The private banking arm of the US group surveyed 125 of what it called international family offices to discover what’s uppermost in their minds.

International family offices are adding to equities and alternatives despite mounting geopolitical concern, with artificial intelligence now their dominant investment theme, according to JP Morgan Private Bank's International Family Office Pulse Survey.

Of the 125 family offices polled, 74 per cent (92 respondents) named AI as a top investment priority. Some 66 per cent cited geopolitical risk as their single greatest portfolio concern, ahead of asset valuations at 54 per cent and persistent inflation at 43 per cent, JP Morgan said. The family offices polled were from Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific.

Public equities were the most common destination for new capital over the past six months, with 25 per cent of respondents (31 family offices) increasing allocations. Of those, 81 per cent also named AI as a priority theme. The bank said this shows that the move into equities is closely tied to conviction on AI.

“Many feel strongly that the risk of staying out is higher than the risk of getting in,” Natacha Minniti, global co-head of the family office practice at JP Morgan Private Bank, said. 

Alternatives are also attracting fresh money. Some 43 per cent of respondents made new allocations to the asset class in the past six months. The bank described this as a strategic shift rather than routine rebalancing, driven by persistent inflation and a need for income.

The US banking group said its findings also drew on The 2026 Family Office Report, a global study with a broader 2025 respondent base spanning all geographies. 

Nervousness
Geopolitical concern is shaping themes as well as risk appetite. Global security and defence, and infrastructure, are among the fastest-rising themes in the survey. 

William Sinclair, global co-head of the family office practice and co-chief executive officer for the US at the bank, said: “This is structural, not cyclical. The global order is fragmenting, raising the cost of stability and permanently reshaping the opportunity set.”

After AI, infrastructure ranks as the most popular theme and is a priority for 36 per cent of respondents. Healthcare innovation follows at 26 per cent, covering biotech, medtech, AI-driven diagnostics and longevity research, with family offices seeking access through private markets. Global security and defence, and automation and robotics, each register at 23 per cent.