Alternative investments now make up most of family office portfolios, according to BNY Wealth’s 2026 Investment Insights for Single Family Offices. Wealth Professional and ThinkAdvisor, reporting the study on 14 October 2026, put alternatives at 60% of allocations, and ThinkAdvisor says that is up 12 percentage points in a year. Spear’s reported a day earlier that this is the first time in BNY’s surveys that traditional assets, such as listed shares and real estate, were less than half. We could not find the full report on BNY’s website, so the figures below come from those summaries.
Why it matters: a family office can hold a lot of things it cannot sell quickly. That is a strength, until the family needs cash.
Who was asked in the BNY Wealth survey
The Harris Poll surveyed 290 investment decision-makers at single family offices, each with at least $250 million, between 5 January and 3 February 2026, Wealth Professional reports. According to Spear’s, about half were in the United States, 10% managed more than $5 billion and 36% between $1 billion and $4.9 billion. (A single family office serves one family; see our comparison.)
What counts as “alternative”
Spear’s lists private equity, venture capital, private credit, cryptocurrency and luxury assets such as art and jewellery; Wealth Professional adds infrastructure.
- Art investment rose 63% in a year (Spear’s).
- 56% plan to add infrastructure in the next 12 months, the top priority (Wealth Professional).
- AI was the most interesting theme for the next five years, cited by 68% (Wealth Professional).
Why family offices can hold illiquid assets
An asset is illiquid when it cannot be sold quickly without a large discount: a stake in a private company, a fund locked for years, a painting. Investors usually expect extra return for accepting that: the illiquidity premium. Family offices are well placed to collect it. They have no outside clients who can withdraw money, and they plan over decades. Chuck Long of BNY Wealth told Spear’s that their longer time horizons let them tolerate more illiquidity.
The risk when cash is needed
The weakness shows when money is needed at short notice: a tax bill, a buyout of a relative, a market fall that hits the liquid part of the portfolio. Private funds also call committed capital on their own schedule, and selling a fund stake early usually means accepting a discount. Even “semi-liquid” funds can limit withdrawals: Spear’s cites Blue Owl Capital, which capped quarterly redemptions from one fund at 5%.
What to watch
- Publication of the full BNY report, with exact figures by asset class.
- Withdrawal limits at semi-liquid private credit funds.
- Whether art and sports stakes keep growing as younger family members gain influence.
A fair caveat
These are survey answers, summarised by the trade press, not audited holdings. An average of 60% hides wide differences between offices. Private assets are valued less often than listed shares, which can make them look steadier than they are.
Questions to bring to your advisors
How much of our portfolio could we turn into cash within three months without a large discount? How much have we promised to private funds but not yet paid in? These are questions to bring to your advisors, not advice.
