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Uncertainty has become the new normal for global wealth — and family offices are responding not with panic, but with precision. That's the core message of the UBS Global Family Office Report 2026, based on insights from 307 family offices across more than 30 markets, with an average net worth of USD 2.7 billion.
The picture that emerges isn't one of dramatic overhauls. It's one of deliberate, measured recalibration — across asset classes, currencies, and regions — as family offices brace for a longer stretch of geopolitical and economic turbulence than in years past.
Here are five findings worth paying attention to.
1. Risk is now a long-term planning assumption, not a short-term reaction
Family offices are no longer treating volatility as a passing phase. Concerns about major geopolitical conflict top the list of worries over both the next 12 months (64%) and the next five years (61%), while fears around a global debt crisis and recession are actually rising over the longer horizon — even as trade war concerns ease.
The response? Multishoring. A striking 88% of family offices now report holding bankable assets in two or more jurisdictions, spreading exposure to limit reliance on any single market or regulatory regime.
2. More family offices are changing strategy than ever before
Strategic asset allocation has traditionally been the most stable part of a family office portfolio. Not anymore. 60% of family offices say they plan to adjust their strategic asset allocation in the next 12 months — the highest share recorded in any edition of this report, and nearly double last year's figure.
The shifts are selective, not sweeping: a modest tilt toward emerging market equities and infrastructure, a pullback in real estate (from 11% to 8% of allocations), and rising interest in gold as a hedge — allocations there are expected to grow from 2% to 3% among those making changes.
3. Confidence in the US dollar is cracking
This may be the report's most striking finding. 65% of family offices expect confidence in the dollar's reserve currency status to weaken over the next year, and the dollar is the only major currency where a significant share (47%) describe themselves as over-exposed.
Nearly a third are already reducing dollar exposure or planning to, with the Swiss franc and euro emerging as the preferred alternatives for diversification.
4. North America still dominates — but the ground is shifting
Despite the dollar jitters, North America still accounts for the largest share of global portfolios (52% in 2026). US-based family offices are, if anything, doubling down on home turf, with domestic allocations rising from 86% to 88%.
The real movement is happening outside the US: family offices in Europe and Asia Pacific — which currently hold outsized North American exposure — are actively looking to rebalance toward Western Europe and Asia Pacific, including Greater China.
5. AI conviction remains strong, but succession planning is lagging
Artificial intelligence remains the dominant investment theme, with 65% of family offices already allocated and most planning to hold or increase exposure — even amid widespread concern about overheated valuations in parts of the market.
The same discipline hasn't yet reached succession planning. While more family offices than ever have a wealth succession plan in place, just 27% have an organized process to prepare the next generation for their future roles. Given the USD 83 trillion generational wealth transfer already underway, that gap is becoming harder to ignore.
The bottom line
This year's report describes a shift from stability to selectivity. Family offices aren't abandoning long-held convictions — they're refining them, spreading risk more deliberately across currencies, regions, and asset classes while treating geopolitical and economic uncertainty as a permanent fixture of the investment landscape rather than a passing storm.
Read the full UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 for the complete regional breakdowns and data.
