This month, the family office landscape continued to push toward institutionalisation and modernisation. On the investment front, family capital remains a powerful driver in private markets, with a notable appetite for real estate, hospitality, and targeted buyout funds, highlighted by Berritto’s $93 million portfolio acquisition and Gencom’s hotel buying spree.
Technology and governance were also major themes in February. AI integration is moving from an experimental concept to an operational necessity, as evidenced by the launch of new AI-powered capital-matching tools and significant family-office backing for AI fintech startups.
Meanwhile, as the industry matures, we are seeing top institutional talent migrate into the family office sector, alongside a growing focus on structured governance and multi-hub geographic models, particularly across Asia’s wealth centres like Singapore and Hong Kong.
See the breakdown below:
Market trends
Wealth is becoming increasingly borderless, prompting families to diversify their jurisdictional risk. The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing a boom in the establishment of family offices. Hong Kong, for example, has added nearly 700 single-family offices over the last two years, as the wealthy seek to hedge against US market volatility.
Meanwhile, Singapore is cementing its status as the centre for governance and regulatory oversight. This shift sees Asian family offices moving toward interconnected, “multi-hub” models rather than relying on a single headquarters.
Another key trend is the emergence of new platforms using artificial intelligence. The goal is to match capital, efficiently connecting family office capital with suitable alternative investments. Beyond investments, there is also a heavy investment in automating core operations. This includes specialised tax automation software, such as K1x, and collection management systems, such as ARTDAI, which are necessary to manage the complex and diverse asset portfolios of ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Deals and investments
Direct investing remains a major theme for family offices. Family offices are increasingly acting as direct dealmakers rather than relying solely on traditional funds. This trend is visible across various asset classes. In private equity, family offices are making concentrated bets on buyout firms and taking direct stakes in private companies.
Similarly, there is a significant appetite for tangible assets, particularly in real estate and hospitality. Family office capital is currently driving large-scale US hospitality transactions and massive buyouts of mixed-use retail portfolios. One notable example this month has been the recent $93 million Berritto acquisition in South Florida.
However, the appetite for high-risk hedges remains limited. According to JPMorgan Private Bank’s 2026 Global Family Office Report, despite geopolitical fears, the appetite for traditional and emerging hedges, including cryptocurrencies, remains highly constrained among wealthy families right now.
People’s moves and appointments
Family offices are no longer relying on family members or generalist accountants to manage their wealth. Their portfolios now look remarkably similar to institutional funds (heavy in private equity, venture, and direct real estate. Therefore are actively poaching Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) from elite university endowments and major trust banks.
As family offices take on more direct investments and face heightened global regulatory scrutiny across different jurisdictions, the most aggressively recruited roles are now ‘outside’ of the investment team. There is a massive spike in demand for dedicated legal and compliance. There is also increased demand for operational leaders to protect the family from regulatory and cybersecurity risks.
Also, because family offices now control over $5.5 trillion globally, traditional commercial banks and wealth managers are realising they need highly specialised personnel just to service them. Banks are pulling out entire teams to cater exclusively to private family capital.
Looking ahead
As we move into March and the remainder of Q1 2026, the data from February points to a sector that is increasingly behaving like institutional asset management. The clear appetite for direct investments (particularly in commercial real estate and tech startups) shows that families are not afraid to deploy capital into strategic opportunities.
Additionally, the aggressive hiring of top-tier talent and adoption of AI tools suggest that managing operational complexity will be a top priority this year. Family offices that successfully blend this new technological infrastructure with strong, cross-border governance models are poised to lead the next generation of wealth preservation.
