9% Direct Investment)
APAC Family Office Portfolio Allocation 2022 (Global):
- Equities – 37% (31%)
- Fixed Income – 15% (15%)
- Cash – 9% (9%)
- Private Equity – 18% (19%)
- Real Estate – 11% (13%)
- Hedge Funds – 5% (7%)
- Private Debt – 2% (2%)
- Gold / Precious Metals – 1% (2%)
- Art & Antiques – 1% (2%)
- Commodities – 1% (1%)
Planned Portfolio Allocation 2023 (2022)
- Equities – 33% (31%)
- Fixed Income – 19% (15%)
- Cash – 8% (9%)
- Private Equity – 16% (19%)
- Real Estate – 9% (13%)
- Hedge Funds – 6% (7%)
- Private Debt – 3% (2%)
- Gold / Precious Metals – 2% (2%)
- Art & Antiques – 1% (2%)
- Commodities – 1% (1%)
Planned Portfolio Allocation 2023 Change:
- Equities: +2%
- Fixed Income: +4%
- Cash: -1%
- Private Equity: -3%
- Real Estate: -4%
- Hedge Funds: -1%
- Private Debt: +1%
- Gold / Precious Metals: No Change
- Art & Antiques: -1%
- Commodities: No Change
Portfolio Rebalance Approach (Global vs APAC):
- Tend not to rebalance portfolio – 11% / 3%
- Rebalance portfolio at own discretion – 72% / 90%
- Rebalance portfolio systemically – 17% / 8%
5) Family Office Geographical Asset Allocation
Geographical Allocation:
- North America – 48%
- Western Europe – 30%
- APAC (Excludes Greater China) – 8%
- Greater China – 7%
- Latin America – 3%
- Eastern Europe – 2%
- Middle East – 1%
- Africa – Less than 1%
- Greater China ~ Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
APAC Family Office Geographical Allocation (APAC vs Global):
- North America – 34% vs 48%
- Western Europe – 10% vs 30%
- APAC (Excludes Greater China) – 28% vs 8%
- Greater China – 23% vs 7%
- Latin America – 1% vs 3%
- Eastern Europe – 4% vs 2%
- Middle East – 0% vs 1%
- Africa – 1% vs Less than 1%
- Greater China ~ Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
APAC Family Office Geographical Allocation (North America vs Global):
- North America – 86% vs 48%
- Western Europe – 10% vs 30%
- APAC (Excludes Greater China) – 2% vs 8%
- Greater China – 2% vs 7%
- Latin America – 1% vs 3%
- Eastern Europe – 0% vs 2%
- Middle East – 0% vs 1%
- Africa – 0% vs Less than 1%
European Family Office Geographical Allocation (European vs Global):
- North America – 43% vs 48%
- Western Europe – 43% vs 30%
- APAC (Excludes Greater China) – 5% vs 8%
- Greater China – 4% vs 7%
- Latin America – 1% vs 3%
- Eastern Europe – 4% vs 2%
- Middle East – 0% vs 1%
- Africa – 0% vs Less than 1%
6) Investment Themes & Strategy
Interested Investment Themes:
- Digital Transformation – 75%
- Medical Devices / Health Tech – 67%
- Automation & Robotics – 64%
- Green Tech – 61%
- Security & Safety – 56%
- Food Innovation (Upstream, Downstream) – 55%
- Fintech – 51%
- Smart Mobility – 51%
- Genetic Therapies – 49%
- Water Scarcity – 45%
- Circular Economy – 35%
- Metaverse – 21%
Diversification Strategy:
- High-quality, short-duration fixed income – 37%
- Rely more on manager selection &/more active management – 35%
- Hedge funds – 33%
- Defensive geographies & sectors – 29%
- Derivative to manage risks – 24%
- Increase illiquid assets – 21%
7) Alternatives – Private Equity, Hedge Funds, Real Estate, Digital Assets
A) Private Equity Investment Types:
- Private equity funds – 56%
- Private equity funds of funds – 8%
- Direct investment(s) in private equity as an active shareholder – 15%
- Direct investment(s) in private equity as a passive shareholder – 11%
- Direct co-investments in private equity as an active shareholder – 4%
- Direct co-investments in private equity as a passive shareholder – 7%
B) Planning to Allocate to Private Equity in 2023:
- Secondaries – 45%
- Technology – 39%
- Defensive (healthcare etc) – 37%
- Distressed – 33%
- Value – 31%
- Co-investments – 31%
- Primaries – 18%
- Cyclicals – 6%
- Other – 6%
- Not applicable / No plans – 14%
C) Expected Hedge Funds Performance in next 12 months (2023):
- Will exceed performance targets – 17%
- Will meet performance targets – 57%
- Will not meet performance targets – 27%
D) Planning to allocate to Hedge Funds in 2023:
- Global Macro – 77%
- Multi-Strategy – 73%
- Long / Short Equity – 67%
- Relative Value – 47%
- Event-Driven – 43%
- Commodity Trading Advisor – 17%
- Other – 10%
E) Real Estate Investment Types:
- Direct investments in fully-owned physical real estate – 59%
- Co-investments in physical real estate – 14%
- Investments in direct closed-end funds – 14%
- Investments in direct open-end funds – 5%
- Investments in fund of funds – 2%
- Listed real estate (REITs etc) – 6%
F) Real Estate Residential:
- Domestic Residential – 30%
- International Residential – 14%
G) Real Estate Commercial:
- Domestic Commercial – 32%
- International Commercial – 24%
H) Real Estate Portfolio Allocation:
- Core / core plus (low risk, focus on income returns, best quality properties) – 59%
- Value-add (higher risk, capital gains, properties that need improvements/repositioning) – 27%
- Opportunistic – (highest risk, highest possible returns, focus on distressed opportunities / new real estate developments) – 14%
I) Digital Assets / Decentralized Payments & Technology Allocation
- Do not invest – 44%
- Invest less than 1% of portfolio – 38%
- Invest more than 1% of portfolio – 18%
J) Planned increased investments – Increase / No Change / Decrease
- Distributed ledger &/or blockchain – 35% / 60% / 5%
- Cryptocurrencies – 27% / 68% / 5%
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi) – 25% / 68% / 8%
- Digital exchanges &/or tokenization platforms – 21% / 73% / 6%
- Digital assets (e.g., photos, videos, spreadsheets, etc.) – 11% / 78% / 11%
- Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) – 10% / 79% / 10%
8) Managing Family Office
Family Office Services – In-house
- Strategic asset allocation – 85%
- Portfolio risk management – 77%
- Financial accounting & reporting – 73%
- Bookkeeping & accounting – 72%
- Portfolio administration – 62%
- Philanthropy – 60%
- Succession planning – 51%
- Investment research – 49%
- Corporate finance consulting – 44%
- Lifestyle services – 41%
- Tax planning – 32%
- Cyber security – 31%
- Legal services – 30%
- Pension / Life assurance planning – 23%
Family Office Services – Outsource / Do not use
- Legal services – 64% / 6%
- Tax planning – 58% / 9%
- Cyber security – 53% / 15%
- Investment research – 45% / 6%
- Pension / Life assurance planning – 33% / 44%
- Portfolio administration – 31% / 7%
- Corporate finance consulting – 31% / 24%
- Succession planning – 25% / 24%
- Bookkeeping & accounting – 24% / 4%
- Financial accounting & reporting – 21% / 6%
- Lifestyle services – 18% / 41%
- Portfolio risk management – 15% / 8%
- Philanthropy – 13% / 27%
- Strategic asset allocation – 10% / 5%
Family Office with following Processes:
- Financial performance measurement process – 65%
- Regular review process of activities/operations – 56%
- Annual performance review process for staff members – 54%
- Documented investment process, including Investment Policy Statement – 52%
- Annual budgeting process – 51%
- Financial reporting software (external) – 48%
- Job descriptions for the roles in family office – 47%
- Cybersecurity controls – 44%
- Wealth succession plan for family members – 42%
- Governance framework – 42%
- Family office strategy &/or operating manual – 33%
- Process to select & review external parties that provide services – 33%
- Risk management processes beyond investments – 28%
- Succession plan for the family office (plan for continuity of staff & services) – 26%
- Family education, development & mentoring sessions organized by family office – 21%
- None of these – 6%
Cyber Security Controls
- Yes – 44%
- No – 56%
Cyber Threats
- More than once – 17%
- 1 incident – 20%
- No – 63%
UBS Global Family Office Report 2023 – Survey
The UBS Global Family Office Report 2023 surveyed 230 family offices averaging $900 million assets, $2.2 billion net worth, and total wealth of $495.8 billion and total wealth of $495.8 billion. The survey was conducted between 19th January 2023 to 5th March 2023.
- Europe – 29%
- APAC – 20%
- Switzerland – 17%
- United States – 14%
- Latin America – 13%
- Middle East & Africa – 7%
Foreword by George Athanasopoulos, UBS Head of Global Family & Institutional Wealth Co-Head Global Markets
We are pleased to present this year’s Global Family Office Report, compiled entirely in-house for the fourth year, providing the world’s largest and most comprehensive study of single family offices. The 2023 report comes at a defining moment in time, with the end of the era of low or negative nominal interest rates and the ample liquidity. that followed the global financial crisis. Against that backdrop, our research shows family offices anticipating making major shifts in asset allocation
Notably, they are looking to add to developed market fixed income holdings over the years to come and are already diversifying portfolios through high-quality short-duration fixed income. What’s more, family offices are planning to raise holdings in emerging market equities, following a perceived peak in the US dollar. Allocations to hedge funds have increased in line with a greater emphasis on active management, and they are planning to further diversify their private market allocations. Reflecting the tense international environment, geopolitics is now the top concern for family offices. While they still have almost half of their assets in North America, they are planning to increase allocations to Western Europe for the first time in several years. Additionally, almost a third are planning to raise and broaden allocations to the wider Asia-Pacific region. In a less certain world, there’s evidence of room for greater professionalization beyond investing. For instance, although family offices consider supporting the generational transfer of wealth as their main purpose, the survey reveals that many do not have the necessary processes, governance or risk management in place.
We would like to thank the families, executives and advisors who contributed to this report. We are always trying to improve the report and would welcome your thoughts about new topics to include or how to progress our analysis. We hope you enjoy the report and its insights.
George Athanasopoulos
UBS Head of Global Family & Institutional Wealth Co-Head Global Markets
Sign Up / Register
Caproasia Users
- Manage $20 million to $3 billion of assets
- Invest $3 million to $300 million
- Advise institutions, billionaires, UHNWs & HNWs
Caproasia Platforms | 11,000 Investors & Advisors
- Caproasia.com
- Caproasia Access
- Caproasia Events
- The Financial Centre | Find Services
- Membership
- Family Office Circle
- Professional Investor Circle
- Investor Relations Network
Monthly Roundtable & Networking
Family Office Programs
The 2024 Investment Day
- March 2024 - Hong Kong
- March 2024 - Singapore
- July 2024 - Hong Kong
- July 2024 - Singapore
- Sept 2024 - Hong Kong
- Sept 2024 - Singapore
- Oct 2024 - Hong Kong
- Nov 2024 - Singapore
- Visit: The Investment Day | Register: Click here
Caproasia Summits
- The Institutional Investor Summit
- The Investment / Alternatives Summit
- The Private Wealth Summit
- The Family Office Summit
- The CEO & Entrepreneur Summit
- The Capital Markets Summit
- The ESG / Sustainable Investment Summit
