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2026 BANK OF AMERICA FAMILY OFFICE STUDY

Building for generations

The 2026 Bank of America Family Office Study reveals the priorities and best practices shaping family office operations and next generation transition planning.

October 20, 2026

 

Even as they grow larger and more complex, family offices are also navigating generational transition. Against this backdrop, we recently conducted new research with more than 350 family offices in the U.S., diving deep into the trends at family offices—particularly on questions of operating excellence, governance and transition-readiness.

Families are planning for succession, but readiness falls short for many. Governance and education are critical tools for aligning and integrating the next generation, but some family offices have yet to adopt the most effective practices. We spotlight these gaps while also revealing the best practices that many family offices are putting to work. The report ends with benchmarking profiles, comparing less-complex offices to more-complex offices to see what changes and what stays the same as these organizations grow larger and serve a broader mix of family members over time.

Key insights about family offices today

Governance and education are critical for smoothing transitions

About a quarter of family offices have seen a principal transition in the last decade. Just 37% say their incoming principal was very prepared. The average age of the incoming principal was 45 years old.

Families expect both continuity and change as they anticipate leadership turnover. For those who have a potential next-gen principal in mind, 84% say the existing principal will continue to remain highly involved after the transition. However, the majority expect that the incoming leadership will:

Pursue increased allocations to alternative investments

Be interested in leveraging credit to build wealth

Support different charitable activities

The vast majority agree that governance helps align families and mitigate disagreement. Additionally, family offices prioritize next-gen education, focusing on personal financial responsibility and the technical aspects of wealth, including trusts, taxes and direct investing.

Both continuity and change as next-gen successors step in

Survey results show the next generation will use credit to build wealth and support different charitable causes. Activate button below for complete description.

Offices trend toward institutional practices as they grow more complex

We benchmarked family offices by complexity, examining the similarities and differences between younger, less-complex offices and older, more-complex organizations. High-complexity offices are twice as likely to have written investment policies, family office mission statements and trust distribution policies. They’re more likely to use independent boards, and they’re less likely to use family meetings, compared to less-complex family offices.

Family offices tend to grow in size and complexity over time

Graph of primary reasons family office was formed. For full description please click the link below.

Some things do not change between lower-complexity offices and higher-complexity peers. They tend toward similar mixes of illiquid and liquid investments, and they agree on the appeal of private equity and direct company ownership. They also agree on the value of governance and see the same trends among the next generation.

Governance comparison between low- and high-complexity offices, showing that 73% of low-complexity offices and 56% of high-complexity offices use family meetings; 17% of low complexity offices and 27% of high-complexity offices use family councils; and 15% of low-complexity offices and 22% of high-complexity offices use an independent board of directors.
Policies comparison between low- and high-complexity offices, showing that 14% of low-complexity offices and 38% of high-complexity offices have a family office mission statement; 25% of low-complexity offices and 59% of high-complexity offices have an investment policy; and 17% of low-complexity offices and 38% of high-complexity offices have a trust distribution policy or guiding principles.
Low- and high-complexity family offices agree on the power of governance, next-gen trends, liquid and illiquid investment mixes and more private equity and direct ownership stakes.
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Methodology for the 2026 Bank of America Family Office Study

In our 2026 Bank of America Family Office Study – Building for Generations, we surveyed 355 family office decision makers in the U.S. We spoke with executive-level roles, including principals, C-suite, president/founders and investment professionals. The offices range from $25M in AUM to more than $5B, with the majority over $500M. The average office tenure is 11-20 years. The survey was fielded in March and April of 2026.
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To access last year's report click here.

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