All striped investors were thrown several curveballs this year as President Donald Trump’s trade war in early April sent stock prices and dollar declines, sending a set of “America America” talks as the US feared they would lose its place as a global market of excellence. However, the following weeks have earned rebounds in the stock market as the steepest tariffs are delayed. As a result of the ups and downs, many of the wealthiest investors around the world are taking a waiting approach with their investment strategies.
This reflects the views of 317 family offices (the super-rich personal asset management company), each managing an average of $11 billion, according to the newly released UBS 2025 Global Family Office Report.
The family offices involved in the survey pointed to the global trade war as the most worrying risk of the next 12 months, naming the general geopolitical conflict over the next five years as their main concern.
The UBS investigation was primarily conducted in the first quarter of the year before the president’s tariff policy was announced in early April. Still, the company was able to run more interviews following the market turmoil, and found that most wealthy investors were planning to stick to their plans and wait for subsequent economic uncertainty, even if the market fought or increased recession warnings.
A month and a half after the president’s announcement, US stocks have recovered from their initial sharp decline.
In 2025, some of the biggest investment changes in the past few years include family offices cutting cash holdings further, particularly investing in developed market stocks in the US. Private debt was another area where we saw an increase in investment, but private equity investments actually fell.
Despite all the uncertainty associated with the Trump administration’s economic policy, family offices around the world “maintain a very strong bias against the United States,” says Daniel Scansalori, managing director and head of portfolio strategy at UBS. American innovations such as artificial AI and pharmaceutical advances keep businesses bullish.
“I think it’s too early to believe that US exceptionalism is over, but there’s a lot of uncertainty and we’re sticking to long-term strategic asset allocations while making tactical changes.”
Alternative Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is split between traditional and alternative investments in the family office. The former is divided at 56% and the latter at 44%. However, American family offices have far more desire than international companies for alternatives, and allocations are essentially reversed.
Private equity investments have been steadily increasing in the family office world for some time, down from a 22% peak in 2023 to 21%. UBS is hoping it will continue this year. Family Offices, which are set to change their strategy this year, plans to cut private equity allocations to 18%.
Scansaroli’s trust has declined in recent years to a near-doubt merger and IPO environment. The family does not have cash from the exit “recycle to the next private equity transaction.” Still, 44% of families said they plan to increase their PE investment over the next five years.
Gold accounts for just 2% of the average asset allocation, but Scansaroli is looking forward to an increase this year.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
