Asian family offices favour private credit, secondaries as investors seek flexibility

Asian family offices are increasing exposure to private markets while becoming more selective about how they deploy capital, with private credit and secondaries emerging as preferred strategies for investors seeking downside protection and flexibility. Tony Edwards, deputy CEO of Hong Kong-listed family office and alternatives platform Sun Hung Kai & Co., said during a panel discussion on September 24 at the Asia PE-VC Summit 2026 that the firm is moving more capital from private equity into credit. "We're seeking more stability and downside protection from that," he said. SHK Capital Partners, which manages HK$29 million ($3.7 billion) in alternatives assets, has partnered with secondaries funds including Clipway, Singapore's Aquilius and Hunter Point Capital, as well as asset managers Mubadala Capital and Janus Henderson.

Rebeckah Woo, who heads private markets and funds at Singapore-headquartered multi-family office Farro Capital, which has over $3.5 billion in assets under management, said many of her families prioritise capital preservation. Private credit has become a higher priority because of its income generation, low loss rates and potential for additional upside, she said. Regional allocation data from UBS's 2026 Global Family Office Report show Southeast Asian family offices allocated 4% of portfolios to private debt in 2025, 14% to direct private equity and 6% to private equity funds. UBS found 60% of family offices globally planned to change strategic asset allocation over the next 12 months, while 81% of Southeast Asian family offices planned changes.

AI infrastructure is another area attracting family-office capital, particularly through credit funds lending to data centres, cloud companies and other AI infrastructure. Alex Ma, who runs Singapore-based single-family office AO Holdings, said the firm is first deploying into private credit funds that lend into AI, AIDC, new cloud and AI infrastructure, adding that the firm is focused on capital preservation given uncertainty over whether AI represents a bubble. UBS data show 65% of family offices globally and 88% of Southeast Asian family offices are already invested in AI across data-centre infrastructure, software and semiconductors.

Secondaries have also become a growing part of family offices' toolkit. Ma said his firm has participated in venture transactions where managers need late-fund capital to maintain stakes in portfolio companies, and has provided liquidity by helping managers offload holdings for distributions. Farro is seeing growing interest in venture-capital secondaries, particularly single-asset special purpose vehicles, although Woo acknowledged the strategy carries significantly more risk. LN Sadani, founder of Singapore-based Lensbridge Capital and a founding member of Ardian's Asia office, said his firm focuses largely on GP-led secondaries and prefers single-asset continuation vehicles because they allow closer underwriting of individual companies. Lensbridge has deployed and advised on more than $5 billion of transactions across Asia and globally.

Family offices are also seeking flexible access to private assets as they become reluctant to commit capital to very long-dated funds. Woo said the firm is watching evergreen and open-ended private markets structures closely.