Eric Poirier reports that family offices increased their stock holdings in the second quarter, signaling a bullish outlook on public equities.
Eric Poirier, CEO of Addepar, reported that family offices significantly increased their stock holdings in the second quarter, marking the largest quarter-on-quarter shift in public equities over the last several years. Single family offices now hold 37% of their portfolios in stocks, up from 34% in the first quarter. This surge reflects a long-term bullish tilt toward public markets, particularly driven by the AI trade, despite concerns regarding market concentration and potential bubbles. While stock allocations grew, family offices simultaneously trimmed their exposure to private markets and real estate. Private market holdings dropped by 3 percentage points, largely due to markdowns in private credit, venture capital, and real estate valuations. Unlike a typical rebalancing, the growth in stocks was largely powered by the market rally, with the S&P 500 rising approximately 15% during the quarter. Addepar data represents over $1.4 trillion in assets across hundreds of family offices. Poirier noted that the top five most commonly held stocks are Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, and Nvidia.