Concerns about lack of liquidity, for example in private market assets, and a gap between the family office compensation levels for family and non-family members are among the issues arising from a new report.

Liquidity is the “word of the year” for family offices, according to the 2026 North America Family Office Report from RBC and Campden Wealth, although growing concern about the lack of liquidity in private market funds may be more accurate. 

The report also found a large gap in compensation between family members and outsiders in key family office executive positions.

Nearly half of private-market fund investors could not complete an exit as expected while half of those who were able to exit faced caps or restrictions, the report’s survey of 155 family offices found.

“Liquidity has become a key differentiator in private markets because it reveals what actually works,” said Beth Francis, RBC managing director and head of the firm’s Enterprise Strategic Client Group. “A fund manager’s willingness to be transparent about exit timelines and potential delays tells you a lot about how they operate. When liquidity becomes scarce, it exposes quality. Offices are increasingly choosing direct investments because they want control over when and how capital comes back.”

As a result, while family offices remain firmly committed to private markets, they are souring on funds. Eighty-six per cent are invested in private markets; 45 per cent in direct investments, many applying the family’s own sector knowledge to deals. But liquidity and cost concerns drove the percentage going to funds down to 36 per cent, a reversal of last year’s ratio.

“Access to private markets is a major driver of growth”
“We can definitely confirm that client demand for private equity, private credit, co-investments, and other private assets remains very strong,” said Brandelyn Perry, senior research director for Family Wealth Alliance. “Access to private markets is a major driver of growth and referrals. However, [family offices] also describe client concerns around liquidity constraints, capital calls during market downturns, long lock-up periods, K-1 complexity, and difficulty understanding the different fee structures.”

Families at Market Trust are also concerned about liquidity “but not as anxious” due to planning, said Kara Pass, the firm’s president and CEO. “Families whose commitments were initially sized to their liquidity needs have not been forced sellers,” according to Pass. “The most important aspect of a private market allocation is disciplined pacing, with cash treated as having option value. We’re also leaning more on secondaries to shorten the wait for cash and to buy seasoned assets at prices we can underwrite.”

“Family discount” for family office compensation?
The report also cited what it called a “family discount” when it came to median total compensation comparing family members and non-family members in several key senior executive roles. 

Non-family-member chief executives earn a median $721,000 in total compensation, a hefty 44 per cent more than CEOs who are family members, who earn $460,000. Similarly, non-family chief investment officers earn a median total compensation $575,000 versus $350,000 for family member CIOs.

But the tables are turned when comparing compensation for chief operating officers. Family member chief operating officers earn $450,000, $75,000 more than non-family member COOs.

The median operating cost of responding family offices was approximately $2.75 million, according to the report. Offices expect these costs to rise 5 per cent this year.

“Even patient capital can be caught up in FOMO”
When it comes to market performance, family offices are quite optimistic, a shift from last year, when survey respondents anticipated an average annual return of just 5 per cent.

“This is not a cautious group returning to optimism, it is a different reading of where we sit in the cycle,” said Adam Ratner, director of research for Campden Wealth. “Offices reported strong 2025 results, but the bigger story is how far forward-looking sentiment has shifted. Even patient capital can be caught up in the fear of missing out.”

Most family offices surveyed chose AI as their top investment pick, and while three-quarters expect an AI investment bubble to burst, almost none have plans to reduce their exposure.

“Family offices are separating the technology from the stock price,” Ratner said. “If you look at the trajectory of the internet as a guide, there was a boom, a bubble, and a long-term transformation. The same could wind up being true for AI. And just like the internet, time may turn out to be one of the biggest factors in determining whether an investment is successful."

Real estate and tax traps
Family offices are also very optimistic about real estate prospects over the next two to five years, according to the RBC/Campden report.

Market Street is “selectively opportunistic, not broadly bullish” on real estate, Pass says. “With the 10-year Treasury above 5 per cent for the first time since 2007, the math on stabilized core property doesn’t work. The opportunity is in the capital structure. Preferred equity and rescue capital allow investors to come in at today’s values, ahead of the existing owner, with downside protection. By segment, we favor assets with supply constraints or demographic tailwinds such as logistics, senior housing and student housing.”

Family Wealth Alliance members are worried about tax traps in long-held portfolios, Perry said. 

“Clients have large, low-cost-basis portfolios that have appreciated significantly,” she explained. “They know they should diversify but are reluctant to realize gains and trigger taxes. Getting clients unstuck [in their concentrated, low-cost-basis positions] is a major current challenge. Direct indexing, long-short tax strategies, tax-loss harvesting, and 351 exchanges are all in play to help clients move forward.”