UBS Global Family Office Report 2025: 10 key trends for UHNW families

UBS has released its much-anticipated Global Family Office Report 2025, offering insight into how some of the world’s most sophisticated wealth holders are adapting to a volatile global landscape. Drawing on responses from 317 family offices (with average assets under management of USD 1.1 billion), the report identifies emerging trends that speak directly to the priorities and challenges faced by ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families.

From portfolio allocation shifts to succession readiness, our view is that ten key trends are shaping the family office landscape this year:

1. Strategic shift towards developed market equities—led by AI and healthcare

Developed markets are drawing renewed interest, with equities in AI and healthcare leading the charge. Over 80% of family offices expect to invest in AI within the next two to three years, particularly for applications such as financial reporting and data analysis. In the Asia-Pacific region, 59% of offices identify healthcare as a top growth theme.

2. Growing appetite for private debt

Private debt is gaining favour as a tool for yield and diversification. Allocations rose from 2% to 4% year-on-year in 2024, with plans to increase to 5% in 2025. While still a relatively new asset class, it is seen as a fashionable option, albeit one that many family offices are approaching with caution due to concerns around risk-return trade-offs.

3. US family offices pulling back from international markets 

US family offices are pulling back from international markets, with a significant tilt towards North America, with almost 80% of assets allocated to North America and Western Europe overall. On average, the report states that US family offices allocate 86% of their portfolios to North America, which is a multi-year rise from 74% in 2020. This regional concentration reflects a preference for familiar markets and a response to global uncertainties, with international exposure cut to the point it has become marginal.

4. Global trade war seen as 2025’s top investment risk

Geopolitical volatility looms large. A global trade war is identified as the top investment risk for 2025. Over two-thirds of family offices expressed concern about the possibility of a major geopolitical conflict and a global recession. Despite these serious concerns, 59% of the family offices surveyed planned to take the same amount of portfolio risk over next year as they had done in 2024.

In our recent experience, geopolitical volatility has been a major catalyst for clients to review their global wealth structuring and ramp up asset protection measures. Clients are being more careful than ever about the jurisdictions in which they hold their private wealth. We have seen a heightened interest in traditional firewall jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands as a safe harbour for family investment assets. We have also seen a growing emphasis on disaster/contingency planning within families' constitutional governance frameworks.

5. Sustainability increasingly viewed as a growth opportunity

Sustainability is increasingly viewed as a growth opportunity with almost half (46%) of family offices taking sustainability into account within their investments and businesses. This is up from the 42% of family offices who had the same opinion in 2024. Over one third (37%) of family offices have included green technology and climate technology in their portfolios. The primary way family offices are getting involved in sustainability is through philanthropy with some 44% participating in this way. This is something we are seeing a great deal of interest in from clients, particularly from families in the Gulf regions.

6. Strong interest in emerging technologies like electrification and generative AI

There is a strong interest in emerging technologies like electrification and generative AI and the family offices surveyed were keen to learn how to invest in emerging technologies, with this enthusiasm driven by the transformative potential of these technologies across various sectors. The two areas family offices said they are most confident to invest in are healthcare and electrification. For generative AI more than a quarter of the family offices surveyed said they had a clear investment strategy. The report highlighted that family offices are keen to learn more about blockchain, decentralised finance, 6G technology, quantum computing and agriculture and sustainable living. 

7. Continued professionalisation, with family offices adopting business processes and AI

Family offices are continuing their professionalisation journey, adopting business processes and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance governance and operational efficiency. Over two-thirds of family offices predicted that they would be using AI for financial reporting and data visualization in the next five years. Only 6% said they didn't expect to use AI at all in the next five years. Business processes have seen a sharp increase amongst family offices in the last 12 months with an 11% increase (up to 60% overall) in the implementation of an annual budgeting process in family offices.

8. Partial retreat from private equity amid fewer exits and financing concerns

There is a partial retreat from private equity amid fewer exits and concerns over the high cost of financing. While private equity remains a significant asset class, family offices are showing restraint due to concerns about rising interest rates. 

9. Succession planning still lacking in many family offices 

Succession planning remains a critical yet often-overlooked challenge for many family offices. Only 53% of families have succession plans in place. Regionally, only 41% of Middle Eastern and 36% of North Asian family offices have made succession plans. Almost a third of those surveyed said no plan was in place as the beneficial owner was putting it off and did not see it as a priority now, as they thought there was plenty of time in the future.  Of those family offices with a succession plan in place, only 26% consulted the next generation, which leads to the apparent risk that succession plans do not align with everyone's wishes and that when succession ultimately takes place the transition is far more complex. 

We have seen a significant uptick in requests for formal succession planning and constitutional governance for Middle Eastern families, particularly as geopolitical instability runs rife. This has coincided with a growing transition of family wealth to the up-and-coming 'next gen' of wealth holders, who increasingly understand and recognise the significance of planning for the future and maintaining family cohesion.

10. Preference for active management in equities remains strong

The preference for active management in equities remains strong. The report indicates that almost 64% of family offices favoured actively managed portfolios, with the highest proportion actively managing their investments in US family offices (53%) and the lowest in Asia-Pacific (22%).

Closing thoughts 

The UBS Global Family Office Report 2025 confirms that UHNW families are taking a more cautious yet focused approach—rebalancing toward developed markets, embracing innovation in AI and sustainability, and reassessing the fundamentals of succession and governance.

From our vantage point at Boodle Hatfield, advising some of the most prominent private individuals and family offices in the UK and internationally, we are seeing a clear alignment with many of these trends. Families are taking a more institutional approach to governance, with increased demand for robust family constitutions, succession plans, and next-generation education. There is also growing emphasis on intergenerational stewardship—not just preserving wealth, but passing on values, purpose and vision.

Succession planning remains the area of greatest fragility. While more families are beginning the conversation, we often find that legal structures have not kept pace with the complexity of modern wealth ownership, especially in cross-border scenarios. The challenge is not just legal or fiscal—it is relational. Getting it right requires careful, early planning, open dialogue, and bespoke legal architecture that reflects both the family’s assets and aspirations.

What is clear from both the data and our experience advising UHNW families is that a forward-thinking, values-led approach—blending legal structure with long-term vision—is increasingly essential for preserving not only wealth, but also cohesion and purpose across generations.