Family office insights

Family Office & UHNW

Interview series

Hear from leading experts about the latest trends in the family office space

Redefining longevity: the past, the present and the future

This video explores the evolution of human longevity, current advancements, and future prospects in extending healthy lifespans. Gain valuable insights from Eric Verdin, a leading expert in the field.

Speaker:

Eric Verdin, President and CEO, Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Redefining longevity: the past, the present and the future

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 4:11
Loaded: 3.95%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 4:11
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

What happens when the robots take over?

As AI and automation reshape industries, what will the future of work and society look like? Nobel Laureate Michael Spence explores the economic and social impacts of a world led by robots and advanced technology.

Speaker:

Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate

What happens when the robots take over?

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:49
Loaded: 2.84%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 5:49
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

The energy revolution: How to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy

As the world races toward a sustainable future, how can we speed up the shift to renewable energy? Hear from Masahiro Ito of PowerX Japan on the groundbreaking strategies that are revolutionizing the energy sector for a greener tomorrow.

Speaker:

Masahiro Ito, Director, President and CEO, Power X Japan

The energy revolution: How to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:02
Loaded: 3.28%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 5:02
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Healthtech: the new frontier in healthcare?

Is healthtech reshaping the future of healthcare? Jean Hynes of Wellington Management and Jörg Debatin of the Healthcare Innovation Hub discuss the transformative potential of technology in medicine, from digital tools to breakthrough innovations.

Speaker:

Prof. Jörg Debatin, Founder, Healthcare Innovation Hub of the German government

Jean Hynes, CEO, Wellington Management

Healthtech: The new frontier in healthcare?

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 6:33
Loaded: 2.52%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 6:33
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Private markets: what’s next?

With private markets evolving rapidly, what lies ahead for investors? Watch the interview with renowned experts to learn more about the future of private markets and the strategies shaping the next phase of growth.

Speaker:

Lionel Assant, Global Co-Chief Investment Officer, Blackstone

Jean Salata, Chairman, EQT Asia

Private markets – what’s next?

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:44
Loaded: 2.88%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 5:44
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Central Bank policies and their effect on family offices

How do central bank decisions ripple through the world of family offices? Former US Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida shares expert insights on the influence of monetary policy and what family offices should be watching closely.

Speaker:

Richard Clarida, Former US Federal Reserve Vice Chair, Managing Director, PIMCO

What implications do Central Bank policies have on family offices?

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 2:47
Loaded: 5.94%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 2:47
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Global Family Office Report 2024

Our annual Global Family Office Report is the most comprehensive study of single family offices worldwide.

Archive

Shifts in geopolitics

Hear from renowned experts Dr. Yu Jie and Nico Lange on the latest geopolitical developments in China and Ukraine.

Speakers:

Dr. Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China, Chatham House

Nico Lange, Senior Advisor to GLOBSEC and former Chief of Executive Staff at the German Federal Ministry of Defense

Family office insights - interview with Dr. Yu Jie

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:20
Loaded: 3.09%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 5:20
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Family office insights - interview with Nico Lange

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 5:09
Loaded: 3.21%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 5:09
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

Asia as an engine for global prosperity

Helen Zhu oversees NF Trinity, the financial investments arm of Hong Kong-based Nan Fung Group. In this interview, Helen shares her insights about the main drivers of Asia’s impressive growth.

Speaker:

Helen Zhu, Managing Director and CIO, NF Trinity

Family office insights - interview with Helen Zhu

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 6:26
Loaded: 2.57%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 6:26
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

"Better not to forecast. Always to observe."

Meet Robyn Grew who is the CEO of 240-year-old hedge fund manager Man Group which holds USD 151.7bn in assets under management. Robyn is one of the most powerful women in fund management and shares her insights around hedge funds, what her clients are most concerned about and where she sees the biggest opportunities in the coming years.

Speaker:

Robyn Grew, CEO, Man Group

Family office insights - interview with Robyn Grew

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 4:47
Loaded: 3.45%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 4:47
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • en (Main), selected

The return of hedge funds as diversifiers

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 10:38
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected
    Family office insights - Hedge funds podcast
    Learn how family offices invest in hedge funds.
    Loaded: 1.56%
    Duration 10:38

    Family office insights - Hedge funds podcast

    In this period hedge funds in general were able to protect investors' capital in a pretty nice way and depending on the strategy even being in positive territory. Expectations have risen so the new question people ask themselves today is can hedge funds beat risk free? That's really the question. Welcome to Family office insights. What's on the mind of family offices around the globe? What shifts are they planning in their strategic asset allocation? Hear from UBS experts on the latest trends in the family office space. Hello and welcome to the Family office insights podcast. Today we will talk about hedge funds with our guests, René Steiner, Head of Hedge Fund Solutions Investment Specialists and Daniel Insunza, Head Hedge Fund Specialists from UBS. I'm Annegret Meier from the UBS Ultra High Net Worth Solutions group. Our latest Global Family Office report, which was launched recently and is based on an extensive survey of 230 clients globally, has shown that family offices have increased their allocations in hedge funds in 2022. René, can you share with us your main observations from the report results? Thank you very much Annegret. I think let me go one step back before I answer the question. At the challenging year like 2022 where global equities have lost roughly about 20% and bonds 12% was a pretty good test for the hedge fund industry overall to demonstrate how they can add value to the investor. In this period hedge funds in general were able to protect investors' capital in a pretty nice way and depending on the strategy even being in positive territory. So as one of the results what we have seen in the report, we have witnessed the allocation to hedge funds for family offices globally going up from 4% in 21 to roughly about 7% in 2022. Another interesting observation was that many have answered the question that in 23 they will keep the location stable roughly at around 6%. Daniel, let's talk about hedge fund strategies. Which are the most popular strategies for those family offices that plan to invest in hedge funds in 2023? Well, the report states that global macro multi strategy and long short equity are the top strategies that family offices with hedge fund investings are planning to invest in during 2023. That is roughly in line with our CIO's preferred strategies for the year. By far the most popular strategies that we see is the multi strategy and strategy bucket. Typically firms where managers allocated capital across different teams and different strategies. The advantage of this approach is that the speed at which capital can be deployed to different strategies, as well as the fact that these multi strategy managers offer very good diversification, low volatility and fairly decent returns. The challenge in the multi strategy bucket is that there is more demand than there is supply. So really new capacity is difficult to get. The second strategy mentioned is global macro, a strategy that invests mostly in currencies and rates based on macroeconomic analysis. These managers had a phenomenal 2022 with many performing 20% positive in a very, very difficult environment. They added tremendous value to the portfolio in a difficult year which is what family offices have been looking for. The macro strategy has been challenged this year as interest rates have surprised most market participants in March and positioning was often wrong. Here again we're looking at a diversifier in portfolio shock absorber. Lastly, family offices are looking at equity loan short managers in order to replace or complement. Some of the market beta they have in their portfolios, there are preferences is for market neutral strategies. The most popular strategies that we have seen mentioned here are those aiming to exploit just the type of dislocations that are arising in today's market environment. And René back to you. When looking at the regional distribution, you mentioned that hedge fund allocations are particularly high in the US. What are some other regional differences you experience when talking to your clients? Yeah, probably one of the most notable difference we see very often between Asian and European clients, whereas Asian clients are seeking for high risk return hedge fund portfolios and European investors would almost be in the opposite corner of that spectrum looking for more diversified call it market neutral or volatility portfolio call it like a substitute mainly for fixed income and investments over the the course of the last few years. OK. And the survey also shows that hedge funds are used as a strategy to diversify. What could be the reason for this? Yep, in a nutshell, there are  two main camps. I would say 1 investors looking to diversify their existing proposals without really touching their current asset allocation too much. So those hedge fund portfolios tend to have higher allocations to trading and micro managers mentioned as well by Daniel before. And 2 the other camp would be investors looking to replace parts of their current asset allocation with something different but similar in that sense I call it the last few months and years. For example in fixed income area, these hedge fund portfolios would have higher allocations to relative value focused managers or or part of their equity allocation via dedicated portfolio of equity hedge managers. And Daniel, can you tell us more about the return expectations for hedge funds? Yes, I think to start with a very interesting statement in the family office report, it says that family offices have confidence in hedge funds' ability to generate investment returns as central banks are in excess financial liquidity from markets and macroeconomic uncertainty persists. So that's what's written in the family office report. Interesting, almost three quarters, 73% believe that hedge funds will meet or exceed their performance targets over the next 12 months. Now this is what has been said early this year in the report when people were asked for their opinion. Now we are end of September and well the macro picture actually looks quite the same. But we have also seen very, very strong equity markets, very low volatility and investors are getting 5 plus percent risk free. Hedge funds have been challenged by this and expectations have risen. So the new question people ask themselves today is can hedge funds beat risk free? That's really the question. I think we believe really they can. The rebound in markets has been very concentrated on a few stocks. The volatility is unusually low and may go back to more normal levels. More normal levels given where rates are and rates may have reached their peak. And risks, macroeconomic and political, they remain. And when you think about what hedge funds do, they're in the business of generating returns while minimizing risks, all different kinds of risks. And they typically add their value specifically when other asset classes struggle and we've seen that last year. So in that regard, your expectation is for hedge funds to remain relevant in the portfolios. Now if you want to put a number to it. Our CIO just issued new return expectations for the coming 15 years, so a very long time period. The so called capital market assumptions and in that framework, cash yields 2% per annum while hedge funds return 6% out of volatility of around about 6%. I think this is fairly conservative per se, and I think these expectations should be reached. One last quote from the family office report is about the skepticism about hedge funds. Specifically the question are hedge funds expensive or not? 80% of Swiss family offices have expressed their opinion that hedge funds are expensive and with hindsight you know, given where markets have been over the last 10 years with with heavy-handed central bank intervention. It would have been better off with a passive strategy. I think active strategies really come into their own once activity is required and we've just mentioned it before, central banks are getting back, interest rates are higher, volatility is higher. That's a good space for hedge funds to generate returns and generate values net of fees. Thank you René and Daniel for sharing these insights and for more details, please refer to the latest Global Family Office report on ubs.com/gforeport. Please see important disclaimer information on this screen which may pertain to your particular situation. This document has been prepared by UBSAG, its subsidiary or affiliate. The information contained here is provided solely for information and UBS marketing purposes.

    Speakers:

    René Steiner, Head Hedge Fund Solutions Investment Specialists, UBS Asset Management

    Daniel Insunza, Head Hedge Fund Specialists, UBS Global Wealth Management

    How are family offices investing in real estate?

    In the latest 'Family office insights' interview our UBS experts explore how family offices invest in the asset class and the regional differences they see when it comes to the culture of investing.

    Speakers:

    Thomas Veraguth, Chief Investment Office Real Estate Specialist, UBS Global Wealth Management

    Nicki-Marco Weber, Head Europe Investment Sales Specialists, UBS Asset Management

    What major asset allocation shifts are family offices planning?

    Video Player is loading.
    Current Time 0:00
    Stream Type LIVE
    Remaining Time 10:52
     
    1x
      • Chapters
      • descriptions off, selected
      • captions off, selected
      • en (Main), selected
      Listen to podcast about family offices' strategic asset allocation
      Loaded: 1.52%
      Duration 10:52

      Speakers:

      Aline Haerri, Great Wealth Advisory, UBS Global Wealth Management

      Maximilian Kunkel, Chief Investment Office Global Family & Institutional Wealth, UBS Global Wealth Management

      Ready to start a conversation?

      We look forward to speaking with you.

      The price and value of investments and income derived from them can go down as well as up. You may not get back the amount originally invested.