J.P. Morgan Private Bank releases its 2026 Global Family Office Report, revealing that while single family offices are professionalising, significant gaps in succession planning and risk management remain. The report, which surveyed 333 family offices across 30 countries, finds that 37 per cent of respondents plan to increase their private equity allocations over the next 12 to 18 months. This comes despite 86 per cent of family offices globally admitting they still lack a clear succession plan for key decision-makers. For the captive insurance industry, the findings highlight critical areas where alternative risk structures are increasingly relevant. Internal family conflict or misalignment of values is cited as a top-three continuity risk by 41 per cent of business-owning families, compared to 23 per cent of those without operating businesses. “We recommend that families start thinking about these issues earlier, through every stage of the family office lifecycle,” says Elisa Shevlin Rizzo, head of family office advisory at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “As the family matures and expands, and the family office operations become more solidified, issues related to family governance, legacy and succession planning take on greater importance”. The report identifies cybersecurity as a primary service need, cited by 32 per cent of respondents. This trend aligns with the growing use of captives to provide tailored cyber cover and structured governance for families with complex global footprints and multi-generational wealth. Operational costs are also rising; the average annual operating cost for a global family office is just over US$3 million, rising to US$6.6 million for offices overseeing more than US$1 billion in assets. Approximately 26 per cent of these costs are attributed to external expenditure, including legal and compliance fees. The full report is available to download here: J.P. Morgan Private Bank 2026 Global Family Office Report
