Global Family Office Report 2025: What the Data Reveals About Shifting Priorities

Seventy-three percent of family offices globally plan to increase allocations to private markets over the next two years, according to Ocorian's 2025 Global Family Office Report — a finding that carries direct implications for principals managing wealth across Singapore, Hong Kong, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. The report, drawn from a structured survey of senior decision-makers at single and multi-family offices worldwide, maps the key themes, allocation trends, governance priorities, and operational pressures defining the sector right now. For Asia-based principals, the data lands at a moment when regulators including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong are actively refining the frameworks under which family offices operate, making external benchmarking more strategically valuable than ever.

Why should a principal in Singapore or Hong Kong care about a globally aggregated report? Because the structural pressures the report identifies — succession tension, next-generation engagement, alternatives concentration, and talent scarcity — are not abstract Western concerns. They are live operational questions for every regional family office managing a first-to-second generation transition or reconsidering a portfolio built on listed equities during a decade of low rates. The report provides a rare external reference point against which principals can calibrate their own governance posture, allocation mix, and organisational design.

Private Markets Domination and the Alternatives Reallocation

The headline allocation finding from the Ocorian 2025 report is unambiguous: private equity, private credit, and real assets are commanding an increasing share of family office portfolios globally, with private equity cited as the single most favoured asset class for new capital deployment. Across surveyed offices, 68% reported an existing allocation to private equity, while 41% flagged private credit as a growing priority — a figure that reflects the post-rate-hike environment in which yield-seeking capital has migrated away from public fixed income. Real assets, including infrastructure and timberland, were cited by 34% of respondents as a planned allocation increase.

For Asia-Pacific principals, this global trend intersects with a specific regional opportunity set. Singapore's Variable Capital Company (VCC) structure, introduced by MAS in 2020, has become an increasingly practical vehicle for family offices seeking to co-invest in private markets alongside institutional partners, with over 1,000 VCCs incorporated as of early 2025. In Hong Kong, the Open-ended Fund Company (OFC) structure offers comparable flexibility for offshore-domiciled alternatives mandates, while the DIFC in Dubai continues to attract Gulf-linked family capital seeking a bridge jurisdiction for cross-border private market deals. The convergence of global appetite for alternatives and Asia's maturing fund structures creates a genuine structural advantage for principals who have already established the right vehicles.

"68% of family offices surveyed hold existing private equity allocations, and 73% plan to increase private markets exposure over the next two years — signalling a structural, not cyclical, reallocation away from public markets." — Ocorian 2025 Global Family Office Report

Governance and Succession: The Unresolved Pressure Point

The Ocorian report identifies governance formalisation as one of the most pressing unmet needs across the family office sector. Fewer than half of surveyed family offices reported having a fully documented succession plan in place, and only 38% had a formal investment policy statement reviewed within the past 12 months. These are not minor administrative gaps — they represent structural vulnerabilities that become acute during generational transitions, family disputes, or sudden principal incapacity. The report frames succession planning not as a legal formality but as an active governance function requiring ongoing board-level attention.

In the Asia-Pacific context, this finding resonates with particular force. The region is mid-way through one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in history, with an estimated USD 2.5 trillion expected to pass between generations in Asia over the next decade, according to UBS and comparable wealth research. Many of the family offices established in Singapore and Hong Kong over the past 15 years were built around a single founding patriarch or matriarch, with governance structures designed for concentrated decision-making rather than distributed oversight. The gap between the governance model that created the wealth and the governance model required to preserve it across generations is the defining operational challenge of this decade. MAS's enhanced conditions for Section 13O and 13U tax incentive schemes, which now require family offices to demonstrate substance, local hiring, and investment in Singapore-listed assets, add regulatory urgency to what was previously treated as a purely internal matter.

Next-generation engagement is a closely related theme in the report. Fifty-five percent of family offices surveyed identified integrating the next generation into investment decision-making as a top-three priority for the coming three years. This is not simply a question of education or exposure — it involves rewriting investment mandates, adjusting risk tolerances, and in many cases navigating genuine philosophical disagreements about the purpose of the family's capital. Philanthropy and impact investing frequently serve as the entry point for next-gen principals, and the report notes that 47% of offices have either established or are actively planning a formal philanthropic or impact allocation.

Talent, Technology, and the Operational Squeeze

Beyond allocation and governance, the Ocorian 2025 report dedicates significant attention to the operational infrastructure of family offices — and the findings are sobering. Talent acquisition and retention was ranked as the number one operational challenge by 61% of respondents, ahead of technology integration (44%) and regulatory compliance (39%). The war for qualified professionals — particularly those with private markets expertise, multi-jurisdictional tax knowledge, and the discretion required in a family office environment — is intensifying as the sector grows faster than the pipeline of trained specialists.

In Singapore, the MAS-backed Wealth Management Institute has expanded its programmes aimed at building a local talent base for the sector, but demand continues to outpace supply. Hong Kong faces a parallel challenge, with SFC-regulated roles requiring specific licensing that limits the pool of immediately deployable candidates. Family offices that have invested in structured talent development programmes, clear career pathways, and competitive compensation benchmarked against private banking are consistently outperforming peers in retention metrics. The report also notes that 52% of family offices are actively investing in technology platforms for portfolio reporting and data aggregation — a figure that will likely accelerate as the complexity of multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction portfolios increases.

Regulatory Complexity and Jurisdictional Strategy

Regulatory compliance emerged in the Ocorian report as a growing cost centre, with 39% of respondents flagging it as a top operational challenge and 57% reporting that compliance costs had increased year-on-year. The report does not single out any specific jurisdiction, but for Asia-Pacific principals the regulatory environment has become materially more complex over the past three years. MAS's revised conditions for family office tax incentives, introduced in 2023, require minimum AUM thresholds of SGD 10 million for the 13O scheme and SGD 50 million for the 13U scheme, alongside mandatory local business spending and hiring commitments. These are substantive requirements, not box-ticking exercises.

In Hong Kong, the SFC has clarified its expectations around the licensing of family office investment managers, and the government's dedicated family office initiative — backed by Invest Hong Kong — has attracted a growing number of ultra-high-net-worth families to establish or relocate operations to the city. The DIFC in Dubai continues to evolve its regulatory framework for family offices, offering a common law environment and zero capital gains tax that appeals to globally mobile principals. The strategic question for Asia-Pacific principals is not simply where to domicile, but how to structure across multiple jurisdictions in a way that is operationally coherent, tax-efficient, and regulatorily defensible.

Key Strategic Takeaways for Family Office Principals

1. Audit your private markets exposure against the 73% benchmark. If your allocation is materially below global peers, stress-test whether that reflects a deliberate liquidity preference or an unrevisited legacy position.
2. Formalise your succession plan before a regulator or a family event forces the issue. MAS's substance requirements for tax incentives make documented governance a compliance necessity, not just best practice.
3. Review your VCC or OFC structure for co-investment readiness. As private market deal flow increases, having the right vehicle in place before a deal arrives is a competitive advantage.
4. Benchmark your talent strategy against private banking compensation. The talent market for qualified family office professionals in Singapore and Hong Kong is tighter than at any point in the past decade.
5. Integrate next-gen principals through impact or philanthropic mandates first. The report's 47% figure on impact allocation growth reflects a proven on-ramp for generational engagement.
6. Map your regulatory exposure across all jurisdictions where you hold structures. The interaction between MAS, SFC, and DIFC requirements is increasingly complex for multi-domiciled family offices.

What to Watch: Forward-Looking Indicators for 2025–2026

Several developments flagged in the Ocorian report and the broader regulatory environment warrant close monitoring by Asia-Pacific principals over the next 12 to 18 months. MAS is expected to issue further guidance on the application of its variable capital company framework to family office co-investment structures, which could expand the utility of the VCC for private credit and infrastructure mandates. In Hong Kong, the government's review of the OFC regime is ongoing, with potential changes to eligible asset classes that could make the structure more attractive for alternatives-heavy family offices.

On the global front, the OECD's Pillar Two global minimum tax framework is beginning to affect the structuring decisions of very large family offices with cross-border operations, and the interaction between Pillar Two and existing family office tax incentive regimes in Singapore and Hong Kong remains an evolving area of professional advice. Principals who have not yet briefed their tax advisers specifically on Pillar Two exposure should treat that as an immediate action item. Finally, the continued growth of the Middle East as a source of family office capital — and as a structuring jurisdiction via the DIFC — means that Asia-Pacific principals with Gulf relationships should be reviewing whether their existing structures facilitate efficient cross-border co-investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Ocorian 2025 Global Family Office Report reveal about private markets allocation trends?

The report finds that 73% of family offices globally plan to increase allocations to private markets over the next two years, with private equity cited as the most favoured asset class. Private credit (41%) and real assets including infrastructure (34%) are also identified as growth areas. The data reflects a structural reallocation away from public markets driven by yield requirements and the maturation of private market access for family office investors.

How do MAS requirements affect Singapore family offices in 2025?

MAS requires family offices seeking tax incentives under the Section 13O scheme to maintain minimum AUM of SGD 10 million, while the 13U scheme requires SGD 50 million. Both schemes now mandate local business spending, hiring of investment professionals in Singapore, and allocation to Singapore-listed assets or MAS-approved investments. These requirements make governance documentation and operational substance non-negotiable for incentive eligibility.

What is the VCC structure and why does it matter for family office private market allocations?

The Variable Capital Company (VCC) is a Singapore-domiciled fund structure introduced by MAS in 2020 that allows flexible capital contributions and redemptions, sub-fund segregation, and use across a wide range of asset classes including private equity and private credit. With over 1,000 VCCs incorporated by early 2025, it has become the preferred vehicle for family offices seeking to co-invest in private markets alongside institutional partners while maintaining Singapore tax efficiency.

How should Asia-Pacific family offices approach next-generation succession planning?

The Ocorian report finds that 55% of family offices globally rank next-gen integration as a top-three priority. Best practice involves establishing formal governance structures — including family councils and investment committees with defined next-gen roles — before a transition is imminent. Philanthropy and impact mandates are frequently the most effective entry point, with 47% of offices reporting existing or planned impact allocations. MAS's substance requirements also mean that governance documentation is now a regulatory expectation, not merely an internal preference.

Source: Whisky Bulletin coverage of whisky on Whisky Bulletin.

🍾 Evaluating whisky casks as an alternative allocation? Whisky Cask Club works with family offices across APAC on structured cask portfolios.