Family office asset allocation in 2026: what the UBS data shows
UBS's 2026 report puts the average family office at 42% alternatives, with real estate being cut, equities edging up and 60% planning allocation changes.
Key takeaways
UBS's 2026 report: average portfolio was 32% equities, 17% fixed income, 9% cash, 17% private equity, 42% alternatives.
Offices planning 2026 changes target equities at 33%, real estate at 8%, gold at 3% and infrastructure at 2%.
60% plan to change strategic asset allocation within 12 months, the highest share UBS has recorded.
UBS's Global Family Office Report 2026, based on 307 single family offices surveyed between 22 January and 30 March 2026, shows an average portfolio at the end of 2025 of 32% equities, 17% fixed income, 9% cash, 17% private equity, 11% real estate, 6% hedge funds, 3% private debt and 2% gold and precious metals. Alternatives made up 42% of the average portfolio, down from 44% in 2024. For 2026, respondents planning changes intend to cut real estate to 8% and add to emerging market equities, gold and infrastructure, while holding private equity at 17%. 60% say they will change their strategic asset allocation within 12 months, the highest share UBS has recorded.
The 2025 portfolio and the 2026 plan
The table below sets the reported end of 2025 allocation against the planned allocation for 2026. Both columns are averages across the 307 respondents, whose families had an average net worth of $2.7bn and whose offices managed an average of $1.3bn.
Asset class | 2025 actual | 2026 planned | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
Equities (developed markets) | 27% | 27% | 0 |
Equities (emerging markets) | 5% | 6% | +1 |
Fixed income (developed markets) | 14% | 14% | 0 |
Fixed income (emerging markets) | 3% | 3% | 0 |
Cash | 9% | 8% | -1 |
Private equity (direct) | 8% | 8% | 0 |
Private equity (funds) | 9% | 9% | 0 |
Real estate | 11% | 8% | -3 |
Hedge funds | 6% | 6% | 0 |
Private debt | 3% | 3% | 0 |
Gold and precious metals | 2% | 3% | +1 |
Infrastructure | 1% | 2% | +1 |
Art and antiques | 1% | 1% | 0 |
Commodities | 1% | 1% | 0 |
Source: UBS Global Family Office Report 2026. Columns do not sum exactly to 100% because of rounding; the planned column describes the intentions of offices expecting to change their allocation. Traditional assets were 58% and alternatives 42% of the 2025 portfolio. The planned moves are small, out of real estate and cash and into emerging market equities, gold and infrastructure, with private equity, hedge funds and private debt held where they are: a rebalancing rather than a retreat from alternatives.
What changed from the 2025 report
UBS's 2025 report had developed market equities at 26% of the average portfolio in 2024, with respondents planning 29% for 2025. The 2026 data show developed market equities at 27%, so only part of the planned increase happened. Private equity moved further than planned. Fortune's coverage of the 2025 report recorded private equity at 22% in 2023, 21% in 2024 and a planned 18% for 2025. The 2026 report shows it at 17% at the end of 2025, with direct holdings down from 11% to 8% of the portfolio and funds from 10% to 9%, according to the 2025 report's allocation table. Over the same year hedge funds rose from 4% to 6% and cash from 8% to 9%. Private equity weights cannot be set at will because the asset class cannot be sold on demand; distributions and valuations set the pace, which is covered in rebalancing a portfolio that is 40% illiquid. The gaps between plan and outcome, in both directions, are a useful reminder that intention data in these surveys describe direction rather than outcome.
Where the assets sit
Geographically, the 2026 report puts 52% of the average portfolio in North America, 26% in Western Europe, 7% in Asia Pacific excluding Greater China, 7% in Greater China, 4% in Latin America and 2% each in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. North America was 53% a year earlier. Looking five years ahead, 35% of respondents expect to increase allocations to Asia Pacific excluding China, 32% to North America and 21% to Western Europe. UBS's Benjamin Cavalli said that "North American assets clearly continue to represent the greatest share of allocations", while 65% of respondents expect confidence in the US dollar's reserve status to weaken. The regional picture differs sharply by domicile, which is explored in regional differences in family office allocation.
Stated intentions and the reasons behind them
The 60% planning to change strategic asset allocation is a global average that masks wide variation: 82% in the Middle East, 81% in South East Asia, 71% in North Asia and 67% in Europe excluding Switzerland, against 43% in Switzerland. Major geopolitical conflict is the top risk over 12 months (64%) and over five years (61%). Thematically, 65% are invested in artificial intelligence across the value chain, 37% in power and resources and 37% in infrastructure. 65% of offices use leverage in some form, most commonly through funds or vehicles that are themselves levered (31%) or at asset level (29%). 24% hold crypto or digital assets, usually at around 1% of the portfolio.
How to read the figures
Three cautions apply. First, the sample is tilted towards Europe (30% of respondents from Europe excluding Switzerland and 14% from Switzerland) and away from the US (12%), so the global average understates the heavier alternatives weighting typical of US offices. Second, the figures are self-reported averages of averages; an office with 60% in private equity and one with 5% produce the same mean as two offices at 32.5%. Third, the planned column records what respondents said in the first quarter of 2026, before any market moves since. How the alternatives share compares across the other major surveys is covered in how much family offices allocate to alternatives.
The UBS data describe a portfolio that is roughly 40% illiquid, heavily weighted to North America and being adjusted at the margin rather than overhauled. The planned moves for 2026 are modest in size but unusually widely held.
Questions
What is the average family office asset allocation in 2026?
UBS's 2026 report, covering 307 single family offices, shows an average of 32% equities, 17% fixed income, 9% cash, 17% private equity, 11% real estate, 6% hedge funds, 3% private debt and 2% gold. Alternatives make up 42% of the average portfolio.
How do family offices plan to change allocations in 2026?
Respondents to UBS's 2026 survey who plan changes intend to raise emerging market equities to 6%, gold to 3% and infrastructure to 2%, and to cut real estate from 11% to 8%. Private equity stays at 17%. 60% plan to change their strategic asset allocation within 12 months, the highest share UBS has recorded.
Did private equity allocations fall as planned in 2025?
Yes, and by more than planned. UBS's 2025 report showed offices planning to cut private equity from 21% to 18% in 2025, and the 2026 report shows 17% at the end of 2025. Private equity cannot be sold at will, so actual weights move with distributions and valuations as much as with stated intentions.