At the 2024 Asian Family Impact Summit, Tasos Zavitsanakis, Co-Head Sustainable Finance APAC for UBS, took to the stage to share with the audience of Family Office Principals the extensive research around APAC landscape trends.
It was during this session, that the findings of the Global Family Office Report 2024 were first revealed offering an overview of the valuable insights and data that family offices can leverage.
Material shifts in asset allocation: Family offices made some of their biggest shifts in strategic asset allocation in 2023, rebalancing portfolios. They increased allocations to developed market fixed income by the largest amount in 5 years. Asia-Pacific family offices allocated a total of 25% of their assets in fixed income.
Geographic allocation trends: Globally, Family offices maintain their largest allocations in North America. Over the next 5 years, 35% of global family offices plan to increase allocations to North America and Asia-Pacific (ex. Greater China), one of the highest intended increases across regions. In Asia-Pacific, family offices plan to allocate more to Asia-Pacific (excl. Greater China) (49%) and North America (48%) over the next five years. Compared to 2023 findings, Asia-Pacific family offices also plan to increase more allocations to Greater China.
Shift to active management: As stock performance has become more divergent, 39% of family offices globally state that they are currently relying more on manager selection and/or active management to enhance portfolio diversification, up 4% from 2023. Short-duration fixed income is also favored for diversification, especially in the US. On the alternative investment side, a third (33%) of family offices diversify through investing in hedge funds.
Focus on sustainability: 41% of Asia-Pacific family offices agree that innovative approaches like blended finance will lead to a convergence of investing and philanthropy activities, higher than other regions. 45% of Asia-Pacific family offices are taking philanthropic efforts and charitable giving considerations into account.
Core focus within sustainability: Healthcare is the top sustainability theme globally and in Asia-Pacific. Other top sustainability themes of Asia-Pacific family offices include clean tech/green-tech/climate tech (40%) and philanthropy (39%)
Emerging Risks: The top concerns for global and Asia-Pacific family offices are the risk of a major geopolitical conflict, both short-term and medium-term. Over 5 years, they Asia-Pacific family offices also view climate change and high debt levels as major risks.
The report suggests that after the material shifts in 2023 to rebalance their portfolios, family offices do not anticipate implementing such big changes to their asset allocation in 2024. The focus seems to be more on maintaining the updated portfolio balance achieved in the prior year.
"Purposefully deployed capital at speed and scale can make a difference. This room today is full of accomplished investors, next-generation leaders, and established practitioners who have been testing and evolving their methods and approach over time. I feel that what truly differentiates this generation is the willingness to support and guide each other. So, I would welcome everyone to make the most of the day, learn from each other, and collectively gain the confidence that we can forge our own path. We can grow our wealth for the long term, and we can support causes that we care about." - Tasos Zavitsanakis, Co-Head Sustainable Finance APAC, UBS
SFi is appreciative of the support of large institutions like UBS, which equip family office investors with the expertise, resources, opportunities, and credibility needed to effectively pursue and succeed on their sustainable finance journey in Asia.
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