Family offices are re-evaluating their investment strategies as younger generations take on leadership roles, revealing a divide in priorities and approaches to wealth management.
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Family offices are increasingly rethinking how they invest as younger family members take a more active role in managing wealth, with new research pointing to growing tension between founding generations and their successors over strategy, risk, and long-term priorities.
A global survey by financial services firm Ocorian, which canvassed family members and senior executives from family offices overseeing a combined wealth of $119.37 billion, finds that 79% say younger generations are becoming more involved in developing and reviewing investment strategies.
The survey also shows that 97% believe the priorities of younger family members differ from those of the founders.
The study in 16 countries or territories, including the UK, US, UAE, Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, and Bahrain, highlights concerns about succession planning.
That shift is contributing to mounting concern around succession planning within family offices, many of which are facing the challenge of transferring both wealth and decision-making authority to a new generation.
Around 12% of respondents say they are not seeing a natural succession in wealth and leadership, while 98% agree more needs to be done to improve succession planning structures.
Ginny Goh is the director of private clients at Ocorian, says succession planning has become increasingly important as family offices evolve.
“Succession planning is crucial in family offices as they grow and mature, and it is to some extent inevitable that younger generations will have different views and approaches on investment from the founders.”
“As the family’s wealth expands and its priorities diversify, the need for a structured, forward-looking succession framework becomes even more essential,” Goh says.
The survey identifies several areas where younger family members are pushing for a different approach to capital allocation.
More than half of respondents (51%) say younger generations place greater emphasis on private markets, while 42% cite disagreement over digital asset investments.
Another 39% say younger members want more investment in physical assets, including real estate and private aircraft.
Meanwhile, 29% report that younger family members have a higher risk appetite, while 33% say differing views on geopolitical issues are influencing investment debates.
A smaller but notable 9% say disagreements extend to where family offices themselves should be based.
The findings come as family offices worldwide prepare for one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in modern history.
According to consulting firm Deloitte’s Family Office Insights Series, more than $80 trillion in wealth is expected to transfer globally over the next two decades, intensifying pressure on wealthy families to formalise governance and succession arrangements.
Industry analysts say the transfer is likely to reshape family office structures, particularly as younger heirs show greater interest in alternative assets, sustainability-linked investments, and more globally diversified portfolios.
The shift is also challenging long-held assumptions around conservative wealth preservation strategies that have traditionally dominated family office investing.
As younger generations gain influence, many family offices are being forced to balance legacy investment philosophies with new expectations around risk, innovation, and asset allocation.
For wealthy families, the challenge is no longer simply preserving capital, it is managing the transition of control without destabilising the structures built to protect it.
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