Family Office Direct Investments Surge to $12.9 Billion

Family offices are increasing their use of direct investments and co-investments as wealthy families seek greater control over private-market exposure, with disclosed global direct investment value rising 123.3% to $12.9 billion across 158 transactions in 2025.

The $12.9 billion total was the highest recorded since at least 2021 and covers whole-company acquisitions, minority investments, asset purchases and funding rounds involving family offices or family trusts. It excludes investments made through traditional private equity and venture capital funds, making the increase a clearer measure of capital moving directly into underlying assets.

Direct investing becomes a larger part of the family office model

The shift is continuing into 2026. Angel Investors Network reported that 73 family-office direct investments representing $19.97 billion of disclosed transaction value were tracked in June alone, while July produced another 61 transactions. Technology led July activity with 16 deals, followed by industrials with 12 and healthcare with 10.

The data should not be treated as directly comparable with S&P Global’s $12.9 billion figure. The datasets use different methodologies and definitions, and disclosed transaction value can represent the size of an entire financing or transaction rather than the amount contributed by the family office itself.

Still, the direction is supported by several institutional surveys. Citi Private Bank found that 70% of family offices made at least one direct private investment during the previous year, according to the source article.

The S&P Global analysis of family office direct investment activity also found that families are increasingly partnering with other investors to pursue larger assets rather than relying exclusively on smaller private-market funds.

Control and economics reshape the GP-family office relationship

Direct investing changes the economics of private-market exposure. A conventional private equity fund delegates asset selection and exit decisions to the general partner while charging management fees and carried interest. A direct investment gives the family office greater influence over which companies it backs, how much it deploys and how long it remains invested.

But direct investing does not necessarily mean family offices are abandoning managers.

Co-investments allow an investor to commit capital alongside a private equity or venture manager to a specific company, typically with lower or no management fees and carried interest on the co-investment capital. For the GP, the arrangement provides additional equity for larger transactions while strengthening relationships with important limited partners.

That model is also gaining importance among institutional investors. PE NEWSWIRE recently examined USS’s £5.1 billion private equity funds and co-investments portfolio, illustrating how large asset owners increasingly combine conventional manager relationships with transaction-level exposure.

Family offices have similar incentives, although their governance, staffing and investment capabilities vary much more widely than those of major pension funds.

Family offices remain committed to private markets

The shift toward direct deals comes as family offices continue to maintain substantial alternative-asset exposure. The UBS Global Family Office Report 2026 surveyed 307 family offices across more than 30 markets between Jan. 22 and March 30. Participating families had an average net worth of $2.7 billion, while their family offices managed an average of $1.3 billion.

UBS found substantial interest in themes that are also driving institutional private-market deployment. Artificial intelligence was the leading investment theme for 65% of respondents, followed by defense and security infrastructure at 39% and broader infrastructure at 35%.

Regional differences were significant. Eighty-eight percent of Southeast Asian respondents were already invested in AI, while 82% of Middle Eastern family offices planned to change their strategic asset allocations.

The findings suggest direct investing is developing within a broader reconfiguration of family-office portfolios rather than simply replacing fund commitments.

Direct investing requires institutional infrastructure

Greater control also shifts more responsibility onto the investor. Selecting individual companies requires sourcing capabilities, legal and financial due diligence, valuation expertise, portfolio monitoring and eventually an exit strategy. Those functions are normally provided by the GP when capital is committed through a private equity fund.

Co-investments offer a middle ground because family offices can gain direct exposure while relying partly on an institutional manager or sponsor to source and underwrite the transaction.

The approach nevertheless creates concentration risk. A diversified private equity fund can spread capital across dozens of portfolio companies, while a family office making a smaller number of direct investments can have substantially greater exposure to individual businesses.

Liquidity presents another challenge. Direct stakes in private companies do not provide the standardized redemption mechanisms available in public markets, and exits can depend on M&A, IPOs, continuation vehicles or secondary transactions.

PE NEWSWIRE has tracked the expansion of structured private equity liquidity solutions for family offices and other investors as prolonged holding periods and slower distributions encourage investors to seek alternatives to conventional secondary sales.

Family offices become more important competitors for deals

For private equity managers, the increase in family-office direct investing creates both competition and opportunity.

Well-capitalized family offices can compete directly for businesses, growth investments and other private assets that historically might have been acquired through PE or venture funds. Their permanent or multigenerational capital can also give them flexibility to hold companies beyond the typical life of a closed-end fund.

At the same time, many family offices still need institutional sourcing and underwriting capabilities, making them natural partners for GPs through co-investment programs, club deals and independent sponsors.

That hybrid model may ultimately prove more significant than a wholesale shift away from funds. Family offices can retain manager relationships for diversification and access while selectively deploying additional capital directly into transactions where they want greater exposure.

The 123.3% increase in disclosed direct investment value during 2025 shows the scale at which that model is developing. For private equity and venture managers competing for both deals and limited-partner capital, family offices are increasingly becoming two things at once: important fund investors and increasingly sophisticated direct-market participants.