Family Offices Overwhelmingly Choose AI Over Crypto: JPMorgan’s Revealing 2026 Report Exposes Stark Investment Divide
Global family offices are making a decisive pivot toward artificial intelligence while maintaining minimal cryptocurrency exposure, according to JPMorgan Private Bank’s comprehensive 2026 Global Family Office Report released in August 2025. The landmark survey of 333 single-family offices across 30 countries reveals a striking investment preference that reflects broader institutional trends in wealth management. Specifically, 65% of respondents prioritize AI-related investments, while only 17% view digital assets as a key theme. This data provides crucial insights into how the world’s most sophisticated private investors are navigating technological disruption and market uncertainty.
Family Offices Show Clear AI Preference Over Crypto Investments
JPMorgan’s extensive research, conducted between May and July 2025, demonstrates a pronounced divergence in how family offices approach emerging technologies. The bank surveyed offices representing substantial private wealth across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific regions. Remarkably, 216 offices identified artificial intelligence as their primary investment focus either currently or for future allocation. Conversely, merely 56 offices considered cryptocurrency and digital assets as significant investment themes. This 3.8-to-1 preference ratio underscores the perceived stability and growth potential that institutional investors associate with AI technologies compared to digital currencies.
Furthermore, the report reveals that cryptocurrency exposure remains exceptionally limited within family office portfolios. An overwhelming 89% of surveyed offices maintain zero exposure to digital assets, while the average global allocation to cryptocurrency stands at just 0.4%. Bitcoin exposure proves even more negligible at 0.2% on average. These figures become particularly significant when considering that family offices typically manage between $100 million and several billion dollars in assets. The minimal allocations suggest that despite cryptocurrency’s decade-long evolution, institutional adoption among ultra-high-net-worth families remains cautious and selective.
Private Equity Dominates Family Office Allocation Strategies
Beyond the AI-versus-crypto narrative, JPMorgan’s data reveals broader investment patterns among family offices. Private equity emerges as the most favored asset class, with 37% of respondents planning increased allocations over the next 12 to 18 months. Growth equity and venture capital also gain substantial traction, particularly as primary gateways to early-stage AI innovation. However, more than half of family offices still report no current exposure to these segments, indicating potential growth opportunities. The United States dominates the survey sample with 197 participating offices, while European, Latin American, and Asia-Pacific regions collectively contribute the remaining 136 offices.
Interestingly, traditional hedges like gold receive similarly limited attention despite geopolitical uncertainties. The report notes that 72% of family offices maintain zero gold exposure, with the document explicitly stating that “despite geopolitical fears, family offices avoid gold and crypto.” This dual avoidance suggests that modern wealth managers are seeking alternative risk mitigation strategies beyond conventional safe havens. Instead, they appear focused on growth-oriented technological investments while maintaining substantial liquidity positions.
Geopolitical Risks Top Family Office Concerns
JPMorgan’s research identifies geopolitical uncertainty as the foremost risk influencing portfolio positioning among family offices globally. Specifically, 20% of respondents cite geopolitics as their primary concern, followed by liquidity and trade policy at 12% each. Asset valuations, economic growth, and portfolio concentration follow closely as secondary concerns. These risk perceptions help explain the cautious approach toward volatile assets like cryptocurrency while simultaneously driving interest in transformative technologies like artificial intelligence. Family offices appear to balance innovation exposure with risk management, favoring technologies with clearer regulatory pathways and established corporate adoption.
The timing of this survey proves particularly relevant as it captures investment sentiment during a period of significant technological advancement and regulatory evolution. Conducted in mid-2025, the research reflects family office perspectives after several years of cryptocurrency market maturation and during accelerating AI commercialization. The data suggests that while cryptocurrency has established itself as an asset class, institutional adoption among conservative wealth managers remains measured. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence investments benefit from clearer enterprise use cases and integration pathways across traditional industries.
Asian Family Offices Show Divergent Crypto Approach
Regional analysis reveals important variations in investment behavior, particularly across Asian markets. Contrary to the global trend of minimal crypto exposure, Reuters reported in 2024 that wealthy Asian families and family offices have increased digital asset allocations, with some targeting approximately 5% of portfolio exposure. This regional divergence highlights how regulatory environments and cultural factors influence investment decisions. The Reuters investigation found growing interest across Singapore, Hong Kong, and mainland China, driven by increased client inquiries, stronger trading volumes, and fresh demand for crypto-focused funds.
Supporting this regional trend, VMS Group—a Hong Kong-based multi-family office managing $4 billion—announced in June 2025 plans to enter cryptocurrency markets for the first time. The firm is considering up to $10 million in allocations to Re7 Capital strategies. This Asian exception to global crypto caution suggests that geographic regulatory frameworks and market maturity significantly impact investment decisions. While Western family offices remain hesitant, their Asian counterparts demonstrate greater willingness to explore digital asset opportunities, potentially creating future arbitrage opportunities as global standards evolve.
Investment Implications and Future Trajectories
The JPMorgan report carries substantial implications for both wealth management strategies and technological development funding. Family offices collectively manage trillions of dollars globally, making their investment preferences powerful market signals. The strong preference for AI investments suggests continued capital flows toward machine learning, automation, and data analytics companies. This funding pattern may accelerate AI integration across traditional industries while potentially creating valuation premiums for established AI enterprises. Conversely, limited cryptocurrency allocation indicates that digital assets remain niche investments within institutional portfolios despite growing retail adoption.
Looking forward, several factors could influence future allocation decisions. Regulatory clarity around cryptocurrency, particularly in the United States and European Union, might increase institutional comfort with digital assets. Similarly, AI investment returns over the coming years will validate or challenge current enthusiasm. The report’s finding that more than half of family offices have no exposure to growth equity or venture capital suggests potential allocation increases as these offices seek AI exposure through early-stage investments. This dynamic creates interesting opportunities for venture capital firms specializing in AI technologies.
Conclusion
JPMorgan’s 2026 Global Family Office Report provides compelling evidence that family offices overwhelmingly prefer artificial intelligence investments over cryptocurrency allocations. The data reveals a clear institutional preference for AI’s perceived stability and growth potential compared to digital assets’ volatility and regulatory uncertainty. With 89% of family offices maintaining zero crypto exposure and 65% prioritizing AI investments, wealth managers are sending strong signals about technological adoption trajectories. These investment patterns will likely influence both technology development funding and institutional adoption pathways for years to come. As family offices continue balancing innovation with risk management, their allocation decisions will remain crucial indicators of how transformative technologies integrate into global wealth preservation and growth strategies.
FAQs
Q1: What percentage of family offices have no cryptocurrency exposure according to JPMorgan’s report?
According to JPMorgan’s 2026 Global Family Office Report, 89% of surveyed family offices maintain zero exposure to cryptocurrencies, with average allocations to digital assets at just 0.4% globally.
Q2: How many family offices participated in JPMorgan’s research?
The survey included 333 single family offices across 30 countries, with 197 based in the United States and the remaining 136 spanning Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific regions.
Q3: What is the most favored asset class among family offices?
Private equity emerges as the most favored asset class, with 37% of family offices planning to increase allocations over the next 12 to 18 months according to the JPMorgan report.
Q4: How do Asian family offices differ in their cryptocurrency approach?
Asian family offices show greater cryptocurrency interest than their global counterparts, with some targeting around 5% portfolio allocations according to 2024 Reuters reporting, contrasting with the global average of 0.4%.
Q5: What are the top risks identified by family offices in the report?
Geopolitical uncertainty tops the risk concerns at 20%, followed by liquidity and trade policy at 12% each, with asset valuations, economic growth, and portfolio concentration as additional significant concerns.
