Advisers to ultra-high-net-worth families in Asia most often cited valuation differences as a source of disagreement over business exits, The Business Times and The Straits Times reported in accounts of Julius Baer’s 2026 survey.
Julius Baer said 80% of advisers in its worldwide survey saw a lack of family agreement over a sale as an obstacle to preparing for a transfer; 55.4% cited tax considerations. In the global survey, 2.3% of advisers said most business-owning families they covered were fully prepared for a sale or transfer, 56.3% said most were partly prepared, and 29.5% said most were unprepared.
The Business Times reported that 8.4% of advisers serving ultra-high-net-worth families in Asia said the next generation had an equal say in carrying out plans after a sale. It also reported that 42% said younger relatives were consulted but had no vote. The Straits Times separately reported that 3.5% of advisers said most business-owning families they covered were fully prepared for a sale or transfer.
The reported rankings differed between Asia and the global survey. Julius Baer said 60.6% of worldwide respondents identified emotional attachment to a business as a source of disagreement over a sale, ahead of differing views about the business’s future and valuation. The regional and global rankings concern sources of disagreement over an exit among different respondent groups; the separate 8.4% Asia figure concerns the next generation’s say in carrying out post-sale plans.
The barometer, produced by Julius Baer and EY Switzerland, reflects financial professionals’ assessments of families they advise, not responses from the families themselves. Respondents included specialists from Julius Baer and EY, as well as independent professionals.
Julius Baer said succession planning remained families’ leading priority, as it had been the prior year. The firm described a post-sale shift from managing wealth concentrated in an operating business to overseeing more diversified assets. It said advisers in Asia and the Middle East emphasized long-term growth, while wealth preservation led in Europe and Latin America.
María Eugenia Mosquera, Julius Baer’s Head of Wealth Planning – Key Clients & Family Office Services, described the move from entrepreneur to wealth owner as “a completely new experience.”
