Family Offices represent an asset pool worth over $4.67 tn
Asset managers have long sought to manage the assets of large institutions. Pension funds represent a significant proportion of these institutions, with an asset pool worth over $55 trillion*. As asset managers continue to diversify their client bases, other large ‘institutional like’ pools are becoming more attractive.
Single Family Offices (SFOs) represent a significant pool of investable assets, with long time horizons and professional decision-makers, driven to invest across the asset spectrum. These investors are notoriously private, and uncovering the magnitude of the asset pool and how it is distributed has always been a challenge.
With Intelligence has a strong capability and focus on this investor group and has built the most credible and detailed database of Single and Multi-Family Offices (MFOs) in the market to date. The data and information compiled on over 3,400 SFOs and 1,500 MFOs enables the most representative approach to understanding the distribution of Family Offices globally, as well as the assets they manage and what asset classes these assets are invested in.
Based on the coverage of our Single Family Offices alone, this pool is substantial, over 8% of the value of global pension assets. This figure will be even greater as further SFOs are uncovered. Attractive also to asset managers is the fact that Family Offices aren’t driven by a liability profile which requires liquidity in the same way as pension funds, contributing to the stability of the invested assets.
Analysis of our data suggests that at least $4.67 trillion is attributable to SFOs globally. Over half of this is under the governance of SFOs based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nearly 40% of the assets are in the Americas, predominantly the US, with the remaining assets in APAC.
SFOs each have their own set of needs and objectives, unique to their family situation, and although many will invest in funds, many will make direct investments, particularly in private equity, circumventing the need for an external asset manager. These direct investments can represent around half of their allocation in this asset class.
We recognize that a number of Family Offices will manage a proportion of their assets in-house and/or will make direct investments. This is often within their Private Equity/Venture Capital (PE/VC) or Real Estate (RE) allocation and is around 10% of total assets on average. These direct investments are highlighted, where known, in individual SFO profiles. However, for the purpose of this analysis, we have assumed that on an aggregate level, most direct investments are made in PE/VC. This more accurate reflection of the addressable asset pool landscape is invaluable as managers and service providers define their own models to build relationships and provide services to SFOs.
Global Single Family Office numbers, assets and asset allocation
Global distribution of family offices and assets
Figure 1 shows how global SFO assets are distributed across the three key geographic regions. At a regional level, the Americas represent 44% of SFOs with 39% of the assets. Asia Pacific (APAC) SFOs account for 10% of the total number and 9% of the assets. Europe, Middle East & Africa based SFOs represent 46% of the total number and 52% of the assets.
We have categorized the SFOs into 11 regions (see section 4 for the countries that are included in each region), which covers all countries where we currently have SFO profiles. The number and assets across these are split as shown in figure 2.
The US is home to a significant proportion, around two fifths, of SFOs globally, with a high concentration in New York.
The dispersion of the asset pool across a geographic location will clearly have a bearing on the practicalities of addressing the market. This analysis provides an indication of SFO density across regions. For full details on SFO locations, please refer to our Family office database, for which if you are not already a subscriber, details can be found at the end of this report.
Distribution of SFOs by AuM bracket
Distribution of SFOs investing in different asset classes
Total asset pool by asset class
Sizing the market
The family office landscape is opaque. It is however a space with immense opportunity to build relationships to support these investors in their wealth preservation and creation journeys. Our team is constantly working to add more family offices to our platform to provide a broader and deeper understanding of this increasingly sought after asset pool.
Beyond identifying more family offices every day, we uncover family wealth background, wealth structures, associated companies, investment strategies, and fund allocations. We further provide key contacts’ email addresses, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profiles to enable our clients to search, filter and export the data they need to fundraise efficiently and effectively.
We have a unique approach to surfacing and researching family offices, to provide the most comprehensive and reliable coverage in the market. Although AuM is typically closely guarded, we estimate an AuM range for every family office. This is based on our deep understanding of the market and evidence of their investments.
Our data and intelligence provides industry participants with a credible source of market knowledge, enabling them to inform and shape their strategy around accessing these private institutions and work to partner with them in managing their investable assets.
