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Global Family Office Report

Seizing opportunities in times of change

2022 marked a significant change from the market regime of the past 40 years – one that has reshaped the opportunity set. To better understand how family offices around the globe are responding to these dynamics, BlackRock partnered with Illuminas to conduct a survey on their priorities, challenges and portfolio positioning for 2023 and beyond.

Below is an excerpt of our global family office survey, download the full report to learn more about how family offices are changing their allocations to meet the demands of a challenging market regime.

Overview

Between November 2022 and January 2023, BlackRock partnered with Illuminas to survey 120 single family offices. We complemented this with a series of in-depth interviews with chief investment officers (CIOs) and key decision-makers at family offices around the world to provide deeper and more qualitative insights.

We found that most family offices had a clear desire to refine their approach in today’s changing economic and geopolitical landscape, but there's no one-size-fits-all approach. We saw strong preferences for fixed income, diversifying alternative investments and adding more tactical capabilities to capture alpha from market dislocations.

Allocations in the new market regime

The 2010s saw explosive growth in private markets, while the number of listed public companies fell. These trends were reflected in our survey results where private markets continue to be a cornerstone in portfolios, with allocations to alternatives (39%) exceeding allocations to public equities (37%). U.S. family offices lead in allocations to alternatives at 43%, a reflection of the maturity of U.S. venture and private equity sectors.

Investor portfolio allocations across asset classes

Investor portfolio allocations across asset classes

BlackRock Global Family Office Survey, January 2023

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94%
94%
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CategorySeries 1
Respondents making changes or looking for opportunities94

Source: BlackRock 2025 Global Family Office Report.

Asset allocation: Alternatives remain key, but challenges are rising

Seven in ten family offices have or are planning to make changes to portfolio allocations, and nine in ten are either making changes or looking for opportunities to do so.

 

Alternatives represent 42% of participating families' portfolios: including private equity, private credit, real estate, venture capital, liquid alternatives and infrastructure. More than half of our respondents are bullish on private credit and infrastructure with nearly one-third citing plans to increase allocations to each asset class, respectively, in 2025-2026.

Having those levels of yields, now it's a really good time to invest in fixed income. Also because we have this kind of downside protection now with those levels… Investment grade, high yield, we can get some additional return there.

Investment officer
German-based family office
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Changes to current alternatives allocations in 2023
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CategoryIncrease allocationsRetain current levelsDecrease allocations
Infrastructure48.3945.166.45
Private debt / credit41.6744.4413.89
Private equity direct deals (ex. VC)32.8356.7210.45
Private equity funds (ex. VC)28.8964.446.67
Other real assets (timber / farmland / etc.)28.5771.430
Real estate26.3255.2618.42
Hedge funds20.6457.1422.22
Venture capital 19.6457.1423.22

BlackRock Global Family Office Survey, January 2023

Family offices diversify their private market allocations

The sharp fall in public markets in 2022 exacerbated the denominator effect, pushing many institutions to reduce their private market allocations.1 In contrast, family offices continue to show a strong preference for private markets, with most looking to maintain or increase and diversify their allocations.

 

We saw emphasis on different themes shift in our survey. Infrastructure is an area of particular focus with 42% of respondents intending to increase their allocations to this subsector. This is followed by private credit (28% of respondents intend to increase allocations), private equity direct deals (23%), private equity funds (22%) and real estate (8%).

Desire for partnerships to unlock opportunities

Family offices have not been immune to the challenges of tight labor markets and increased competition across the business landscape. In addition to a difficult market environment, accessing the right ideas, deals and solutions and sourcing talent were also top concerns. Nearly half (46%) cite a lack of access to the right ideas, deals or solutions as a barrier, while 40% found it difficult to source talent.

Approximately 43% of family offices perform deal sourcing entirely in-house, but more than half anticipate challenges sourcing or accessing high-performing managers. As inflation and volatility persist and expectations of a broader economic downturn loom, investment success may depend on nimble, opportunistic portfolio management that can capitalize on opportunities in the full range of markets.

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