Family offices go beyond wealth preservation to a purpose-driven approach
They view their wealth through the lens of stewardship rather than ownership, which has implications for how capital is used, how decisions are made and how success is measured
FAMILY offices in Asia-Pacific are steadily redefining their role within the global wealth landscape. As our 2024 Asia-Pacific Family Office Report by BNP Paribas Wealth Management and Campden Wealth revealed, a transformation that goes far beyond wealth accumulation is underway.
Asia-Pacific family offices are maturing, evolving from being traditional asset custodians into sophisticated architects of value creation and legacy.
What stands out is not merely that more of these families have formal succession plans in place relative to their Western peers, but the thoughtful way in which they are approaching governance. Rather than importing global models wholesale, they are adapting structures to reflect their own pace, values and vision.
Family mission statements, investment committees and family councils are being combined with deep-rooted cultural norms, producing a distinctive blend of pragmatism, patience and stewardship that offers valuable lessons for the global wealth management community.
Evolution of Asian wealth stewardship
The rise of Asia-Pacific family offices is more than a regional phenomenon; it signals a fundamental shift in how wealth is conceptualised and managed across generations. Unlike the traditional Western model, which often emphasises wealth preservation through diversification and institutional management, these Asia-Pacific families are pioneering an approach that seamlessly integrates business ownership, active value creation and societal contribution.
This evolution is particularly striking, given the relative youth of many Asian fortunes. While European family offices may trace their origins back centuries, most Asia-Pacific wealth has been created within the last three generations. This proximity to wealth creation brings both opportunities and challenges. The entrepreneurial spirit that built these fortunes remains vibrant, yet families recognise the need for institutional structures to ensure continuity beyond the founder’s lifetime.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
What we are witnessing is a sophisticated balancing act: maintaining the agility and opportunism that created the wealth while building the governance frameworks necessary for multi-generational sustainability. This dual focus on dynamism and stability represents a new paradigm in family office management.
Blending family values and long-term vision
These shifts are not theoretical; they are taking shape in concrete ways in the region, in patterns we have observed first-hand in our work with Asian families.
For instance, a third-generation family in South-east Asia, whose wealth stems from traditional manufacturing, has established a formal family council that exemplifies this new approach. The council oversees the core business while guiding the family office towards direct investments in renewable energy and advanced manufacturing technologies.
By integrating younger family members into the investment committee, the family is pairing next-generation insights with the commercial judgement of the older generation – sustaining entrepreneurial momentum while preserving heritage. Notably, they have implemented a structured mentorship programme, under which each next-generation member shadows both internal executives and external board members, building the judgement necessary for future leadership.
In another example, a family in Greater China that divested a technology business invested significant time in developing a comprehensive family charter to define a shared mission beyond financial wealth. Today, this family office operates under a dual mandate: pursuing financial growth while delivering measurable social impact.
Much of this office’s focus is on a foundation working to improve education in rural areas – a cause closely linked to its founding story. It has developed sophisticated impact metrics, tracking not just financial returns, but also educational outcomes, community engagement levels and long-term societal benefits. In this way, wealth is being transferred alongside the values that define its legacy.
These examples illustrate a broader trend: Asia-Pacific families are increasingly viewing their wealth through the lens of stewardship rather than ownership. This shift in mindset has profound implications for how capital is deployed, how decisions are made and how success is measured.
From passive allocation to active value creation
At the heart of these stories is a common theme: an enduring long-term vision coupled with pragmatic execution. As the report stated, Asia-Pacific families are placing greater emphasis on next-generation involvement and formal succession planning. They are taking a structured approach to build institutional capabilities that cultivate competence and responsibility in heirs.
This capability-building is particularly evident in how these family offices are approaching private markets. Based on the report, the need for portfolio diversification has become paramount, with around one-third of family offices citing it as their immediate investment priority.
This drive for diversification, especially as public markets become increasingly correlated, has prompted a sophisticated evolution in investment strategies. Asia-Pacific family offices are actively integrating alternative-asset classes, including hedge funds, commodities and gold, alongside substantial private-market investments to achieve their diversification objectives.
What distinguishes these family offices is their marked preference for direct investments over fund allocations. The report showed that nearly half their private-market holdings are direct investments – a remarkably high proportion that reflects both the entrepreneurial DNA of these families and their ability to leverage operational expertise from their core businesses.
The sectoral focus of these investments reveals forward-thinking priorities that align with global megatrends. Artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation, automation technologies and renewable energy dominate their investment themes – sectors offering both transformative growth potential and alignment with long-term societal needs.
This strategic focus is increasingly complemented by collaborative approaches, with family offices exploring co-investment opportunities and forming consortiums to tackle larger-scale projects while pooling expertise and sharing due-diligence costs.
Geographic diversification remains a cornerstone of their approach. While maintaining strong home-region exposure with portfolios weighted towards Asia-Pacific, these families have built truly global footprints, extending significantly into North America and Europe.
The evolution towards private markets has also driven more institutionalised portfolio construction. Family offices are moving beyond opportunistic deal-making towards programmatic investment strategies with clear underwriting standards, disciplined pacing and well-defined exit criteria.
Purpose-driven capital
The report also showed that these families are at the forefront of environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration and philanthropic engagement – a reflection of their intrinsic values as well as a pragmatic view of risk and opportunity. This commitment to sustainability and social impact is not merely a response to external pressures; it is deeply rooted in Asian philosophical traditions that emphasise harmony, collective welfare and long-term thinking.
Wealth is increasingly seen not only as capital to preserve and grow, but as a lever to drive social progress and fulfil family missions. Philanthropy is becoming more strategic and outcome-focused, with families establishing professional foundations, partnering global non-government organisations, and even creating social enterprises that blend profit with purpose. Impact considerations are being embedded into investment decision-making, rather than treated as an adjunct.
A new global standard
This evolution within Asia-Pacific family offices offers crucial insights for the global wealth management industry. The region’s approach demonstrates that successful wealth stewardship requires more than technical competence; it demands a deep understanding of family dynamics, cultural values and societal responsibilities.
By aligning pragmatic governance, long-term investment horizons and purpose-driven capital deployment, families in the region are not only safeguarding wealth, they are also setting a higher benchmark for meaningful legacy succession and responsible global wealth stewardship.
Their model – combining their own cultural values and priorities with global best practices, entrepreneurial spirit with institutional discipline, and financial objectives with social purpose – represents a compelling vision for the future of family wealth management.
As Asia-Pacific continues its economic ascent and more families set up formal office structures, this new playbook on stewardship will likely influence practices globally, reshaping our understanding of what it means to manage and preserve wealth across generations.
The writer is head of Singapore and South-east Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
