The Ultra-Rich Fear Inflation Now. What Are They Buying?

Inflation now tops family offices’ list of concerns, yet stocks remain their favorite destination for new capital. Some 46% raised public equity exposure over the past year, according to Citi Wealth’s 2026 Global Family Office Report.

The survey covered 351 family offices in 41 countries. For the next year, 37% expect to add developed-market equities, against 3% for digital assets.

Inflation Climbs the Worry List While Stocks Collect the Cash

Citi’s report shows 63% of respondents named inflation their top concern, up from 37% in 2025. Tariff worries, which led last year, fell to 18% from 60%.

Those concerns have not translated into equity selling. The survey shows only 12% of family offices cut public equity exposure in the past 12 months.

The net increase in public equity allocations was also 23 percentage points larger than in the 2025 survey. Over the next 12 months, only 5% of family offices plan to reduce their allocation to global developed equities.

Alexandre Monnier, head of family office advisory at Citi Wealth, told CNBC that allocations had not shifted as sharply as inflation fears.

“I think family offices are becoming more sophisticated and see risk management as something more active that allows you to stay invested during periods of uncertainty, instead of having to retrench the way they might have done it historically,” he said.

US household balance sheets show a similar lean toward stocks. Equities make up 39.9% of household net worth, the largest share in Federal Reserve records.

Home equity slipped to 19.3% in the same quarter, leaving a 20.6-point gap between the two measures.

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Digital assets have not shared in the equity appetite. Against the 3% planning increases, 14% of family offices expect to cut digital asset holdings over the next year.

Those planned cuts come even though 46% of respondents told Citi they see no significant barriers to raising allocations. The most cited obstacle was a lack of internal expertise or governance frameworks, named by 27%.

North American offices flagged that gap most often, at 34%. Citi acknowledged that the low barriers have not yet lifted allocations in any meaningful way.

Citi’s next annual survey will show whether those planned cuts took place.

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