Family-office surveys matter when they change the product conversation. Citi Wealth’s 2026 Global Family Office Report does that for Asia-Pacific. Twenty-six per cent of APAC respondents reported portfolio returns above 15 per cent year to date, the highest regional outperformance rate in the global sample. Twenty-two per cent target annual returns above 15 per cent, nearly double the global average. That is not a capital-preservation cohort.

Direct investing is already core. APAC posts the highest direct-investing participation rate globally at 79 per cent. Preference for internal teams as the leading source of direct opportunities is also strongest in the region, at 77 per cent. That points to professionalised offices with sourcing capacity, not only ticket-writing into external funds.

On sector focus for new direct activity, artificial intelligence leads. Eighty per cent of APAC respondents identify AI as a primary sector focus, the highest of any region, with healthcare, robotics and software also prominent. The regional commentary frames APAC offices as moving toward a more institutional posture: direct programmes, cross-border execution, and governance closer to a sovereign-style investment process than to a pure treasury function.

For private banks and multi-family platforms the implications are sharp. Return ambition at these levels requires equity risk, private markets, or both. AI-linked direct exposure may mean co-investments, specialised managers, or secondaries rather than a broad tech equity fund. Internal sourcing strength means the family office may already have deal flow. The bank’s value shifts toward financing, structuring, custody and selective access that the internal team cannot easily replicate.

The proprietary frame is simple. The strongest-performing regional cohort is also the most explicit about where incremental direct capital is going. Platforms that can meet institutional-grade documentation and AI-adjacent private-market access are aligned with stated demand. Those that only offer listed growth beta are answering a different client.