Want to know what the ultra-rich are planning to do with their investment cash this year? Lucky for you, Goldman Sachs recently asked them and compiled their answers in its second-ever Family Office Insight Report. It reveals where the super-wealthy are currently invested, what they’re looking to buy, and how that’s changed since the first report two years ago. I’ve taken a close look at the report, and came up with a few ways that you can match their investments move-for-move…

Who are these people and how are they investing?

Of the 166 family offices Goldman surveyed, about 70% have at least $1 billion in net assets invested and over 90% have their own in-house fund management teams. They’re a worldwide elite group: with 57% located in the Americas; 21% in Europe, Middle East and Africa; and 22% in Asia Pacific. And they tend to demonstrate a home bias in terms of where they allocate money – although, interestingly, 41% of Asia Pacific family offices plan to increase their strategic allocation to the US, driven by geopolitical concerns.

Stocks

Family offices have pulled back a little on their stock allocations. They’ve got just 28% of their holdings in publicly traded shares, compared to 31% back in 2021. But nearly half – 48% – say they expect to increase that allocation in the next 12 months.

Of the stocks they do own, 63% come from the US, and 21% come from other developed economies – leaving just 16% for shares in emerging market companies. Family offices say they’re focused on secular growth themes – those long-term trends that have the potential to endure business cycles and drive value over time. Some 43% of the offices surveyed said they’re overweight on tech stocks and 34% said they’re overweight on healthcare.

In tech stocks, their current focus is on identifying companies that improve business efficiency, productivity, and margins to combat rising input costs. AI-related innovations, not surprisingly, are a fit here. Within healthcare, they’re investing not just in a single subsector like pharmaceuticals, but also in more cutting-edge areas, like biotech.

If you want to copy what the ultra-rich are doing in stocks, you might start with a core position in US equities, which can be easily (and cheaply) done using an ETF tracker like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SPY; expense ratio: 0.09%), and follow it with a global allocation, perhaps via the iShares MSCI Global ETF (URTH; 0.24%). You could obtain overweight positions in tech and healthcare by buying, for example, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ; 0.2%), which track the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, and the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ; 0.4%) which tracks the S&P Global Healthcare Index and invests in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies.

Alternative investments

Family offices tend to allocate more of their money (44% on average) to alternative investments – think: private equity, private real estate and infrastructure, hedge funds, and private credit. This is likely because of their long-term investment horizons, ability to own more illiquid assets, and also because historically private markets have produced higher returns.

And right now, many family offices are looking to increase their exposure to these areas – with 41% saying they plan to add more to private equity, 30% looking to add to private credit, and 27% looking to add to infrastructure.

They’ve also got their eye on real estate: 30% plan to increase exposure to the residential subsector in the next 12 months, with a focus on multifamily residential. They’re also looking to hold onto their investments in warehouses and logistics, but say they’re – not surprisingly – cautious on retail and office space due to rising vacancy rates, online shopping, and the “work from anywhere” culture.

And they’re sticking with a modest 6% portfolio allocation to hedge funds, unchanged from 2021.

Replicating the alternative investments of the moneyed class is tricky: private equity, for example, just isn’t accessible for the average retail investor. But you could consider investing in the iShares Listed Private Equity ETF UCITS (IPRV LN; 0.75%), which tracks the S&P Listed Private Equity Index, or the Proshares Global Listed Private Equity ETF (PEX; 0.5%), which tracks up to 30 listed private equity companies. Or you could buy shares in the private equity giants like KKR, Blackstone, or The Carlyle Group, hoping to benefit from their expertise, however indirectly.

For exposure to housing, you could consider investing in the iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB; 0.39%) or for exposure to infrastructure, you could consider investing in Equinix, a digital infrastructure real estate investment trust providing global data center storage facilities.

Crypto and digital assets

In this area, family offices have had a real change of heart since the last time they were surveyed. They currently have 32% invested in digital assets – i.e. crypto, blockchain technology, NFTs, stablecoins, and decentralized finance. And that’s not insignificant. What’s more, within the digital-asset ecosystem, the percentage of offices who are invested has risen: to 26%, from 21% in 2021. However, those who are not invested and are not interested in being invested in the future has also risen: to 62%, from 39%, and those who say they’re potentially interested in a future investment has fallen: to 12%, from 45%.

If you’re inclined to add some crypto exposure like the family offices that have it, an allocation to bitcoin or ethereum, respectively, the No. 1 and No. 2 cryptocurrencies, might fit the bill. If, on the other hand, you’re feeling cautious about crypto’s prospects, well, you’re not alone.

Cash and fixed income

With a 22% allocation – 12% in cash and 10% in fixed-income assets like bonds – this “sleep well” allocation has increased from 19% in 2021. However, 35% of respondents expect cash levels to fall to take advantage of other investing opportunities. Still, 39% plan to increase their holdings in fixed income over the next 12 months.

To hold cash or invest in fixed income, you could invest in a money market fund like the Fidelity Government Money Market Fund, which is yielding 5.2%; or, if you’re in the UK, the Vanguard Sterling Short-Term Money Market Fund, which is yielding 4.3%. You could also consider investing in a corporate bond ETF, like the iShares Investment Corporate Bond ETF (LQD; 0.14%), with its yield of 5.5%, to gain private credit exposure or to earn a higher yield than government bonds deliver.

Clean energy

This is the most popular area for family offices interested in sustainable investments, with 60% saying they expect to invest more in clean energy in the next 12 months. Other popular sustainable investing themes are food and agriculture (40%), and accessible and innovative healthcare (39%).

To gain exposure to the clean energy theme, you could consider buying the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF (ICLN; 0.4%), which invests in a diversified range of energy sources and technologies in both developed and emerging markets