Strong investment performance is contributing to renewed optimism, while changing family wealth dynamics are bringing longer-term questions about liquidity, values and succession into focus. The 2026 North America Family Office Report draws on insights from 155 family offices located primarily across Canada and the United States, with comparisons to global peers.
Learn more about trends affecting the 155 family offices surveyed, representing families worth US$100 million to more than US$10 billion, including the forces reshaping family wealth, changing expectations for investment performance, the role of access to capital and how families are preparing for the future.
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North American family offices are reassessing how they invest, plan and prepare as market conditions and family circumstances shift. The 2026 report highlights changing sentiment and priorities shaping decisions across family wealth.
The family office landscape isn’t being driven by generational wealth transfer alone. New wealth is contributing to the formation of family offices as established families move through successive generations. One in five offices surveyed was formed within the past six years, while the share controlled by third-generation-or-later families has risen from 22 percent in 2025 to more than 26 percent this year.
The timing of succession varies just as widely. Twenty-three percent of offices have experienced a generational transition within the past five years, yet 52 percent of those still awaiting one don’t expect it for at least another decade. The findings reflect how differently family offices are preparing for and managing generational change.
Meanwhile, families themselves are growing. Over the next five years, respondents expect the median number of family members to increase by 25 percent, from eight to 10. More family members can mean greater demands on investment performance and the operational capabilities of the office – regardless of when the next transfer of control takes place.
Family offices considerably underestimated investment performance in 2025. They entered the year expecting an average return of five percent, but applying reported median returns to the average portfolio suggests a return closer to 13 percent. Every asset class measured delivered a positive median return.
Expectations have moved higher in response. Roughly half of respondents expect developed-market equities to match or exceed their 2025 performance over the next two to five years. The outlook is even more optimistic for developing-market equities and private markets.
Liquidity is influencing how family offices think about their investments and their broader financial position. In private markets, nearly one in five investors surveyed attempted to exit a fund position this year. Among the 15 offices that did, 47 percent were unable to complete the exit as expected, putting the liquidity constraints of private-market holdings into sharper focus.
At the same time, offices are considering how much liquidity they need to support family cash flow and pursue investment opportunities without raising funds. Borrowing provides another source of flexibility: 28 percent borrow against securities and 21 percent against real estate to fund new investments.
For many families, values continue to influence decisions about both giving and investing. Philanthropy remains widespread, with 65 percent of family offices participating, while continuing the family mission, legacy and values now ranks as the leading motivation, replacing giving back to society, which held the top spot in 2025.
The investment picture is less straightforward. Formal participation in responsible investing has fallen from 25 percent to 19 percent, but interviews reveal a more nuanced shift. Some families continue to consider their values when making investment decisions without identifying those investments – or themselves – under the responsible investing label.Those formally pursuing responsible investing remain committed to it. On average, they allocate 28 percent of their portfolios to responsible investments and expect that share to reach 36 percent by 2030. Philanthropy also remains substantial among some families: of those reporting the value of their gifts, 38 percent gave more than US$5 million in 2025.
Succession readiness involves more than deciding how wealth will transfer between generations. Twenty-three percent of family offices have no succession plan, while 52 percent have an informal plan that hasn’t been documented. The findings also reveal gaps in preparing the people involved in future transitions.
Nearly a third of respondents are concerned about the retirement of key family leaders and staff, making leadership continuity and knowledge transfer important considerations. Preparation among younger family members is another consideration: only 26 percent of offices help them understand their role after succession. Looking further ahead, just seven surveyed offices provide structured financial or investment management education.
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