Hong Kong’s booming family office sector is set for a strategic pivot, with their allocations into alternative assets, including private markets and digital assets, expected to “rise notably” over the next three years, according to a report commissioned by the local authorities.
This shift, detailed in a March 2026 report commissioned by the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), reflects growing interest from the city’s affluent families in alternative investments.
While traditional assets remain core components of their portfolios, family offices (FOs) in Hong Kong are increasingly expanding into private equity (PE), venture capital (VC), private credit, and digital assets, the report shows.
This Asian financial centre has sought to attract more wealthy investors and their families to set up practices and anchor investments in the city, as it aims to leverage its unique advantage as a gateway between mainland China and international markets to build an FO hub for not only Asian but also global wealth.
The city was home to 3,384 single-family offices (SFOs) by the end of 2025, marking a 25.2% increase from the end of 2023, according to a February 2026 Deloitte study commissioned by the government’s investment promotion agency InvestHK.
“The growing interest in alternative assets is driven by various factors,” said the report. “For example, interest in private investments such as PE, VC, and private credit are fuelled by enhanced collaboration and co-investment opportunities between larger and smaller Fos, as well as superior risk-adjusted returns in the Asian credit market.”
“Investments in digital assets have garnered increasing attention owing to the rising interest of younger family members in Web 3.0 and digital assets, alongside their pursuit of potential higher-than-market returns.”
This report is based on a survey of 101 entities, including single- and multi-family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and financial institutions, between October 2024-April 2025.
About 81% of survey respondents managed assets exceeding $50 million in 2023. Their wealth largely originated from Hong Kong, mainland China, and other parts of Asia.
In the coming three years, more than one-third of survey respondents planned to increase allocations to private markets, specifically, 39% for PE-VC and 36% for private credit. About 28% of respondents sought to deploy more capital into digital assets during the same period, according to the report.
These alternative assets, alongside real estate, luxury items, artwork, antiques, and collectibles, “align with FOs’ long-term, multi-generational investment horizons, higher tolerance for illiquid assets, and the informational advantages gained from the networks of wealth creators, often successful entrepreneurs or executives,” said the report.
