Regional differences in family office allocation: US to Asia

Family office portfolios differ more by domicile than by almost any other variable. UBS's Global Family Office Report 2025 found US offices holding 54% of their portfolios in alternatives, with 27% in private equity and 18% in real estate, while Latin American offices held 29% in alternatives and 31% in fixed income. European offices outside Switzerland sat at 49% alternatives, Middle Eastern offices at 50%, Swiss offices at 44%, North Asian offices at 40% and South East Asian offices at 31%. UBS's 2026 report adds that US offices keep 88% of assets in North America, the strongest home bias of any region, and that 82% of Middle Eastern offices plan to change their strategic allocation in 2026, the highest share anywhere.

The regional picture in one table

Source: UBS Global Family Office Report 2025, allocations as at 2024. Hedge funds were 9% in North Asia and 5% in Switzerland; private debt was 6% in South East Asia and 3% in the US.

United States: alternatives heavy, home biased

The US profile is the most distinctive. Fixed income at 9% is the lowest of any region and cash at 5% is close to it, while private equity and real estate together make up 45% of the portfolio. UBS's 2026 data put North American exposure at 88%, up from 86% a year earlier. Goldman Sachs's 2025 survey found private equity at 25% in the Americas against 22% in EMEA and 15% in APAC, and Citi's 2025 report recorded North American offices allocating about 85% to their own region, with real estate at 18% against 9% in Asia Pacific. The combination produces a portfolio that is long US private assets and short liquidity, which is why cash and fixed income look so different in the US from elsewhere.

Europe and Switzerland: split between home and the US

European offices outside Switzerland hold almost equal amounts in Western Europe (44%) and the US (43%), and their private equity weight of 27% matches the US. The difference is in fixed income (15%) and cash (6%), which are higher. Swiss offices are more conservative, with 34% in equities, 16% in private equity and 53% in Western Europe. UBS's 2026 report found 67% of European offices outside Switzerland planning allocation changes, among the most active globally, with a stated aim of rebalancing towards Western Europe and Asia Pacific to reduce concentration. Only 43% of Swiss offices plan changes.

Asia: more cash, more bonds, more trading

Asian portfolios carry the most liquidity. North Asian offices held 21% in fixed income and South East Asian offices 27%, and Citi's 2025 tables show Asia Pacific offices holding 18% in cash against 8% in North America. Campden Wealth's 2025 Asia-Pacific report puts cash and liquid assets at 9%, government bonds at 16% and private markets at 24% for its 76 respondents, with 34% of assets in Asia Pacific excluding China and 33% in the US. The same report records a net intention of minus 24% towards US assets and plus 33% towards Europe excluding the UK. Citi's 2026 survey found 26% of Asia Pacific offices reporting year to date returns above 15%, 62% using active management and 49% running hedging strategies, all above global averages. UBS's 2026 data show 88% of South East Asian offices invested in artificial intelligence, the highest of any region.

Middle East and Latin America

Middle Eastern offices split evenly between traditional and alternative assets in UBS's 2025 data, with the highest real estate weight outside the US at 14% and 55% of assets in North America. In 2026, 82% plan to change strategic allocation. Latin American offices are the most liquid of all, with 31% in fixed income and 64% of assets in North America; UBS's 2024 report had their cash at 5%, the lowest of any region, with developed market bonds at 27% doing the defensive work instead.

Two cautions apply. Regional subsamples are small, often fewer than 50 offices, and the UBS regional asset class splits are from the 2025 report because the 2026 release gives geographic rather than asset class detail by region. The global averages in family office asset allocation in 2026 are weighted towards European respondents, so a US office comparing itself with the global figure will look unusually illiquid when it is in fact typical of its peers. How the overall alternatives share varies between surveys is discussed in how much family offices allocate to alternatives.