A summary of a conversation – a "fireside chat" – held at this publication's family office investment forum in NYC.

The following “fireside chat” was held at the Family Wealth Report Family Office Investment Forum 2026. The speakers were Sydney Landau (pictured below), partner at Shakti VC, and Brian Delamarter (pictured below). (More details about the speakers below this article.)

Sydney Landau

Brian Delamarter

The conversation explored how the NextGen family office is investing in the age of AI and what they look for when making investment decisions.

The perfect blend: The great wealth transfer and the AI revolution
An estimated $124 trillion is expected to transfer to the next generation over the coming decades, coinciding with a period in which private markets, specifically tech, have become the primary drivers of wealth creation. While prior generations preserved wealth largely through diversified portfolios anchored in public equities, today’s environment demands something different.

As Brian noted, this is a tech-native, entrepreneurship forward generation that watches wealth tied to tech grow in real time and wants access. The numbers bear that out: tech now accounts for 35 per cent of the S&P 500, and four tech companies have passed the trillion-dollar threshold – a figure that stood at zero just a decade ago.

Participating in the new wave of tech
For family offices, the question is no longer whether to engage with technology, it's how. Brian laid out his approach: invest directly in sectors when they have genuine expertise, for him that's biotech and fashion tech, and then rely on specialist fund managers like Shakti in other areas where they want exposure. The logic is simple. Access to innovation at day one matters, but conviction requires context and the context requires proximity. Investing in top fund managers is about getting great returns and it’s about getting the latest AI insights before it hits Bloomberg six months later.

This marks a meaningful shift in how investing is understood specifically to the next generation. Investing is no longer viewed as a passive exercise in capital allocation, but rather as a mechanism for building expertise, developing conviction, and staying close to the people and ideas shaping what comes next.

Endless funds – How does one choose?
Expectations of venture funds are evolving. Strong performance remains a requirement, but it is no longer the differentiator.  The next generation is asking more of their fund relationship: introductions to founders, access to emerging sectors, education on emerging tech and genuine engagement. The NextGen wants to learn alongside their investments.

Brian pointed to Shakti’s Titan network as a compelling example. The Titans are a group of 50+ CEOs and CxOs who serve as both coaches to portfolio companies and LPs in the fund. Through events and dinners, the LPs can interact and learn from one another.

Leveraging funds to go direct
A central theme that emerged from the discussion is the increasing desire for direct participation. Across Shakti’s recent conversations with 41 NextGen allocators in the US, UK, and UAE, every single one actively investing in early-stage technology had participated in direct deals, with the majority of those decisions being driven by the next generation themselves.

Brian was clear that fund and direct investing are complementary. Outside of household names like SpaceX, his office uses fund relationships to source co-investment opportunities.  A co-invest in a later round of a company already in the portfolio is a pre-vetted deal with a very different risk profile than something sourced cold.

How G2 is different from their predecessors
This next generation has a shift in identity where they see themselves as generalists. The prior generations who built the wealth were often specialists who dominated a single industry. The next generation is taking a different path, increasingly positioning themselves as generalists and cross-asset allocators with a strong emphasis on continuous learning. Venture capital serves a dual purpose here, a source of potential returns and a training ground for developing a broader investment thesis.

The future flow of capital
What's emerging from this conversation, and from the broader family office landscape, is a fundamental shift in how capital is deployed. The future of family office investing will be less about passive allocation and more about active involvement where capital is deployed not just to generate returns, but to build knowledge, networks, and long-term conviction in the companies shaping the next wave of innovation.

About the speakers
Sydney Landau is a partner at Shakti VC, an early-stage tech venture firm investing in outliers before it's obvious. At Shakti, Landau focuses on the next generation of both founders and capital. She recently co-led a study on the evolving priorities of NextGen family office investors, holding conversations with more than 40 current and emerging NextGen wealth allocators across the US, UK, and UAE. Before Shakti she interned at Morgan Stanley in their wealth management division overseeing portfolio allocation for family offices.

Brian Delamarter holds a JD/MBA and began his career analyzing investment funds for a multi-family office before transitioning into mergers and acquisitions. Today, he leads investment initiatives across all asset classes, brokers transactions, and manages tax, legal, and advisory matters for multiple family offices, including his own.

Shakti VC delivers white-glove support to founders without burdening LPs with the large AuM and fee structures of traditional venture platforms. It says its edge comes from Shakti’s Titan platform, a network of 50+ operators including current and former founders, CEOs, and CxOs of technology companies. These operators are also LPs in the fund.

This model gives Shakti differentiated access to exceptional founders at the earliest stages. For family offices, it means early exposure to breakout companies years before they become mainstream, with the opportunity to build direct relationships and invest alongside them over time.