A sweeping new survey from UBS reveals that family offices globally are no longer treating current market turbulence as a temporary disruption. Instead, they are restructuring portfolios to endure what they see as a permanently elevated risk environment.
The 2026 UBS Global Family Office Report, based on responses from 307 family offices surveyed between January and March 2026, shows that 60% of respondents intend to alter their strategic asset allocations within the next 12 months. That figure is up sharply from 35% a year earlier and represents the highest level since the bank began tracking the metric. The average family office in the survey commands a net worth of $2.7 billion.
Geopolitical conflict tops the list of concerns, cited by 64% of respondents as a worry over the next year and 61% over the next five years, with little expectation that tensions will ease. Sovereign debt anxiety follows a different trajectory: only 31% see it as a near-term threat, but that share jumps to 56% over a five-year horizon. Recession risk similarly escalates from 17% in the short term to 50% in the longer view.
Confidence in the U.S. dollar is deteriorating rapidly. Fully 65% of family offices anticipate the dollar's status as the world's primary reserve currency will weaken over the coming year, while just 6% expect improvement. Nearly half of respondents describe themselves as overexposed to the greenback, a distinction that applies to no other major currency. The Swiss franc and the euro are the most frequently cited alternatives for diversification. Twenty-nine percent of family offices have already reduced or are actively considering reducing exposure to dollar-denominated assets, while 30% are increasing multi-currency diversification.
Regional differences are stark. European and Asian family offices, which remain heavily weighted toward North American assets, are now looking to rebalance toward Western Europe and Asia Pacific. In contrast, U.S.-domiciled family offices increased their allocation to North American assets to 88% in 2026 from 86% in 2025, a home bias that UBS notes has strengthened even as geopolitical uncertainty mounts.
On the asset allocation front, developed market equities and fixed income remain the backbone at 41% of strategic allocations. But marginal shifts are underway: emerging market equities are seeing modest increases, infrastructure is drawing more interest, and real estate is being trimmed, with expected allocations falling from 11% in 2025 to 8% among those planning changes in 2026. Gold, historically a negligible holding for family offices, is inching up from 2% to 3% on average among those making adjustments.
Artificial intelligence remains the dominant thematic bet, with 65% of family offices currently invested across the AI value chain, from data center infrastructure and semiconductor producers to software platforms and healthcare applications. Despite widespread acknowledgment that parts of the AI market may be overheating, the vast majority of respondents plan to maintain or grow their exposure. Fear of missing out is explicitly part of the calculus. Infrastructure, electrification, and longevity round out the thematic priorities.
Formal governance processes have become standard: 68% of family offices now use financial performance measurement, and 60% have investment committees. However, softer infrastructure for institutional continuity lags badly. Only 35% have a succession plan for the family office itself, and just 27% have any organized process to prepare the next generation for future responsibilities. This gap is particularly consequential given the scale of intergenerational wealth transfer underway. The UBS Global Wealth Report 2025 estimates roughly $83 trillion in assets will change hands over the next two-plus decades.
“While succession planning for family members is becoming more common, there remains significant room for improvement in establishing succession plans for the family office itself, as only a small percentage have such plans in place,” said Jan van Bueren, Senior Family Advisor, Wealth Planning & UHNW Advisory at UBS.
For advisors, the findings underscore the importance of helping clients navigate currency risk and long-duration themes. As family offices increasingly view the current environment as a permanent condition rather than a cycle, the demand for sophisticated portfolio engineering and trust-based advisory relationships is likely to intensify. The report also highlights the need for advisors to address governance gaps, particularly around succession planning, as the $84 trillion wealth transfer accelerates.
