Family offices across the Americas are increasing their exposure to infrastructure and private equity while keeping private credit allocations steady, according to a new BlackRock survey. The findings, based on responses from 206 single-family offices in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America, also reveal a growing divergence between newer and more established offices in their approach to alternative investments.
The survey, conducted between July and August in partnership with Preqin, covered offices with an estimated $491 billion in combined investable assets. Infrastructure emerged as the alternative asset class with the strongest momentum: 30% of respondents plan to raise their infrastructure allocations over the next 12 months, while only 6% intend to cut. That 24-percentage-point gap was the widest of any alternative asset class measured.
Newer offices—defined as those founded less than 20 years ago—are driving much of the demand. Among them, 38% expect to increase infrastructure exposure, compared with 16% of offices more than two decades old. Newer offices also hold larger existing positions: 11% reported infrastructure allocations between 6% and 15%, while no older office in the sample reported an allocation that large. BlackRock attributes this to timing, as infrastructure has only become a mainstream investable asset class over the past two decades. Respondents cited diversification (32%), inflation hedging (26%), and low correlation with other assets (20%) as their primary reasons for investing.
The appetite contrasts with findings from J.P. Morgan Private Bank's 2026 global family office report, which found that 79% of family offices had no infrastructure exposure despite its role in supporting data centers, energy demand, and digital networks tied to AI expansion.
Private equity remains the anchor of family office alternatives portfolios. Just over half of respondents (52%) allocate more than 15% of their alternatives portfolio to private equity, and 32% plan to increase that allocation over the next year, up from 26% in BlackRock's 2025 global survey. Newer offices are more likely to use secondaries as a preferred route (45% vs. 28% for older offices), a strategy that allows them to build positions quickly while limiting J-curve exposure. Established offices lean more on co-investments (75% vs. 60%). However, the exit environment remains a concern: 76% of respondents cited it as a main obstacle to private equity returns over the next 12 months, and half pointed to valuations.
Private credit is the exception to the broader appetite for alternatives. Nearly half of respondents (49%) plan to keep allocations unchanged, with 17% planning increases and 15% planning cuts—a cooler reading than a year earlier, when private credit topped the wish list. Among those planning changes, distressed debt is set to draw the strongest net demand, while business development companies and fund-of-funds face net outflows.
Liquidity remains the primary constraint across private markets. Illiquidity was cited by 54% of respondents as the top barrier to allocating more, followed by access to top-tier managers (39%) and fees (36%). Only 16% are reducing private capital exposure due to their view of the market cycle, and 48% say they are not changing allocations at all. Respondents expect to fund new commitments mainly from distributions on existing private funds and cash on hand, rather than by selling public holdings.
“Newer offices are approaching private markets and liquidity differently than their more established peers, reinforcing the importance of balancing investment opportunities with each family’s unique cash-flow needs, constraints and long-term objectives,” said Armando Senra, head of the Americas institutional business at BlackRock.
The survey comes as BlackRock itself expands its alternatives platform. In its third-quarter earnings, the firm reported $800 billion in total alternatives assets as of Sept. 30, up from $717 billion a year earlier, including $216 billion in infrastructure and $249 billion in private credit. Alternatives represent about 3% of BlackRock's $15.5 trillion in total assets but contribute approximately 15% of base fees and securities lending revenue. BlackRock raised $68 billion in gross private markets fundraising over the 12 months through September and deployed roughly $88 billion.
