- Alternative assets are more important than ever to family offices, making up 42% of their portfolios, up from 39% from BlackRock’s previous survey.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BlackRock today launched its 2025 Global Family Office Survey, which revealed that current geopolitical uncertainty is the most important issue for family offices (84%) and is a critical factor in their capital allocation decisions.
The survey results also showed that concern around disruptions to trade and the increasing fragmentation in geopolitics turned overall sentiment negative for the first time since the survey began in 2020.
Armando Senra, Head of the Americas Institutional Business for BlackRock, said, “Family offices, globally, entered 2025 with caution – a stance expected to continue through 2026 – as geopolitical tensions, policy shifts, and market fragmentation weigh on sentiment. With 60% of family offices pessimistic about the global outlook, confidence has been further shaken by new U.S. tariffs. Family offices are now prioritizing diversification, liquidity, and structural reassessment of risk as they build resilience in their investment portfolios.”
While there is a pervasive sense that we are witnessing a fundamental rewriting of the rules that have long shaped markets, many family offices are hopeful that the negative implications to the global economy will be limited.
Family offices are in risk-management mode, with more than two-thirds (68%) focused on increasing diversification, and nearly half (47%) increasing their use of a variety of sources of return, including illiquid alternatives, ex-US equities, liquid alternatives, and cash.
The survey further revealed that:
Allocations to private credit and infrastructure are on the rise
Alternative assets are more important than ever to family offices, making up 42% of their portfolios, up from 39% in our 2022-2023 survey1. Looking ahead, private credit and infrastructure are the most-favored alternative assets. Nearly one-third (32%) of family offices intend to increase their allocations to private credit (32%) and infrastructure (30%) in 2025-2026, with allocations to private credit marking the highest figure for any alternative asset class. When it comes to choosing a particular strategy within private credit, respondents have a clear preference for special situations/opportunistic and direct lending.
Infrastructure is gaining strong momentum with family offices, with three-quarters (75%) of respondents feeling positive about the prospects for the asset class. Family offices are particularly attracted to infrastructure’s ability to generate stable cash flows, its role as a portfolio diversifier and its perceived resilience.
Over the following year, respondents intend to increase their infrastructure allocations to both opportunistic (54%) and value-add strategies (51%) driven by a combination of higher return potential, tailwinds and flexibility — qualities that are increasingly important in today’s volatile market environment.
Lili Forouraghi, Head of Family Office, Healthcare, Endowment and Foundations for BlackRock in the U.S., said, “The sustained demand and interest in private credit and infrastructure from family offices is a testament to the illiquidity premia and differentiated return opportunity in the current investment landscape. Access to opportunities and the right strategies continue to rise in importance as these asset classes evolve from niche strategies to the cornerstone of client portfolios.”
Seeking collaboration and closer partnerships
To complement their in-house talent, many family offices are seeking to collaborate with external partners, especially when it comes to private markets. More than half of respondents noted gaps in their internal expertise around reporting (57%), deal-sourcing (63%), and private-market analytics (75%). Around one-quarter (22%) of family offices have used an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) or would consider doing so, and many look to third-party partners for expertise in both investments and technology.
Mireille Abujawdeh, Head of Family Offices, Endowments, and Foundations for BlackRock in EMEA, said, “As family offices navigate increasing complexity across investment strategies, risk management and private markets, they are turning to select partners who can deliver more than just products. They need tailored solutions, data driven insights, deal sourcing and due diligence support, particularly in private markets where over half of respondents recognise gaps in internal expertise.»
Open to AI, but there are barriers to adoption
A strong majority of family offices indicated that they would consider using AI for a variety of tasks from risk management to cash-flow modeling. However, there are technical and organizational barriers to greater adoption. Currently, family offices are far more likely to invest in tech firms building AI solutions (45%), or in investment opportunities that they believe will benefit from the growth in AI (51%), than they are to deploy AI tech internally to improve the investing process (33%).
About the BlackRock Family Office Survey
BlackRock partnered with Illuminas to conduct a research survey of family offices between 17 March and 19 May 2025, we spoke to 175 single-family offices that collectively oversee assets of more than US $320 billion, via a combination of surveys and a series of in-depth interviews with chief investment officers (CIOs) and key decision-makers at family offices around the world.
This material is for distribution to Professional Clients (as defined by the Financial Conduct Authority or MiFID Rules) and qualified investors only and should not be relied upon by any other persons.
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