More than a third (35%) of family offices in Spain will be facing a generational shift over the next 10 years, according to a new survey by OpenWealth, the multifamily office of CaixaBank Group, and consultancy finReg360.
The survey included interviews with 40 family groups, analyzing their organizational and governance models, investment structure and main challenges. It found succession planning was a key concern for two-fifths (40%) of respondents, with another 18% noting they consider it to be a highly relevant concern. Half (52%) of families surveyed had not yet faced the challenge of succession.
Three-quarters (75%) of the family offices polled said they’re currently in the early stages or have not yet formalized a specific structure for implementing the professional management of their assets, with 6.6% currently ongoing and 66.8% barely in the early stages.
The survey also noted that the single family office is the most common choice in asset management for families with more than €100M, while those with assets below that usually opt for multifamily or embedded family office options.
Roughly a quarter (24%) of Spanish family offices’ investment portfolios are allocated to real estate, considerably above the average (18%) for families in other European countries. Looking forward, respondents said they expect to increase their exposure to equity markets, real estate assets, and to private equity vehicles at the expense of fixed income positions — likely due to an expected decrease in interest rates in the near future. Respondents also said, across sectors, they expect to see an increase in their exposure to the technology, health, and energy sectors.
One notable shift is that many family offices tend to opt for financial leveraging when acquiring the assets held in their portfolios; optimizing the return on their capital, which is, in turn, used to direct financing models using real estate or financial collateral.
Additionally, wealth and tax planning was an important consideration driving family offices’ investment decisions, including when it came to choosing whether to invest in cultural activities (36%), in research and development activities (38%), non-profit or patronage activities (52%), and life insurance (19%).
