Key Takeaways
- • Family offices are emerging as a key growth driver for private markets, with demand expected to grow further as new family offices are created following liquidity events worldwide, according to Cambridge Associates' Will Lawrence.
- • FFT CEO Keith Bloomfield says his multi-family office, which manages $40bn for more than 300 families across Europe and the US, is focused on healthcare and biotech and is moving cautiously into AI.
- • Private equity's share of family office portfolios rose from 22 per cent in 2021 to 30 per cent in 2023, according to Deloitte, but a distribution crisis from slowed IPO and M&A exits is delaying capital returns.
- • Secondaries and continuation vehicles are growing as alternative exit routes, and Lawrence predicts this trend will continue in 2025.
- • FFT targets niche managers with $1bn-$3.5bn fund sizes, a segment it views as the "sweet spot" for family office allocations.
Summary
Family offices are becoming a major source of demand in private markets, according to Will Lawrence, private client partner at Cambridge Associates. He describes the family office sector as one of the fastest-growing areas of the firm's business, driven by wealth recycled from the sale of large operating businesses into more diversified portfolios. Family offices can take a longer-term view than institutional investors constrained by short-term performance metrics, and many managers see the sector as a crucial way to expand their limited partner bases.
Keith Bloomfield, CEO of multi-family office FFT, which manages $40bn for more than 300 families across Europe and the US, identifies healthcare and biotech as particularly promising areas, citing imaging technology, cancer treatments and precision medicine. He says FFT is beginning to explore AI cautiously, citing thorough diligence amid many new players. Private credit has also gained traction among FFT's clients amid rising interest rates and tighter bank lending.
Paul Karger, managing partner at TwinFocus, a US-based multi-family office, highlights defence and utilities as sectors with growth potential, citing increased global military budgets and energy demand driven by technology and decarbonisation. He also warns of a distribution crisis in private equity, as slower IPO and M&A exits have delayed capital returns. According to Deloitte, private equity rose from 22 per cent to 30 per cent of family office portfolios between 2021 and 2023. Lawrence notes that secondaries and continuation vehicles are offering alternative exits, and that families increasingly use the secondary market to maintain steady exposure across vintages.
Bloomfield expects US private equity to remain attractive, and says relaxed regulation and lower taxes under a second Donald Trump presidency could boost M&A activity. FFT aims to give families access to niche managers with $1bn-$3.5bn funds. Overall, the article concludes that family offices' patient capital positions them to remain significant drivers of private market growth and innovation.
Keith Bloomfield, CEO of multi-family office FFT, which manages $40bn for more than 300 families across Europe and the US, identifies healthcare and biotech as particularly promising areas, citing imaging technology, cancer treatments and precision medicine. He says FFT is beginning to explore AI cautiously, citing thorough diligence amid many new players. Private credit has also gained traction among FFT's clients amid rising interest rates and tighter bank lending.
Paul Karger, managing partner at TwinFocus, a US-based multi-family office, highlights defence and utilities as sectors with growth potential, citing increased global military budgets and energy demand driven by technology and decarbonisation. He also warns of a distribution crisis in private equity, as slower IPO and M&A exits have delayed capital returns. According to Deloitte, private equity rose from 22 per cent to 30 per cent of family office portfolios between 2021 and 2023. Lawrence notes that secondaries and continuation vehicles are offering alternative exits, and that families increasingly use the secondary market to maintain steady exposure across vintages.
Bloomfield expects US private equity to remain attractive, and says relaxed regulation and lower taxes under a second Donald Trump presidency could boost M&A activity. FFT aims to give families access to niche managers with $1bn-$3.5bn funds. Overall, the article concludes that family offices' patient capital positions them to remain significant drivers of private market growth and innovation.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.