Philanthropic giving by family offices is set to grow “strongly” over the next two years, but they expect to see some form of investment return on what they give, a study by Ocorian has found.

The research revealed that seven out of 10 (70 per cent) family office professionals, including those working for multi-family offices, forecast philanthropic giving to increase by 15 per cent or more over the next year.

A quarter (25 per cent) said that spending on philanthropy would rise by 20 per cent or more over the same period.

The most commonly cited area of philanthropy was found to be healthcare and medical research, with 67 per cent of family office professionals supporting this.

Meanwhile, more than half (51 per cent) cited diversity, equity, and inclusion philanthropy, followed by access to clean water and sanitation (43 per cent), climate change and the environment (41 per cent), and housing (29 per cent).

However, Ocorian found that family offices wanted some form of investment return from at least some of their philanthropy, with 67 per cent expecting some kind of return on 25 per cent or more of their philanthropic giving.

Around one in six (16 per cent) expected to see a return on 50 per cent or more of their philanthropy.

Commenting on the findings, Ocorian global head of business development – private client, Lynda O’Mahoney, said: “The level of philanthropy from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth families is increasing and they’re less interested in their money going into a vacuum - they are enjoying increasing involvement and want to see tangible outcomes from their donations.

“Flexibility is also important given philanthropic plans are often long-term. We’re noticing an increase in Middle East families setting up Jersey-based charitable structures that allow flexibility to allocate their donations to a UK, European, African or Middle Eastern charity, as they choose, without cumbersome controls.

“This trend aligns with the broader desire for increasing control over investments—people want to maintain a say in what happens to their money. Overall, we see families carefully planning and seeking advice on how to structure their donations so that they can see the impact they seek.”

Ocorian noted that it seemed that the more families chose to set up charitable trusts, the more families wanted to follow suit, with Ocorian private client executive, Tracey Neuman, adding: “Charitable trusts are the new superyachts. You simply have to have one if you are an ultra-high-net-worth individual.”

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