Asian Family Offices Face Next-Generation Readiness Gap
A majority of family offices surveyed in Asia plan to transfer wealth to future generations, but fewer than half believe their successors are prepared to take on meaningful roles in the family office, according to a new study by the Wealth Management Institute.
The report, Stewardship by Design: Preparing Asia’s Next Generation for Leadership and Impact, found that 71% of respondents from family offices primarily based in Asia intend to transfer wealth to future generations. Yet only 49% said they consider the next generation prepared to engage with the family office.
The study, conducted by the Wealth Management Institute in collaboration with academics from Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, surveyed 146 family offices, predominantly in Asia-Pacific. The researchers also compared selected findings with a separate survey of 137 family offices, 77% of which were based in the Americas or Europe.
The findings suggest that formal education alone may not be enough to prepare heirs for leadership and stewardship responsibilities. While financial literacy and investment education are common development tools, the study points to hands-on involvement in family decision-making as a potentially more important factor in building readiness.
Cross-Generational Participation
Family offices that reported cross-generational participation in strategic or operational decisions were 6.5 times more likely to view the next generation as prepared, after accounting for other measured development and succession practices, according to the study.
The difference was particularly pronounced when multiple generations were involved in strategic decisions. Among family offices where multiple generations participated in those decisions, 83% considered the next generation prepared. That compared with 37% among offices where strategic decisions were made solely by the senior generation.
“Education and exposure matter, but judgment develops when the next generation has opportunities to contribute to real decisions and take on responsibilities,” the report said.
Despite the emphasis on education, practical opportunities for younger family members remain relatively limited among the Asian family offices surveyed. Some 81% reported using at least one approach to develop the next generation, with financial literacy and investment education the most common.
By contrast, only 26% provided opportunities for board or governance involvement, while 14% offered roles in operating businesses and 11% provided roles within the family office itself.
The findings also highlight a gap in formal leadership succession planning. Only 35% of respondents from family offices primarily based in Asia said they have a formal plan for succession in family-office leadership.
Family Offices Face Succession Challenges
The report builds on the Wealth Management Institute’s 2025 study, Asia’s Succession Moment: Closing the Planning Gap to Safeguard Legacy, which introduced a framework known as the Legacy Flywheel. The framework links five elements of multigenerational wealth management: purpose, stewardship, resilience, legacy transmission and impact.
The latest study focuses on the human element of that cycle, examining how families can prepare heirs not simply to inherit wealth, but to develop the judgment and responsibility required to oversee family enterprises, investments and broader legacies.
The researchers’ findings come as Asian family offices face an increasingly important succession challenge as significant pools of privately held wealth move toward a new generation. The study suggests that involving younger family members in actual decisions and responsibilities could be a critical part of closing the readiness gap.
