Interview with: Lixia Zhu, Principal, 76Columbus Family Office

“A new paradigm is emerging in family offices where the next generation of wealth holders are trying to balance between traditional wealth preservation and creating their own wealth and legacy through bold or impact-focused investment strategies,” says Lixia Zhu, Principal, 76Columbus Family Office.

Zhu was a speaker at the Marcus Evans Elite Summit 2025.

What is new in the family office space?

The next-gen wealth holders, many of whom are entrepreneurial, are reshap-ing capital allocation, redefining influ-ence, and preparing for long-term leadership through innovation, collabo-ration, and purpose. Their investments are diversified in terms of asset class and geography. Many of them studied abroad or were exposed to the Western world, so they are more prone to exploring opportunities across the world.

Many of them are using their own personal pocket money and allocating into AI, crypto or deep tech. They want to invest in the future, which needs to happen now, but it’s still challenging to get their parents or grandparents on board. Once there’s a track record, the family is more willing to allocate into a risky strategy.

It’s fascinating to witness this change. The next-gen is striving to create their own legacy, to be recognised for themselves, and not just for being the grandchild or child of someone. They want to create impact in the society they live in and show that they can carry the family’s legacy. It is their responsibility to take the family to the next level, to the next century. To invest in the future, they need to be forward-thinking today.

Should they get their families on board sooner? Are they missing out on investment opportunities?

It depends. The mentality is very different if the family made its wealth through technology investments versus traditional businesses. Some families are more prone to taking risks and investing in emerging technologies, while it’s very difficult to convince families with a traditional mindset to allocate large amounts of money into crypto, given its inherent volatility.

From what I’ve seen, the best outcomes often come from making thoughtful, informed decisions rather than reaching out of FOMO (fear of missing out). In fast moving spaces like AI or crypto, it’s natural to feel like you are missing out sometimes, and that’s okay. What matters is staying curious, keeping an eye on opportunities, and if something genuinely resonates, starting small to learn and build confidence along the way.

In what ways can there be a better balance between safe, traditional wealth preservation, and more ambitious or bold strategies?

It is tricky, as a lot of these asset classes have a lot of embedded risk. Unless they have a good knowledge of the domain, it is difficult to truly grasp the potential downsides. What I’ve seen many families do is allocate just a small portion to high-risk, high-return assets, mainly to stay exposed and learn along the way. Even if they have a tech background, they don’t want to gamble everything away.

How is AI impacting wealth man-agement and family offices?

We are living in an era shaped by AI and deep tech. They are changing how we live and interact with each other. Many families are using integrated machine learning models internally to do their due diligence when looking into funds. Back in the day, analysts used to go to Wall Street at 6am to analyse macro news and world news before the New York Stock Exchange opened at 9am. With AI in the picture, they don’t need to prepare three hours ahead of time. They have everything at their fingertips.

That said, I believe that we cannot rely on machines alone. AI can help us streamline operations and improve efficiency, but we still need expertise and knowledge into the domain we are investing in. Most importantly, the human connection, the interactions and relationships we build with one another will always remain at the heart of it all.

What investment opportunities do you see on the horizon?

Most of the time, opportunity is based on what and who the family has access to. Who they trust. Our family is very big in crypto and the digital asset space. Many of my friends are interested in credit opportunities, education, data centres in China or the US. Some of my friends are racing to invest in digital asset treasury funds. Physical AI like robotics that solves healthcare and manufacturing challenges is also very big today.

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