60% of uber-rich family offices considering crypto or own it: Goldman Sachs

A survey conducted by major investment bank Goldman Sachs has found that close to half of its family office clients want to add cryptocurrency to their portfolios, signaling the ultra-wealthy are becoming increasingly bullish on digital assets.

The survey, reported by Bloomberg, queried more than 150 family offices worldwide and found that 15% are already exposed to crypto assets.

A further 45% of offices expressed interest in investing in the asset class as a hedge against “higher inflation, prolonged low rates, and other macroeconomic developments following a year of unprecedented global monetary and fiscal stimulus.”

However, other respondents cited concerns regarding the volatility and long-term uncertainty surrounding the price of cryptocurrencies as reasoning for their aversion to the asset class.

Approximately 67% of the firms surveyed manage more than $1 billion worth of assets, with 22% of respondents boasting assets under management exceeding $5 billion.

Bloomberg describes the business of family offices as managing “the wealth and personal affairs of rich people,” including the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Chanel owners Alain and Gérard Wertheimer.

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Professional services firm Ernst & Young estimates that there are more than 10,000 family offices that each manages the financial affairs of only a single family, half of which were launched during the 21st century. The family office sector is estimated to manage more than $6 trillion globally, overshadowing the hedge fund industry.

Goldman Sachs’ Meena Lakdawala-Flynn asserts that most of the firm’s family office clients have expressed an interest in the “digital asset ecosystem,” adding that many customers believe blockchain technology “is going to be as impactful as the internet has been from an efficiency and productivity perspective.”