AF REPORT - Family Offices in a Digital Era: Digital, Decentalised, Borderless

Participants:

Tom Digby, Managing Director, Head of APAC ETF Distribution, ETFs & Indexed Strategies

Justin Ng, Principal, King Seal Holdings

Jonathan Wu, Wings Capital Ventures

Helen Chen, Chief Strategy Officer, FGA Trust

Archit Parakh, Head of Investments, Syfe Hong Kong

Major Trends

Digital Transformation Is Accelerating

• Family offices are adopting digital investment vehicles and platforms to streamline operations and meet the expectations of younger, digitally native generations.

• Automation and real-time technology are being used for governance, compliance, and transparent reporting.

Personalization and Client Experience Matter

• There is an increasing focus on offering customized solutions, accessible analytics, and flexible, easy-to-use platforms for both high net worth and entry-level investors.

• Digital platforms are providing actionable portfolio analytics and simplified user experiences to address diverse client needs.

Intergenerational Wealth Transfer Drives Change

• The large upcoming wealth transfer, especially within Asia, is creating demand for scalable, adaptable solutions that can support both traditional and next-generation leadership.

• Professionalization and institutional approaches are gaining traction to improve consistency and risk management.

Risk Management Tools Are Evolving

• While traditional risk management remains common, the industry recognizes a gap in effective digital and AI-powered tools, particularly for complex portfolios blending public, private, and digital assets.

Distinctive Strategic Approaches in Family Office Operations

Investment Focus & Strategy

• Some family offices concentrate solely on investments, while others maintain active operating businesses alongside investments.

• Risk tolerance varies: Some focus on preserving wealth, others, like King’s Holdings, emphasize aggressive growth and alternative asset strategies.

Customization & Personalization

• Each family office’s strategies and operational style are heavily influenced by personal/family preferences, leading to highly customized approaches in asset allocation and governance.

Technology & Digitization Adoption

• Varies widely: Some offices are early adopters of digital platforms, AI, and automation (especially multi-family offices), while others remain largely manual and traditional (often single-family offices).

• Adoption is also driven by generational change, with younger leaders preferring more digital, self-serve, and personalized solutions.

Organizational Setup

• Multi-family offices tend to professionalize and institutionalize more rapidly, hiring non-family investment professionals and adopting scalable, “asset manager” models.

• Single family offices may remain more private, bespoke, and slower to adopt new tools, deeply influenced by the family’s own culture and priorities.

Governance and Risk Management

• Different approaches to compliance, reporting, and risk management: some use advanced, automated platforms; others rely on manual processes with limited integration of digital/AI risk tools.

Ecosystem Integration

• Some family offices leverage external fintech, banks, trustees, and collaborative platforms intensively, while others prefer insular management.

The diversity of approaches reflects differences in family goals, generational leadership, risk appetite, and openness to technological innovation. There is no “one size fits all”—each model is tailored to unique needs and circumstances.

Opportunities for Collaboration and Integration

• Collaboration with fintech providers, banks, and other industry players is crucial to leverage innovation, drive efficiency, and create all-encompassing platforms.

• Integrating trusted data sources and APIs enhances accountability and workflow efficiency across stakeholders.

Challenges Remain with Platform Diversity and Legacy Systems

• Significant disparities exist among banks and digital providers regarding features, fees, and functionality.

• Family offices are actively providing feedback and partnering as beta clients to improve these platforms.

To conclude, family offices that prioritize digital adoption, collaboration, personalized offerings, and readiness for generational transition stand to benefit most from emerging industry trends and opportunities.

Overall, the drive towards digitization, enhanced personalization, and preparation for generational changes are key trends allowing family offices to adapt and thrive during intergenerational wealth transitions.

Summary

Family offices are rapidly embracing digital transformation by adopting new investment vehicles, automating governance, compliance, and reporting, and integrating real-time technology to meet the needs of increasingly digitally native family members and clients. Platforms now emphasize personalization and customization, providing both high-net-worth and entry-level investors with user-friendly analytics, tailored solutions, and streamlined client experiences to address diverse demands. The anticipated large-scale intergenerational wealth transfer, particularly in Asia, has created urgency for scalable, adaptable, and professionalized models, driving the adoption of institutional standards for risk management and consistency.

Despite the prevalence of traditional risk management practices, there is growing industry recognition of the need for more advanced, digital, and AI-powered risk management tools, especially as portfolios become more complex, blending public, private, and digital assets. Approaches to investment and operations remain highly individualized, with some family offices focused solely on capital allocation while others maintain a blend of investments and operating businesses. Risk tolerance also varies widely—some prioritize long-term wealth preservation, while others pursue aggressive growth through alternative asset strategies. Ultimately, each family office’s structure and practices are deeply shaped by unique family values and objectives, leading to diverse and highly customized asset allocation and governance approaches, underscored by the strategic adoption of cutting-edge technologies.

Contributor: Inna Le Guen, CEO, Management Advisory Ltd