Artificial intelligence has emerged as the dominant investment theme for the world’s largest family offices, decisively outperforming cryptocurrencies in portfolio allocation, according to a new report from JPMorgan Private Bank. The findings highlight a clear shift in how long-term capital views risk, opportunity, and technological disruption, reports Coinscreamer.
The report shows that 65 percent of family offices now view AI as a key investment focus, making it the most widely favored theme among surveyed institutions. By contrast, only 17 percent consider crypto assets to be an important investment topic, underscoring the sector’s continued struggle to gain traction with conservative, long-horizon capital.
Actual exposure levels paint an even starker picture. Eighty-nine percent of family offices report having no crypto exposure at all, and among those that do, allocations remain minimal. The average share of cryptocurrencies across portfolios is just 0.4 percent, with Bitcoin accounting for roughly 0.2 percent.
The contrast with AI reflects differing perceptions of maturity and utility. Family offices tend to favor sectors where technological progress translates into measurable productivity gains, defensible business models, and long-term cash flow potential. AI is increasingly seen as meeting those criteria, particularly as adoption accelerates across enterprise software, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and infrastructure.
Cryptocurrencies, meanwhile, continue to face skepticism. Respondents cited volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and limited real-world integration as ongoing barriers. For many family offices, crypto remains viewed as a speculative asset class rather than a foundational technology investment.
The report also reveals that traditional safe havens are losing favor. Gold, long considered a core defensive allocation, is absent from portfolios at 72 percent of surveyed family offices. The data suggests that capital is being redirected toward growth-oriented technologies rather than hedges against macroeconomic instability.
JPMorgan defines family offices as private entities that manage investments and financial affairs for ultra-high-net-worth families, often across generations. These institutions typically emphasize capital preservation, controlled risk exposure, and structural growth trends, making their allocation decisions a useful signal of long-term investor sentiment.
In that context, the growing preference for AI reflects confidence that artificial intelligence represents a durable, multi-decade transformation rather than a cyclical technology trend. Many family offices are deploying capital across AI infrastructure, enterprise software, applied machine learning, and data platforms, rather than betting on individual tokens or digital assets.
The findings suggest that while crypto continues to attract attention from retail investors and speculative capital, institutional family wealth is increasingly aligning itself with AI as the core technological growth story of the next decade. For long-term capital allocators, the message is clear: productivity-enhancing intelligence is winning out over digital scarcity narratives.
