Ultrawealthy families are pouring billions into private credit and real estate, but cutting back on early-stage startups

• Ultrawealthy families in North America are favoring more steady incomes, research firm Campden Wealth found.
• Private credit and real estate now account for 29% of portfolios, the study found.
• Early-stage startup investing has fallen out of favor as families prioritize stability.

The richest families in North America are quietly reshaping how they invest their money — trading the high-risk thrill of startups for the steady pull of private credit and property.

As of August, private markets accounted for 29% of the average family office portfolio in North America, according to the North America Family Office Report 2025.

The report — produced by Campden Wealth, a London-based family office research firm, and RBC Wealth Management, the wealth management arm of the Royal Bank of Canada — was based on 317 survey responses from single- and multi-family offices worldwide. That included 141 in North America, all of which were collected between April and August.

On average, the North American families surveyed held $2 billion in total wealth and managed $1.5 billion in assets.

Based on the report’s figures, that 29% share equates to roughly $62 billion of the $215 billion managed by North American family offices.

And that share is still growing.

“Future investment is likely to go toward direct private equity, private credit, and real estate,” the report said, adding that private credit is attractive to wealthy investors because borrowers are paying higher interest rates.

The rise of private credit

Private credit has emerged as one of the most attractive havens for the ultrawealthy as traditional markets swing with volatility and central banks keep rates elevated.

“Private credit reflects the high nominal interest rates that sub-investment-grade borrowers are prepared to offer,” the report said.

Larger family offices are particularly drawn to the sector, often investing through funds or co-investing alongside private equity managers.

The report notes that private credit, direct private equity, and real estate are the three asset classes most likely to see increased allocations in 2025.

Real estate stays in favor

Real estate, long a cornerstone of multigenerational wealth, remains another magnet for family capital.

About 75% of family offices hold real estate, with the most enthusiasm directed toward industrial and logistics at 30% and residential housing at 23%, according to the report.

The report highlights that family offices in Sun Belt states — where population and job growth are strongest — are outperforming the national average, though it does not include specific numeric projections.

It adds that affordability pressures have “made home ownership increasingly difficult and channeled demand into the rental sector,” but again provides no quantitative breakdown of rents or prices.

Cooling on risky startups

While private credit and real estate are heating up, early-stage venture investing — long the domain of bold family fortunes — is cooling fast.

“Venture, high-risk investments in early-stage innovative businesses, which was in top position last year, has now slipped down the ranking following its recent poor performance,” the report said.

It also found that “a second factor behind the caution is disappointing year-to-date returns from direct private equity, private equity funds, and venture capital reported by significant percentages of family offices.”

Family offices, which often value liquidity and patience, are finding the decadelong wait for venture payoffs less appealing amid higher yields elsewhere.

One chief executive of a single-family office in California told Campden Wealth that while early-stage deals can deliver windfalls, “this only happens 20 to 30% of the time. The trick is to minimize the number of failures.”

A cautious new era

After years of chasing growth, the world’s wealthiest families are pivoting toward stability.

The report found that 48% of family offices listed “improving liquidity” as their primary investment objective for 2025, followed by 33% who want to de-risk portfolios.

That shift mirrors a broader “risk-off” sentiment: average return expectations for 2025 have fallen to 5%, down from 11% in 2024, and 15% of family offices now expect negative returns — a sharp drop in optimism from last year, when almost none did.

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