Wealthy families cut dollar exposure, survey reveals

The world's richest families are trimming exposure to the U.S. dollar as geopolitical tensions and rising sovereign debt drive ​a broader rethink of portfolio risk, UBS said in a ‌report published on Thursday.

About two-thirds of family offices surveyed by the Swiss bank expect confidence in the dollar as a reserve currency to weaken ​over the year, UBS found. The survey was conducted between ​January and late March, before the dollar started to outperform ⁠many peers, Reuters reported.

Here are details from UBS's Global Family Office Report 2026:

• The ​dollar's depreciation in the year before the survey was conducted has ​prompted many family offices to review their portfolios, with almost half concluding they are overexposed to the U.S. currency across asset classes, according to UBS strategist ​Maximilian Kunkel.
• Plans to reduce exposure to dollar-denominated assets reflect a ​wider reconsideration of U.S.-centric portfolios, UBS found. Family offices plan to add emerging ‌market ⁠stocks and infrastructure, while trimming real estate holdings.
• "For the first time, we are feeling that family offices want to build up in Asia Pacific and, to a certain degree, also in Western Europe," ​UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli ​said. "That mainly ⁠affects family offices outside the United States, but we are also seeing signs that a very limited ​part of the de-dollarisation move is coming from ​U.S. family ⁠offices."
• Geopolitical conflict is now the top concern by a wide margin, prompting family offices to combine asset allocation shifts with multishoring strategies, ⁠UBS said. ​Multishoring involves establishing family office activities ​across jurisdictions.
• UBS surveyed 307 clients worldwide. Participating families had an average net worth of $2.7 billion.