Family offices favour real estate: Study

The world's richest families love to invest in real estate more than any other asset classes, a new analysis shows, as more than half feature property in their portfolios.

The research conducted by familyofficehub, a provider of global family office research based in Munich, found that 52.7% of the total 2079 single family offices analysed invest in real estate.

Family offices from Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Middle East took part in the study. The US leads the way for real estate-focused single family offices, followed closely by Germany.

Residential, office and retail buildings are the most popular property types. Logistics, hospitality, and light-industrial assets are also prominent.

The continued popularity of real estate reflects its enduring appeal as a vehicle for wealth preservation and growth, familyofficehub said, as the tangible, income-generating asset real estate provides an attractive alternative to more volatile capital market investments.

The study also highlights differing activities of global family investment vehicles in the real estate sector.

Many family offices hold existing assets, which are often based on the entrepreneurial activities of the family, and selectively purchases new properties. Meanwhile, an increasing number of family offices is also actively investing in new assets.

Overall, real estate remains a key component in hedging against inflation, enabling families to maintain long-term value and support intergenerational wealth strategies.

The family offices studied typically work together with external real estate investment managers.

Familyofficehub lists Grok Ventures as one of the largest family offices alongside the French family office Téthys Invest, Belgium's Verlinvest, the Segal family's Prairie Management Group from the US, and Singapore's Sassoon Investment Corporation.