Infrastructure and private equity lead the charge
Infrastructure emerged as the top investment priority for the coming 12 months, with 56 per cent of family offices planning to increase exposure.
Much of this appetite is tied to the global build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure – data centres, power systems and semiconductor capacity – where vacancy rates remain near historic lows and new capacity is being pre-leased before completion.
Private equity retains its position as the leading asset class over the next five years, with private credit gaining ground sharply. Family offices ranking private credit as a top asset class rose 46 per cent – an 11-percentage-point increase – with non-U.S. offices now nearly as exposed to private credit (8 per cent) as they are to real estate (9 per cent).
The report cautions, however, that early 2026 saw heightened redemptions at some semi-liquid private credit funds, a reminder that illiquidity risk requires careful management. Wealth Professional has previously examined how Canadian advisors are navigating this growing appetite for private markets exposure among their clients.
AI drives both investment and operations
Artificial intelligence ranked as the most interesting investment theme for the next five years for the third consecutive year, cited by 68 per cent of respondents.