Family offices are raising their expectations after a strong year dominated by generational wealth transfer, new wealth creation and technology transformation, according to the recently published 2026 North America Family Office Report produced by RBC and Campden Wealth.
“Forward-looking confidence has jumped sharply,” says Manju Jessa, vice-president and head of family office and strategic clients for the RBC Enterprise Strategic Client Group. Shifts that stand out this year include the fact that 84 per cent of family offices expect their direct private equity to match or beat strong 2025 results, while 85 per cent name artificial intelligence (AI) as the top investment pick and 59 per cent cite cybersecurity as their top near-term operational worry.
“What this shows is a group that’s confident but not complacent,” Jessa says.
The annual report is based on 155 survey responses from single-family offices and private multi-family offices across the Americas. Among the participants, 123 of the offices are in the United States, 21 are in Canada and 11 are across the rest of the Americas, with an average operating net worth of US$2.25 billion.
Generational transfer coming, but are they ready?
Among the key survey findings, nearly a quarter of the family offices experienced a generational transfer within the past five years. Of those that have not, more than half expect the next transfer to be more than 10 years out. Notably, half of all offices report an incomplete or non-existent succession plan.
This great wealth transfer is happening alongside rapid new wealth creation, the report found, with one in five offices formed within the past six years, showing that new wealth is arriving as fast as the old wealth is moving.
Jessa says that for the half of offices with an incomplete or non-existent succession plan, “a proper plan isn’t only about ownership and wealth transfer; it’s the infrastructure that withstands transitions of both wealth and talent.” With nearly a third of offices concerned about the retirement of key family leaders and staff, “succession planning has to address the people running the office day to day, not just the balance sheet,” she adds.
Among the one in five offices formed within the past six years, “many are building governance and investment frameworks for the first time, which is exactly why values and purpose alignment matters early,” Jessa points out. “It’s far harder to retrofit once the structures, people and expectations are already set.”
Investment optimism, more direct deals
The survey respondents reported an optimistic swing in sentiment following strong overall performance in 2025, resetting expectations. A year ago, family offices expected an average annual return of just five per cent, the report notes, but what followed was a strong year, with every asset class finishing 2025 with a positive median return.
Adam Ratner, director of research for Campden Wealth, says the story of the 2026 survey is how much forward-looking sentiment has shifted. “Last year, offices were bracing for low single-digit or even negative returns, and they wound up in the mid-teens. What happens when you miss a move? You over-correct,” he says. “Patient capital is still susceptible to swings in sentiment.”
With private markets, offices are structuring for more control.
Manju Jessa
He says one of the more surprising differences between this and past surveys is how families are focusing their interest in private markets on direct deals over funds, a move that “sits at the intersection of a couple themes, including the desire to get exposure to specific tech companies, concerns about the liquidity of fund investments, and the interest in utilizing the families’ expertise to help build companies.”
Liquidity is a common theme, with respondents citing the importance of having ample reserves to meet cash needs and sufficient patient capital to invest opportunistically.
Jessa notes that when investors are cautious and the economic backdrop is particularly uncertain, families prefer liquidity for safety or funding purposes. The survey found that nearly one in five private-market investors attempted to exit a fund position this year; of those, 47 per cent could not complete the exit as expected.
“Within private markets, offices are also structuring for more control,” she says. “Direct investments now average 45 per cent of the private markets book versus 36 per cent for funds, which can offer more optionality around liquidity than traditional fund structures.”
Integrating philanthropy
More than 65 per cent of offices are engaged in philanthropy, the report notes, suggesting the integration of family values into philanthropy rather than as a separate allocation. However, fewer are into “responsible investing,” from 25 per cent in 2025 to 19 per cent this year.
Jessa says that for family offices in North America, “this is not surprising, given geopolitical and policy shifts that are not always based in science but on economic determinants.” She notes that returns in many areas of the responsible investing space remain robust, “and we continue to see the next generation as well as women lead on responsible and impact investing.”
Responding to evolving technology
AI has been dominating media and investor attention this year, and family offices are no exception. Jessa notes that “even though roughly three-quarters expect an AI bubble to burst, almost none plan to reduce their exposure. That mindset of separating the technology from the stock price is a notable change in how families are thinking about a thematic bet.”
Operationally, Ratner says offices are looking to AI to create efficiencies and additional value for their families, with half saying it is embedded and essential to their workflow. “Many family offices have already deployed AI for research and personal productivity uses,” he adds. “The next step is taking it to the back office and using it to solve their operational challenges, such as reporting speed and depth.”
At the same time, cybersecurity and data breaches are a major concern, cited by 59 per cent of respondents—a dramatic increase from just 16 per cent last year. “The troubling part about cybersecurity is that the worry is outpacing the response,” Ratner says. “Despite heightened awareness of the threats, we are not seeing offices ramp up their implementation of many security features.”
The Canadian difference
As to what distinguishes Canadian family offices from the larger pool of respondents, Jessa says the survey findings show they are a bit more cautious or prudent in their portfolio positioning. Canadian FOs reported holding more cash (almost 10 per cent of the portfolio), having lower leverage and being more cautious on public equity markets.
Among other findings, philanthropy was slightly more important to Canadian families as an overall theme, and no Canadian families reported that they don’t have a succession plan, she says. “It points to a culture of earlier, more deliberate planning around continuity.”
Meanwhile, private-market holdings were slightly lower among family offices in Canada, Jessa adds, “and we are seeing an increased appetite to ‘buy Canadian’ given some of the uncertainty around tariffs.”
Mary Gooderham is a writer, editor and communication advisor based in Ottawa. She leads Cohen Gooderham Communications and has worked as a journalist for more than 40 years at The Globe and Mail, as a recording officer at the International Monetary Fund and as a custom content creator for online and print media. She’s been a contributing writer at Canadian Family Offices for four years, focusing on investment strategy, trusts, philanthropy, women in finance and estate planning.
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