Alternatives have become a key strategy for Asian family offices looking to boost returns and diversify portfolios, but uptake is far from universal. Global investment consultancy Cambridge Associates notes that each family office approaches the asset class differently, with past experiences shaping their future commitments.
With more than US$600 billion under advisory and discretionary CIO mandates, the firm counts family offices and foundations as nearly a quarter of its clients. Its largest Asia-Pacific presence is in Singapore, home to more than 2,000 single-family offices by the end of 2024, including those of Ray Dalio and James Dyson, thanks to its favourable tax regime and strong financial system.
Prabhat Ojha, Cambridge Associates’ outsourced CIO and head of Asia client business, explains that the firm usually works with families with at least US$125 million in assets, often receiving mandates tied to specific asset classes. Their role is to respect client preferences regarding alternatives.
Some families have a natural inclination toward private markets due to their business backgrounds or experience with private equity managers. Others are more cautious, often shaped by difficult lessons from earlier cycles when private asset classes first gained traction in Asia in the mid-2000s. According to Ojha, those vintages left some families hesitant to commit capital again.
