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Christina Zhao

Family offices in the Asia-Pacific region are putting more funding into sustainability projects and adopting a “systems-level” approach to make a greater impact, a trend that is set to boost Hong Kong’s role as a hub for impact investing, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The proportion of family offices allocating more than half of their portfolios to impact and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies climbed to 27 per cent this year, a significant jump from 17 per cent in 2025, the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFi) found.
Allocations of more than 10 per cent to sustainable investments have also grown, rising from 56 per cent last year to 58 per cent in 2026.
“Family offices aren’t just committing to impact – they’re polarising around it,” said Katy Yung, CEO of SFi, at a briefing in Hong Kong.
“Those who are in, are going all in, whilst a new wave of impact investors are still testing the waters. What’s disappearing is the middle ground.”
The annual survey, which polled 121 family office representatives and asset owners, highlights a sharp rise in conviction among impact investors.
More than half of respondents now view impact through a holistic lens rather than as a stand-alone carve-out. Consequently, reliance on simple portfolio carve-outs dropped to 13 per cent from 18 per cent in 2025.
Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, is home to hundreds of family offices.
“It’s a very timely moment for Hong Kong as the government has just collected a lot of the submissions for its first five-year plan, which to us provides a clear policy backdrop and opportunity for us to also provide some suggestions on how we can position Hong Kong as a leading impact investing hub,” Yung said.
According to the survey, heightened geopolitical risks are affecting the investment priorities of Asia’s family offices. Food and agriculture climbed to the top spot, while WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and oceans jumped to second place from fifth last year.

In contrast, healthcare slipped to fourth place from third, while nature-based solutions plummeted to seventh place from top position in 2025.
Investors also expressed growing interest in evergreen structures offering shorter lock-up periods and greater liquidity during market volatility, alongside philanthropic tools such as grant-making, blended finance and outcome-based funding in new economy sectors, according to the survey.
Identifying quality deals with viable exit options remains the top-cited business challenge at 26 per cent, up from 21 per cent in 2025.
Additionally, the difficulty in finding like-minded co-investment peers has jumped sharply to 18 per cent, compared with 11 per cent in 2025. The preference for specific private equity or venture capital vehicles has cooled, dropping to 19 per cent from 25 per cent in 2025.
The survey also identified two new obstacles this year, as 19 per cent of respondents said they were struggling to find suitable sustainable investment products, while 11 per cent pointed to a lack of standardised reporting from fund managers and ventures.
Family offices were cautious about “chasing trends” and taking their time in evaluating the return on these sustainable problem-related solutions, Yung added.


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Asian family offices putting more funds into sustainability projects – and adopting ‘systems-level’ approach to make greater impact, survey finds


Asian family offices putting more funds into sustainability projects – and adopting ‘systems-level’ approach to make greater impact, survey finds.


Asia’s super-rich are ‘going all in’ on sustainability as impact investing grows: survey

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Asian family offices putting more funds into sustainability projects – and adopting ‘systems-level’ approach to make greater impact, survey finds

Asian family offices putting more funds into sustainability projects – and adopting ‘systems-level’ approach to make greater impact, survey finds