How family offices are adapting capital deployment in uncertain times

Family offices are reshaping their deal strategies in 2025, balancing discipline with ambition. After a decade‑high in H2 2021, both deal volume and value retreated; by H1 2025 activity fell to the decade’s low for volumes, underscoring a more selective posture in uncertain markets.

Allocation is shifting. Real estate has rebounded to 39% of total investment, signalling a renewed appetite for income‑backed, tangible assets while venture capital remains central at 31% — but with a pivot from chasing count to backing larger, higher‑conviction rounds. Family offices are also sizing up: the share of medium (US$25m–<US$100m) and large (US$100m–<US$500m) tickets is at multi‑year highs, reflecting confidence to lean in where they can add strategic value.

How they invest matters as much as where. Club deals continue to dominate at 69%, enabling risk‑sharing, access to specialist expertise and greater reach into growth opportunities. Regionally, North America remains the prime destination (63% of deals in H1 2025), even as families curate exposure across Europe and selected growth markets.

Thematic signals are clear: AI, machine learning and SaaS saw deal values more than double year‑on‑year despite fewer transactions — evidence of a quality‑over‑quantity mindset. Exits show a similar pattern: fewer deals and steadier or rising values in parts of the market as families prioritise timing and durable value creation.

PwC’s Global Family Office Deals Study 2025 brings these dynamics together — spanning venture, private equity, M&A, funds and real estate — to help decision‑makers calibrate capital deployment, structure partnerships and focus on sectors where families can be catalytic owners.