How family offices can match private-market ambitions with investment teams, governance, cash planning and reporting, informed by new IE University research.
Executive Summary
A private-market allocation creates an organisational commitment as well as a financial one. New research from the IE Family Offices Knowledge Hub provides a useful prompt to ask whether a family office has the people and processes to support its investment ambitions. The relevant benchmark is capability, rather than simply the size of the next allocation.
What does a family office need to invest in private markets?
A family office needs a clear mandate, decision-making authority, specialist evaluation, cash planning and continuing oversight. Access to deals is only the starting point. The organisation must also be able to assess commitments, challenge assumptions, manage conflicts and monitor investments throughout a potentially long holding period.
Key Takeaways
- Define investment responsibilities before expanding commitments.
- Team size and allocation can be associated without proving better returns.
- Assess capacity to oversee the investment after approval.
What the New Research Establishes
CaixaBank’s 14 October 2026 partner release describes research involving 157 single-family offices and 27 interviews. It reports average private-market allocation of 48.2% and an association between larger specialist teams and higher allocations. The release does not establish that employing more people causes better performance. The full report and detailed sampling methodology were not reviewed for this article.
Build Around the Decisions the Office Must Make
APX’s practical starting point is a responsibility map. Identify who screens an opportunity, commissions external advice, challenges the valuation and makes the final commitment. Give each role an owner and a defined escalation route. The family can retain final authority while giving professionals enough clarity to do their work.
An office should also distinguish expertise it needs permanently from work it can commission. External advisers can strengthen a review, but the office still needs someone capable of framing the question and assessing the response.
Budget for the Whole Investment Relationship
Before making a commitment, ask what reporting, approvals and follow-on decisions the holding may generate. A direct investment may require a different level of attention from a diversified fund. The operating budget should reflect those demands rather than the cost of completing the initial transaction alone.
A capacity review can include a hypothetical busy period in which several managers seek decisions together. If the office cannot explain how those requests would be prioritised, it has identified a useful issue before more capital is committed.
Measure the Quality of the Process
Useful management information includes outstanding reviews, unresolved questions and decisions awaiting family approval. These measures complement performance reporting: they show whether the investment process is functioning.
Review the mandate when the family’s objectives or resources change. An office need not participate in every attractive opportunity. Declining a transaction because oversight capacity is unavailable can be a deliberate investment decision, rather than a failure to source deals.
APX Perspective
A capable family office knows which decisions it can make well and where it needs help. APX would treat investment capability as part of allocation policy: expand the programme when the organisation can evaluate, fund and oversee it, rather than assuming a larger portfolio will automatically justify the necessary infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the research identify an ideal private-market allocation?
No. The reported average describes its sample; it is not a recommended portfolio weight.
Must every family office build a large internal team?
No. The appropriate mix of internal expertise and external support depends on its mandate and investments.
Related APX Intelligence
Sources & Further Reading
Source basis: research-partner release reviewed; full study not reviewed. Research partners include commercial investment and advisory firms. The capability framework is APX editorial analysis.
Disclaimer: APX Intelligence provides general information and editorial analysis for HNW/UHNW readers and advisers. It is not personal investment, financial, legal, tax, property or technical advice. Requirements and terms vary by jurisdiction and transaction; obtain appropriate specialist advice. Feature image is an AI-generated editorial illustration.
