Cash no longer king as Asia family offices invest in more equities, bonds, private assets
Some 68 per cent of respondents in Asia-Pacific raised their allocations to stocks, highest among all regions
Family offices in the region were the most optimistic on the stock market outlook, with 68 per cent of the respondents boosting their equity allocations, compared with 45 per cent in Latin America and roughly one-third in the North America, Europe and Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions.
“Bullishness was widespread,” the US bank said in its annual Global Family Office Survey Insights report, released on Wednesday. “There was an almost unanimous expectation of positive portfolio returns in the next 12 months, with close to half of the respondents expecting returns over 10 per cent.”
The survey was conducted by Citigroup’s private banking unit from June 4 to July 15, drawing responses from a record 338 participants on topics including portfolio actions, investment sentiment and industry best practices. Some 21 per cent of the respondents are based in Asia-Pacific.
Of the respondents in the region, some 42 per cent raised their bets on fixed income, the same proportion as family offices in North America, the survey showed. However, more investors in Latin America and EMEA favoured the asset class at 55 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively.
“Our family office clients are increasingly becoming more global as they seek to create and preserve wealth,” said Ida Liu, head of Citi Private Bank. As interest rates evolve and geopolitical risks linger, wealthy investors and their families are putting more cash to work, she added.
The increase in allocations for public equities was also due to the markets’ continued ascent from their 2022 lows, according to the report. The MSCI World Index rose 54 per cent in that rally, adding US$22 trillion to investors’ wealth.
