Single Family Offices Now Control $4.67 Trillion

It’s official.

Single Family Offices (SFOs) now oversee more than $4.67 trillion in assets globally.

That’s not a typo.

That’s over 8% of the world’s pension assets—concentrated in the hands of a few thousand families.

Between global transparency regimes, aggressive tax reforms, and increasingly complex cross-border holdings, even the most established UHNW families are being forced to rethink how they manage and transfer wealth—without losing control.

That’s why SFOs are no longer just legacy structures.

They’ve become the quiet blueprint for how tomorrow’s capital will be managed.

And for multi-family offices (MFOs), private bankers, and advisors, this shift isn’t just a trend.

It’s a strategic warning shot.

SFOs: The Emerging Giants in Global Wealth

The latest 2025 report from With Intelligence, covering over 3,000 verified SFOs, confirms what insiders have long suspected:

SFOs now manage more than $4.67 trillion in global assets—consolidated into fewer than 4,000 highly agile structures.

They’re not just preserving wealth.

They’re deploying it with high conviction, long horizons, and minimal visibility—often faster and quieter than institutions.

Global Distribution Snapshot

• EMEA holds 52% of SFO-managed wealth (and 46% of all offices)

• Americas manage 39% of AUM

• Asia-Pacific still accounts for just 9%—but this is where the fastest growth is happening

Asian UHNW families—especially from China, Indonesia, and the Middle East—are adopting the SFO model not for prestige, but for control, discretion, and succession continuity.

How They're Allocating Capital

• Private Equity: 92% participation

• Public Equities: 70% participation, with $1.2 trillion allocated

• Real Estate: 68% involvement, amounting to $604 billion

• Fixed Income: $659 billion

• Private Equity via Funds: $499 billion

This is strategic capital—not passive portfolios.
SFOs operate with intent: fewer constraints, longer horizons, more alignment.

Who They Serve

• 63% of SFOs manage between $50M–$1B

• 25% oversee $1B+

• The top 6% manage portfolios over $5B

But this evolution is less about scale—and more about mindset.

Younger families are institutionalizing early.

They want multi-jurisdictional control, flexible governance, and structures that match the complexity of their lives.

Traditional tools like trusts, banks, and foundations are starting to feel… limited.

The Quiet Shift MFOs Can’t Ignore

For MFOs and private advisors, this creates a growing risk:

They're hearing whispers about new privacy structures, discreet cross-border strategies, and legal frameworks that minimize reporting without compromising control.

And in that silence, some are already setting up private structures—without your involvement.

If you don't bring modern solutions to the table, you risk losing trust—not just AUM.

PPLI: The Quiet Privacy Shield

One solution gaining traction among forward-looking SFOs is Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI).

Why?

Because it delivers what today’s families want—and tomorrow’s families will demand:

• Privacy (often avoiding CRS reporting entirely)

• Asset consolidation (across jurisdictions and asset types)

• Control (no trustees, no bank intervention, no fund wrappers)

• Succession (seamless generational handover via insured-person switch)

Properly structured, PPLI acts like a multi-jurisdictional vault: discreet, compliant, flexible.

Most advisors don’t talk about it.

But the ones who do?

They become strategic partners, not product vendors.

Are You Ahead of the Curve?

SFOs aren’t just “wealthy families with staff.”
They’re capital allocators, legal engineers, and succession architects.

And they’re doing it all quietly—without waiting for permission from institutions.

If you serve UHNW families or steward complex wealth, the question isn’t whether to evolve.
It’s whether you’ll evolve before your clients ask why you haven’t.

If you find insights like this valuable, follow me here or subscribe to my newsletter PPLI Strategies—where I share discreet, forward-looking strategies for protecting and growing UHNW wealth.