Family Offices Trim Private Equity, But Taxes Keep It Sticky

Goldman Sachs' poll of 245 family offices, reported by CNBC's Robert Frank, finds the average portfolio now carries 31% in public equities, up three points from the bank's last survey in 2023. Private equity dropped five points to 21%. The two shifts are the largest allocation changes in the poll.

The equity move reads like a liquidity decision. The private equity move reads like a tax decision. Sara Naison-Tarajano, who heads Goldman's Apex family-office business and private wealth capital markets, says selling large private positions can bring sizable tax bills, so offices hold and wait. She also calls them opportunistic buyers: "If they're concerned about these things, they're going to be ready to put money to work when these dislocations happen," she told Frank, pointing to April's tariff-driven selloff.

The public sleeve is also where family offices are getting their AI exposure. The survey found 86% invested in artificial intelligence in some form, with public equities and ETFs the preferred vehicles. That gives the liquid bucket a growth job, not just a parking spot.

Offices in the Americas moved harder than the global average on the equity side, raising allocations to 31% from 27%. Their private equity cut was milder - two points to 25% - and that level still exceeds what international peers hold. The poll ran from May 20 to June 18; two-thirds of respondents manage at least $1 billion.

The cautious expectations data sits awkwardly against the "pro-risk" label Tony Pasquariello, Goldman's global head of hedge fund coverage, applies to the mix. More than three-quarters of respondents expect tariffs to hold or rise and valuations to hold or fall over the next year. A stock-heavy portfolio can still be called pro-risk if the stock sleeve is treated as firepower - money stationed where it can move toward discounted private assets when dislocations arrive.

For advisors, the survey defines the two-engine portfolio. One engine is locked: private stakes that would trigger a tax bill at exit. The other is liquid and purpose-built for the moment. The AI trade explains why the liquid engine is so well funded, and the tax code explains why the private engine stays put.

The next survey will show whether 21% is a floor or a stepping stone. The more immediate tell will be how family offices use the equity sleeve in the next volatile stretch. They have the dry powder; April gave them a script.