Where the World’s Wealthiest Families Are Putting Capital – And Where They Aren’t

Wealthy families aren’t showing hedge funds much love, favoring other alternative assets amid concerns of a possible recession next year, according to UBS Group’s survey of family offices globally.

“Family offices have doubts about hedge funds’ ability to protect wealth during economic downturns,” UBS said in a report on its survey of 360 offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. “They dislike what some deem to be relatively high fees when compared to performance.”

The Swiss bank found that family offices, with an average $1.2 billion of wealth, divested from hedge funds in 2018 for a fifth straight year. With more than half of those surveyed expecting a recession next year, respondents planned to increase their exposure to private equity and real estate as well as新兴市场的股票.

他们的hedge fund根据该报告，过去一年过去一年划分全球跌至4.5％，不到四分之一的百分号，富裕家庭对受欢迎的私募股权行业所作的富裕家庭。北美多家庭办公室的一个投资组合经理告诉UBS，对冲基金一直越来越少，因为过去八年的回报可以通过“投掷飞镖”，根据该报告。

The decade-long bull market has increased the wealth of family offices while their structure and governance have grown more sophisticated.

“家庭办公室正在成为金融市场的较大力量，”瑞银全球家庭办公室的副主席Munish Dhall，在纽约银行调查结果期间表示。“他们正在迅速增长。”

调查显示，替代资产为一大部分家庭办公拨款，去年上涨1.4个百分点，占他们投资组合的40％以上。瑞银解释说，经过多年的低利率和令人担忧的波动性，家庭在替代资产课程中寻求收益和多样化。

Private equity, including direct investments, represents their second biggest allocation at 19 percent of their portfolios, according to UBS. Family offices have the most capital in global stocks, with 32 percent of their portfolios in emerging and developed market equities.

瑞银调查的家庭办公室报告称，私募股权是过去一年中最佳的资产课程。私募股权也将成为2020年计划分配增加的最大受益者。

UBS found that a net 39 percent of family offices planned to increase direct investing in private equity next year, with a net 28 percent expecting to make larger allocations to funds managed by private equity firms.

像直接inve家族理财室stments because they have more control and avoid fees charged by fund managers. “It appeals to entrepreneurial families and the next generation who want to be more hands-on,” UBS said in the report.

Over the past year, actively managed direct investments in private equity delivered average returns of 16 percent — the biggest gain of any asset class in the survey. While private equity funds had lower average returns of 12 percent, those gains met the expectations of the majority of family offices surveyed by UBS. Private equity fund of funds also largely performed in line with expectations, posting an average return of 8.6 percent.

Real estate is the next most popular category withinalternative assets，净16％的家庭办公室明年计划增加该部门的直接投资。调查显示，更多的富裕家庭也计划更大的拨款到房地产投资信托。

Hedge funds, whose 2.3 percent gains over the past year failed to meet expectations, were the sole group within alternative investments that won’t see a net rise in allocations from family offices next year. At least for now, they’re expected to hold steady.

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瑞银在其报告中表示，富裕家庭在全球平均退款后调整其投资组合，以至于过去一年中的“冷却”为5.4％。瑞士银行表示，第四季度特别艰难，投资者导航地缘政治紧张局势，包括美国和中国之间的贸易战。

Emerging market equities are also viewed favorably by wealthy families, according to the UBS survey. The bank found that 29 percent of family offices will increase their allocations to developing markets next year, while 7.7 percent are planning to reduce exposure to developed market equities on a net basis.

UBS pointed to the long-term trend of “market liberalization” as a factor in their preference for emerging markets.

“Many investors report they find the longer-term fundamental compelling and are willing to look through short-term volatility,” UBS said in the report. “In China, for instance, competition is intensifying and the state is acting to stimulate the economy and markets.”