22-05-2025
Family offices stay invested amid concerns over trade wars and recession: UBS
Other alternatives investments like gold are also seeing more interest given its strong price. PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE - Family offices in this region are sticking to their investment strategies despite concerns over trade tensions, recession and market volatility, noted a new report.
It found that family offices in South-east Asia preferred equities and bonds from developed markets such as the United States, Singapore, Japan and Britain.
These offices allocated an average of 27 per cent of the portfolio to equities and 22 per cent to bonds from developed markets in 2024.
They are also planning to increase their equity and bond investments over the next five years and are looking to diversify into alternative investments.
Around 40 per cent plan an allocation into private equity and 23 per cent are looking at investing into private debt, noted the annual report from private bank UBS.
Other alternatives investments like gold are also seeing more interest given its strong price.
Gold hit around US$3,500 an ounce in April before pulling back to about US$3,300 in May, as uncertainty in global markets prompted investors to seek refuge in the yellow metal.
Mr LH Koh, head of global family and institutional wealth for Asia-Pacific at UBS Global Wealth Management, told a briefing on May 22 that UBS is still largely positive on gold because of the structural demand trends.
Unlike their counterparts In the United States and Europe, family offices in South-east Asia are holding more cash or cash equivalents in their portfolios. They held an average of 12 per cent in cash, higher than the global average of 8 per cent, signalling that regional family offices are staying more cautious, UBS noted.
The high-net worth individuals who set up family offices in this region said their biggest concerns over the next year include inflation, geopolitical conflicts, trade wars and a global recession.
Ms Young Jin Yee, country head of UBS Singapore, said diversification remains key for investors.
Ms Young added that the Asia-Pacific excluding Greater China remains a key investment destination, with South-east Asian family offices allocating one-fifth of their investments to the region in 2025.
UBS gathered insights from 317 single family offices across more than 30 global markets – including 34 in South-east Asia – in the first four months of 2025 and supplemented survey findings with in-depth interviews.
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