Key Takeaways
- • Family offices increased direct investments in private companies by 123.3% year-over-year to nearly $13 billion, signaling a structural shift away from traditional private-equity intermediaries toward direct deal participation.
- • Technology, media, and telecom deals dominated allocation activity, capturing over $3 billion across 36 transactions, with Stoke Space Technologies (a rocket company founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees) commanding $860 million in a single investment.
- • Materials and industrial sectors attracted $4.8 billion in capital, substantially boosted by BW Gestão de Investimentos' $4.5 billion acquisition of glass packaging manufacturer Verallia on behalf of Brazil's Moreira Salles family office.
- • Control and customization drive the strategy shift: 60% of family offices are altering allocations in 2026—nearly double the 2025 figure—with cited rationale centered on portfolio flexibility, sector selectivity, and reduced reliance on public equity exposure in an increasingly volatile macro environment.
- • Northern Trust's Global Family Office President Dino De Vito attributed the trend to family offices' desire for "full customization," the ability to avoid specific sectors, and operational independence from traditional public market constraints.
Summary
Family offices are fundamentally restructuring their alternative investment playbooks by bypassing traditional private-equity intermediaries in favor of direct ownership stakes in private companies. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, family offices deployed capital into direct private investments valued at nearly $13 billion last year, representing a 123.3% year-over-year surge. This acceleration reflects a strategic pivot toward greater control and operational flexibility in portfolio construction.
The capital deployment shows clear sectoral concentration. Technology, media, and telecom transactions accounted for the largest share, with $3 billion invested across 36 deals. The headline transaction in this cohort was a $860 million investment by family offices in Stoke Space Technologies, a launch services company founded by former engineers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Materials and industrial acquisitions followed with $4.8 billion in aggregate capital, substantially concentrated in a single transformational deal: BW Gestão de Investimentos, the family office vehicle of Brazil's Moreira Salles family, deployed $4.5 billion to acquire Verallia Société Anonyme, a European glass packaging manufacturer.
The underlying motivation for this reallocation reflects both operational control preferences and macro risk management. Dino De Vito, Global Family Office President at Northern Trust, characterized the shift as driven by family offices' need to "fully customize" portfolios, selectively avoid certain sectors, and maintain flexibility around public equity exposure. This strategic rationale is gaining urgency: a UBS Global Wealth Management report indicates that 60% of family offices are modifying their asset allocations in 2026—nearly double the proportion doing so in 2025. The primary catalyst cited is heightened macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, which has prompted institutional families to seek more granular control over capital deployment and risk exposure than traditional commingled private-equity funds typically offer.
The capital deployment shows clear sectoral concentration. Technology, media, and telecom transactions accounted for the largest share, with $3 billion invested across 36 deals. The headline transaction in this cohort was a $860 million investment by family offices in Stoke Space Technologies, a launch services company founded by former engineers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Materials and industrial acquisitions followed with $4.8 billion in aggregate capital, substantially concentrated in a single transformational deal: BW Gestão de Investimentos, the family office vehicle of Brazil's Moreira Salles family, deployed $4.5 billion to acquire Verallia Société Anonyme, a European glass packaging manufacturer.
The underlying motivation for this reallocation reflects both operational control preferences and macro risk management. Dino De Vito, Global Family Office President at Northern Trust, characterized the shift as driven by family offices' need to "fully customize" portfolios, selectively avoid certain sectors, and maintain flexibility around public equity exposure. This strategic rationale is gaining urgency: a UBS Global Wealth Management report indicates that 60% of family offices are modifying their asset allocations in 2026—nearly double the proportion doing so in 2025. The primary catalyst cited is heightened macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, which has prompted institutional families to seek more granular control over capital deployment and risk exposure than traditional commingled private-equity funds typically offer.
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