Alea Global Group’s next event is our annual APAC Family Office Investment Summit. Asia Pacific has become one of the most dynamic and consequential arenas in the global family office landscape. Driven by a new generation of wealth creators, maturing governance structures, and a region that offers both extraordinary opportunity and complex risk, APAC family offices are evolving at pace and increasingly setting the agenda for how private capital behaves worldwide.
A Region Coming Into Its Own
The scale of the shift underway is difficult to overstate. Asia is now the second-largest wealth region after North America and the fastest-growing globally, accounting for around 30% of the world’s single-family offices and 26% of multi-family offices. Much of this wealth is relatively new: 40% of Asian family offices have been established within the last 15 years.
The numbers on the ground reflect this momentum. Around 600 new single-family offices were added in Singapore in 2024 alone, taking the total to over 2,000 – a 400% increase on 2020. Hong Kong has moved aggressively to keep pace: the number of single-family offices in Hong Kong has grown by at least 25%, to 3,384, over the last two years, according to a recent Deloitte study. The financial policy frameworks underpinning this growth are deliberately constructed. Singapore’s Variable Capital Company structure and tax incentive schemes under Sections 13O and 13U have created a compelling environment for wealth domiciling. Hong Kong introduced new tax concessions for family-owned investment-holding vehicles in 2023, and the special administrative region does not tax capital gain or offshore profits, with dividend income generally not taxable.
The wealth pipeline sustaining this growth is substantial. A wealth transfer in the broader Asia-Pacific region has been estimated at USD 5.8 trillion by 2030, alongside GDP growth for Southeast Asia that is outpacing global averages. Against this backdrop, 84% of Asia-Pacific family offices expect an increase in their family’s wealth, and 77% expect to see their AUM rise.
Portfolio Construction: Alternatives Take Centre Stage
The investment preferences of APAC family offices diverge in instructive ways from their global peers. Asia is characterised by a high proportion of equities at 37%, with a clear preference for direct private equity investments at 31%. Notably, 77% of private equity investments are channelled into technology-oriented companies.
Alternatives are commanding a growing share of attention. According to Preqin, private capital assets in the overall Asia Pacific region are projected to reach USD 2.3 trillion by 2026, driven by the growth of private equity and venture capital across the entire market. The BNP Paribas Wealth Management and Campden Wealth Asia-Pacific Family Office Report 2025 found that private markets now constitute 24% of average portfolios. Despite recent private equity and venture capital underperformance, offices remain confident in long-term risk-adjusted returns.
Private credit has also gained significant traction. The proportion of family offices without exposure to private credit fell to 26%, from 36% in 2023, as investors seek to benefit from elevated rates and perceived downside protection. Infrastructure, too, is drawing increased interest: nearly one-third of family offices intend to increase their allocations to infrastructure in 2025–2026, attracted by its ability to generate stable cash flows, its role as a portfolio diversifier, and its perceived resilience.
Hedge funds hold particular appeal in the region. 46% of APAC family offices are invested in hedge funds, compared to 33% for the global average.
The China Question
No analysis of APAC family office strategy is complete without examining the China dimension, which continues to be a source of both conviction and anxiety. 80% of APAC offices prioritise exposure to China, making it the dominant regional allocation despite ongoing macroeconomic headwinds.
The picture from Raffles Family Office, headquartered across Singapore and Hong Kong, illustrates the nuance well. China and Hong Kong equities enter 2026 facing familiar structural headwinds – real estate weakness, subdued household confidence, and persistent deflationary pressures. Although authorities have intensified fiscal, monetary, and regulatory support, economic growth remains uneven. Yet the same assessment acknowledges that China’s digital economy and AI ecosystem are continuing to expand rapidly, with earnings expectations in the technology sector having remained stable and valuations significantly more attractive versus the US.
This selective, sector-specific approach to China characterises a broader maturation in how APAC family offices engage with the market. Rather than broad-based exposure, the trend is towards careful positioning in China’s technology and private equity pipeline, particularly at pre-IPO stage, while managing wider macro risk through diversification.
The US-China tension itself is reshaping capital flows. According to Citi Wealth’s 2025 Global Family Office Report, trade disputes were cited by 61% of APAC respondents and US-China relations by 53% as their primary concerns related to investment strategy – a reflection of how deeply geopolitical friction has embedded itself in portfolio thinking.
Technology and AI: From Thesis to Allocation
Technology dominates APAC family office sector preferences, both as an investment theme and as an operational tool. Geopolitical conflict remains the most frequently cited investment risk globally, but in APAC, 75% of respondents listed it among their top three concerns – higher than any other region. Yet investment convictions in technology remain firm.
86% of family office respondents are investing in AI, and 51% are already using AI tools in their investment process, applying them to data analysis, research, productivity, investment due diligence, and idea generation. The Raffles Family Office anticipates that 2026 will see enhanced allocation driven by AI integration, tokenisation of real-world assets, and growing demand for programmable financial infrastructure.
Operationally, AI adoption is beginning to reshape how family offices function internally. Family offices in APAC are already using AI for risk management and investment reporting, with advances expected to accelerate adoption – including the possibility of reducing staff in basic accounting and administrative roles. The BNP Paribas and Campden Wealth report also identified that spreadsheet over-reliance and manual processes are now top operational concerns, overtaking cybersecurity, and are seen as hindering efficiency – particularly in non-automated reporting.
Digital Assets: The Frontier Moves Mainstream
APAC leads globally in appetite for digital assets. Interest in digital assets is especially robust in the Asia-Pacific region, with 39% of APAC offices considering future allocations to cryptocurrencies, compared to a global average of 33% ownership. APAC family offices, including those in Hong Kong, are supplementing traditional asset classes with greater capital directed toward cryptocurrencies, AI, art, and ESG programmes.
The regulatory environment is evolving to match this appetite. Singapore has established a licensing-led approach via the Payment Services Act, setting expectations for exchanges and wallet providers, while the UAE has positioned its Securities and Commodities Authority as the primary federal regulator for virtual asset activity. These frameworks are providing the institutional clarity that family offices require before committing significant capital.
Family offices are increasingly treating digital assets as two distinct investment categories: cautious, tightly risk-managed exposure to core digital assets and infrastructure on one hand, and venture-style investments in the wider blockchain ecosystem on the other.
Sustainability: Commitment Deepens
Sustainable investment has moved from aspiration to allocation across APAC, with the region consistently ahead of global peers on this measure. More than 60% of survey respondents in the APAC region indicated they were likely to allocate assets to sustainable investments, according to Citi’s data – making it the most bullish major region globally on sustainable strategies.
The Sustainable Finance Initiative’s 2025 survey of 144 family office representatives globally found that Asia Pacific continues to be a high priority, with 42% of all votes ranking the region as their primary area of investment for sustainable finance. Thematic priorities have also evolved: nature-based solutions, biodiversity and regenerative practices now take the top spot among investment themes, followed by food and agriculture, and healthcare.
Among APAC offices specifically, more than 40% practise responsible investing, with over 90% rejecting lower returns as a precondition for doing so – with many believing responsible investing boosts returns while cutting risk.
The Geography of Opportunity: Beyond Greater China
While China dominates regional allocations, APAC family offices are looking beyond Greater China with increasing confidence. Technology, green technology, healthcare, impact investing, and private market strategies – including private equity, real estate, and venture capital – are among the areas family offices are targeting, with Singapore and Hong Kong serving as primary hubs for managing this exposure.
Southeast Asia is increasingly compelling. Opportunities in APAC’s unicorn ecosystem in 2025 are concentrated in thriving sectors including fintech, health tech, and green tech, with cross-border investment strategies and partnerships opening access to emerging hubs such as India and Southeast Asia. Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and India are all drawing attention from APAC family offices seeking higher-growth exposure than mature markets can offer.
Real estate continues to underpin portfolios, though its character is changing. Over 60% of global investors plan to increase APAC real estate exposure, drawn by cities including Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bangalore, according to CBRE’s Investor Intentions Survey. ESG considerations are increasingly embedded in real estate selection: buildings with green certifications achieve up to a 10% rental premium, according to CBRE’s 2025 Decarbonisation Report.
The Generational Shift: Succession at the Centre
Perhaps the most consequential story in APAC family offices is not where capital is going, but who is directing it. Family offices in Asia-Pacific are at the forefront globally in transferring wealth control to the second generation, with 43% having completed succession, according to Citi’s 2025 Global Family Office Report.
This transition is reshaping investment culture. Where first-generation founders often prioritised capital preservation and real estate, their successors are oriented towards private markets, impact investment, and frontier technology. As one senior practitioner from Revo Digital Family Office, a subsidiary of Raffles Family Office, observed: “The most obvious difference between family offices here and in other markets like Europe is their age. In Europe they are usually much older – it is not uncommon to speak to family offices helmed by their sixth or seventh generation. But in Singapore and Asia in general, they are more likely to be run by the first to third generation.”
The priorities of the rising generation are clear. Education on family wealth emerged as the top priority for 73% of APAC respondents in the Citi survey, followed by gaining professional experience outside and inside the family enterprise, alongside mentoring. Governance frameworks are also being formalised in response: many family offices are introducing constitutions, decision frameworks and next-generation pathways to reduce friction across generations and clarify how capital is stewarded.
Looking Ahead
The direction of travel for APAC family offices is towards greater sophistication, deeper internationalisation, and a more deliberate integration of values into investment frameworks. APAC families were among the most internationally oriented of any region, with 76% maintaining a global investment footprint – a figure that reflects both the outward ambitions of regional wealth and the practical reality of managing risk across a complex geopolitical environment.
North American family offices are already reviewing their US exposure amid market volatility and dollar weakness, with many increasing allocations to APAC, excluding China, or shifting more capital to Europe. This inflow of global capital into a region already experiencing rapid domestic wealth creation is likely to intensify competition for assets, elevate valuations, and further embed APAC in the architecture of global private capital.
For family offices across the region, the challenge ahead is not finding opportunity – it is exercising the discipline, governance, and generational coherence to convert the extraordinary moment into enduring wealth.
By attending our next summit you can network with potential partners in the region and find out everything you need to know to expertly navigate these opportunities.
Find out more at apacfamilysummit.com