Investor types

Single family offices

A single family office is a private company that manages the investments and affairs of one family. It invests the family's own capital, has no external investors and sets its own horizon.

What a single family office is

A single family office (SFO) is a private company that manages the investments and affairs of one family. It has no external investors and answers only to the family that owns it. It differs from a multi-family office, which serves several unrelated families for fees and is normally regulated as an investment firm. It also differs from a private bank, which is a deposit-taking institution serving many clients. Nor is it the same as a property developer family, which is an operating business rather than an investment office.

Several jurisdictions treat an SFO that manages only family money differently from an investment firm. Singapore exempts an SFO from fund management licensing if it meets the conditions of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and notifies MAS.¹ The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) replaced its earlier SFO regime with the Family Arrangements Regulations 2023, which allow single family offices to operate without regulation by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), while multi-family offices that offer financial services are regulated by the DFSA.²

How many single family offices there are

Deloitte Private estimated that there were 8,030 single family offices worldwide in its 2024 study, up from 6,130 in 2019; it projected 9,030 in 2025 and 10,720 by 2030.³ Those offices managed an estimated US$3.1tn of assets, a figure Deloitte expects to rise 73% to US$5.4tn by 2030.³

Region or centre	Figure	Date
North America	3,180 SFOs³	2024
Asia Pacific	2,290 SFOs³	2024
Europe	2,020 SFOs³	2024
Middle East	290 SFOs³	2024
South America	190 SFOs³	2024
Africa	60 SFOs³	2024
Hong Kong	3,384 SFOs⁴	End of 2025
Singapore	More than 2,000 SFOs receiving 13O or 13U tax incentives⁵	End of December 2025
Dubai (DIFC)	1,289 family-related entities, including 1,115 foundations⁶	2025

The national figures measure different things. The Hong Kong figure counts SFOs; the Singapore figure counts only SFOs receiving tax incentives under sections 13O and 13U; the DIFC figure counts family-related entities, including foundations, so it cannot be compared with Deloitte's estimate for the whole Middle East. There is no official count for the UK, where the Financial Conduct Authority does not register SFOs, or for Switzerland. For wider Europe the published estimate is Deloitte's regional figure.

The offices in the UBS Global Family Office Report 2025 give an indication of size. The 317 single family offices surveyed between 22 January and 4 April 2025 represented families with an average net worth of US$2.7bn, and the average office managed US$1.1bn.⁷

Structures and sub-types

Three forms are common: an office embedded inside the family business, a standalone office set up as its own company and an office that invests through a dedicated fund vehicle. The legal wrapper depends on the jurisdiction. In Singapore the family's investment vehicle is typically a private company or a Variable Capital Company holding a 13O or 13U tax incentive.⁸ In the DIFC the available structures include foundations, holding companies, managing offices and private trust companies.⁹

Entry thresholds apply where a tax or regulatory regime is used. Singapore's 13O incentive requires minimum assets under management of S$20m and the 13U incentive S$50m.¹⁰ A DIFC family office requires aggregate family net assets of at least US$50m.¹¹ These thresholds measure the size of the office, not the size of any single investment.

Source of capital and investment horizon

The capital is the family's own wealth, usually created by an operating business or realised through its sale. Many offices are recent creations: Deloitte reports that just under 70% of family offices were set up after 2000 and that four in ten serve first-generation families.¹²

Because there are no external investors and no fixed fund life, the horizon is set by the family rather than by a fund term. An SFO can hold an asset for as long as the family wishes and is under no contractual obligation to invest or return capital on a timetable. This is the main practical difference from a private equity fund.

How single family offices invest in private markets

The UBS Global Family Office Report 2025 drew on 317 single family offices in more than 30 markets.⁷ On average respondents held 56% of portfolios in traditional assets and 44% in alternatives in 2024.¹³ Private equity, held both directly and through funds, averaged 22% of portfolios in 2023 and 21% in 2024, while private debt rose from 2% to 4%; offices planning to change allocation in 2025 expected private debt of 5%.¹⁴

US family offices are more heavily weighted to alternatives, which made up 54% of their portfolios: 27% in private equity, 18% in real estate and 3% in private debt.⁷ Over a five-year horizon, 37% of respondents expected to increase direct private equity.¹⁵

SFOs therefore invest in private markets by two routes: commitments to third-party funds and direct investments in companies or assets. The direct route is the one that UBS identified as driving the planned reduction in private equity exposure.⁷ Because an SFO has permanent capital, a direct holding need not be sold on a fixed timetable.

Typical ticket sizes

SFO commitment sizes are private and vary with the size of the office and the family's appetite, so they have to be established with each office. The thresholds that are published are entry thresholds for establishing an office in Singapore and the DIFC, described above. The UBS survey average of US$1.1bn of assets per office⁷ gives a sense of the capital from which individual commitments are drawn.

How decisions are made and how long they take

Decisions sit with the principal or members of the family, often acting through a board or an investment committee. Deloitte found that 73% of family offices have established boards.³ In larger offices a chief investment officer and investment staff prepare opportunities for the family's decision.

Because the people who decide are also the owners of the capital, there is no separate investor approval layer of the kind found in a fund. The time taken therefore depends on the office's own governance rather than on a fund's investment period.

What single family offices look for and why they decline

The clearest published evidence concerns emerging markets: UBS respondents cited geopolitical concerns (56%) and political uncertainty or the risk of sovereign default (55%) as the main barriers to investing there.⁷ UBS attributed the planned reduction in private equity mainly to direct investments, as subdued capital markets and acquisition activity slowed portfolio exits.⁷ Exit visibility is therefore relevant when an office assesses a direct investment.

Risk perception shapes the rest of the portfolio. In 2025, 70% of offices surveyed by UBS saw a trade war as a threat over the following 12 months.⁷

Regulation and governance

In Singapore an SFO is exempt from fund management licensing on notification to MAS. The 13O and 13U tax incentives have been extended to 31 December 2029.⁸ In the DIFC the Family Arrangements Regulations 2023 govern family structures.² In the United States the Securities and Exchange Commission's Family Office Rule, adopted on 22 June 2011, defines family offices and excludes them from the definition of investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act.¹⁶ In the UK, Switzerland and the EU, an SFO that manages only family money is generally outside investment-firm licensing; the precise exclusion differs in each jurisdiction and turns on local law.

On governance, Deloitte found that 73% of family offices have established boards.³ UBS found that 53% of the offices it surveyed had wealth succession plans in place.⁷ Formal regulation therefore plays a smaller part than the family's own governance arrangements.

Trends in 2025 and 2026

Five trends stand out in the published data.

Rotation away from private equity. The average private equity allocation was 21% in 2024; offices changing allocation planned 18% for 2025, while developed-market equities rose to 26% in 2024 with a planned 29%.⁷
A domestic tilt in the US. US family offices held 86% of their portfolios in North America, the highest regional concentration in the UBS survey.⁷
Geopolitical risk. Over five years, the offices surveyed by UBS ranked major geopolitical conflict (61%), a global recession (53%) and a debt crisis (50%) as their main concerns.⁷
Growth of Asian hubs. Hong Kong had 3,384 SFOs at the end of 2025, an increase of 681 over the two years from the end of 2023.⁴ In Singapore more than 2,000 SFOs were receiving tax incentives at the end of December 2025.⁵
Growth in the Gulf. Family-related entities in the DIFC rose 61% in 2025 to 1,289. Foundations established by DIFC-based families rose 66% to 1,115.⁶

How advisers and placement agents work with single family offices

In market practice, advisers approach an office through its chief investment officer or the principal, often by referral. Family offices frequently receive opportunities through private banks and peer networks. Because there is no public register of SFOs in the UK or Switzerland, identifying the right office and the right decision-maker is a large part of the work. Anglo-Suisse Capital advises on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors.

Frequently asked questions

How many single family offices are there?

Deloitte Private estimated 8,030 single family offices worldwide in its 2024 study, up from 6,130 in 2019.³

How much do single family offices manage?

Deloitte Private estimated total family office assets under management of US$3.1tn, projected to reach US$5.4tn by 2030.³

What is the difference between a single family office and a multi-family office?

A single family office serves one family and invests only its money. A multi-family office serves several unrelated families for fees and is normally regulated as an investment firm.

Are single family offices reducing private equity?

UBS reported an average private equity allocation of 21% in 2024, with offices changing allocation planning 18% for 2025.⁷

Do single family offices lend?

Private debt is a growing allocation: it rose from 2% of portfolios in 2023 to 4% in 2024 among UBS survey respondents.¹⁴

Where are the fastest-growing family office hubs?

Hong Kong had 3,384 SFOs at the end of 2025, up 681 in two years,⁴ and family-related entities in the DIFC rose 61% in 2025.⁶

Do single family offices need a licence?

In Singapore and the DIFC an SFO can operate without a licence if it meets the local conditions.¹² In the United States the SEC's Family Office Rule excludes qualifying family offices from the definition of investment adviser.¹⁶

Do single family offices have formal governance?

Deloitte found that 73% of family offices have established boards,³ and UBS found that 53% had wealth succession plans in place.⁷

Working with Anglo-Suisse Capital

Anglo-Suisse Capital advises companies, fund managers and shareholders on capital raising, M&A and secondary transactions with professional investors in the UK, Switzerland and internationally.

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Sources

This page is general information for professional investors and is not investment advice. Figures are taken from the sources listed, as at the dates stated.