Key Takeaways
- • Citi Wealth surveyed a record 346 family office respondents from 45 countries in June-July 2025, providing the most comprehensive snapshot of sophisticated investor sentiment in its seventh annual report following U.S. tariff announcements and geopolitical uncertainty.
- • Family offices maintained largely steady asset allocations pending greater clarity on trade policy, with 70% actively engaged in direct investments and private equity showing the most positive investment activity among those implementing portfolio changes.
- • Despite macro uncertainty surrounding trade policy, geopolitical tensions, and technological disruption, family offices expressed optimism about 12-month portfolio returns, citing potential U.S. deregulation, interest rate cuts, and artificial intelligence advances as tailwinds.
- • Active risk management emerged as a dominant strategy, with 39% of family offices favoring active management and shifting toward defensive asset classes, geographies, and hedging strategies in response to U.S. tariff-triggered volatility.
- • The report underscores a bifurcated family office posture: cautious allocation discipline holding steady amid macro uncertainty while maintaining bullish positioning in direct investments and maintaining conviction in longer-term portfolio resilience.
Summary
Citi Wealth released its 2025 Global Family Office Report on September 16, 2025, offering institutional insight into the strategic priorities and behavioral responses of approximately 1,800 family offices globally served by Citi Wealth's Global Family Office Group. The flagship publication draws from a survey conducted in June and July 2025, capturing 346 respondents across 45 countries—representing a record participation level for the seventh consecutive annual report.
The timing of the survey is particularly significant, as it was fielded in the immediate aftermath of U.S. tariff announcements and amid persistent geopolitical tensions and technological transformation. This positioning allows the report to capture real-time strategic recalibration by sophisticated investors responding to policy uncertainty. The core finding reflects a measured approach: family offices held asset allocations largely steady, making fewer adjustments than in the prior year as they awaited greater policy clarity. Among those implementing portfolio changes, bullish moves predominated, with private equity capturing the most positive investment activity and direct investments remaining a dominant strategic focus, with 70% of respondents actively engaged in this category.
Despite the macro headwinds, family offices expressed notable optimism regarding 12-month portfolio returns. This positive sentiment appears anchored to multiple tailwinds: anticipated U.S. regulatory reform, expectations for interest rate cuts, and advances in artificial intelligence. However, the report notes limited consensus exists regarding which specific asset classes might drive outperformance, suggesting optimism coexists with tactical uncertainty.
The U.S. tariff announcements triggered swift, calculated responses demonstrating active portfolio risk management. Thirty-nine percent of family offices favored active management strategies, and respondents broadly pivoted toward perceived defensive asset classes and geographies while implementing hedging strategies to bolster portfolio resilience. This bifurcated positioning—holding steady on core allocations while defensively repositioning tactical exposures—reflects the sophisticated risk management posture characteristic of institutional-quality capital.
The report's broader thesis emphasizes that family offices are refining priorities, reimagining operations, and constructing resilient portfolios amid structural uncertainty, balancing conviction in longer-term wealth preservation with disciplined near-term risk mitigation.
The timing of the survey is particularly significant, as it was fielded in the immediate aftermath of U.S. tariff announcements and amid persistent geopolitical tensions and technological transformation. This positioning allows the report to capture real-time strategic recalibration by sophisticated investors responding to policy uncertainty. The core finding reflects a measured approach: family offices held asset allocations largely steady, making fewer adjustments than in the prior year as they awaited greater policy clarity. Among those implementing portfolio changes, bullish moves predominated, with private equity capturing the most positive investment activity and direct investments remaining a dominant strategic focus, with 70% of respondents actively engaged in this category.
Despite the macro headwinds, family offices expressed notable optimism regarding 12-month portfolio returns. This positive sentiment appears anchored to multiple tailwinds: anticipated U.S. regulatory reform, expectations for interest rate cuts, and advances in artificial intelligence. However, the report notes limited consensus exists regarding which specific asset classes might drive outperformance, suggesting optimism coexists with tactical uncertainty.
The U.S. tariff announcements triggered swift, calculated responses demonstrating active portfolio risk management. Thirty-nine percent of family offices favored active management strategies, and respondents broadly pivoted toward perceived defensive asset classes and geographies while implementing hedging strategies to bolster portfolio resilience. This bifurcated positioning—holding steady on core allocations while defensively repositioning tactical exposures—reflects the sophisticated risk management posture characteristic of institutional-quality capital.
The report's broader thesis emphasizes that family offices are refining priorities, reimagining operations, and constructing resilient portfolios amid structural uncertainty, balancing conviction in longer-term wealth preservation with disciplined near-term risk mitigation.
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