45% of venture capital funds expect 2026 to be their most active investment year to date, while only 12% anticipate reducing investment activity. Meanwhile, corporate investors expect investment levels to remain broadly stable, with around half planning to maintain their current pace. By contrast, family offices are the only investor group expecting a net decline in investment activity, with more respondents forecasting a reduction than an increase.
The newly published BIGBAN Annual Report 2025, produced by BIGBAN Investors Spain in collaboration with Comillas Pontifical University, analyses the current state of Spain's entrepreneurial ecosystem and the outlook for private investors over the coming years.
Its findings suggest that the widely held narrative of general investor caution does not hold true once the data is broken down by investor type. While venture capital funds expect 2026 to become their most active investment year and corporate investors remain broadly stable, only one category of investor is meaningfully slowing its investment pace: the family office.
According to the report, the explanation lies not in market conditions—which are the same for everyone—but in the nature of the capital being invested.
"Venture capital funds manage capital committed by their limited partners under predefined investment periods and mandates, which means they must continue deploying capital regardless of the market cycle. Corporate investors, on the other hand, invest from their own balance sheets with objectives that are more closely linked to strategic innovation than purely financial returns, making them relatively resilient to market volatility. Family offices are different: they invest their own wealth and enjoy complete discretion over when and where to deploy capital. Since they are under no obligation to invest within a specific timeframe, they are the only investor group able to slow deployment when market conditions become more challenging—and that is precisely what we are seeing," the report's authors explain.
Looking not only at those planning to increase investment but also at those intending to maintain current activity levels, 88% of venture capital funds expect to sustain or increase investment activity, compared with 73% of corporate investors and only 56% of family offices. Nearly half of all family offices surveyed expect to reduce investment activity, making them the most cautious segment of the ecosystem.
The Ecosystem's Most Discreet Investor Has One Primary Concern: Avoiding Dilution
The BIGBAN Annual Report 2025 also highlights a structural characteristic that helps explain why family offices are adopting a more cautious stance towards investment in 2026.
When analysing the reasons family offices reject startup investment opportunities, a pattern emerges that is largely absent among other investor groups. Rather than placing greater emphasis on a company's current valuation, the strength of its management team or the originality of its business model, family offices focus primarily on whether the company's capital structure will allow them to preserve their ownership position over time.
Accordingly, family offices are more likely than any other investor type to reject opportunities due to:
Conversely, when assessing factors directly related to the quality of the business—such as high valuations or the credibility of the founding team—family offices adopt a relatively moderate position and are far from being the most demanding investors.
According to BIGBAN Investors Spain, this reflects the specific ownership objectives typically pursued by family offices.
"In 2025, 45% of family office investments involved equity stakes between 6% and 10%—just above Spain's 5% tax threshold, which is particularly relevant for the capital gains treatment applicable to this type of investment vehicle. This positioning is far from accidental. Since 64% of family offices do not have a defined follow-on investment policy, they lack a systematic mechanism for maintaining their ownership percentage in future funding rounds. If they cannot protect themselves against dilution through subsequent investments, their only option is to carefully calculate their initial entry point, anticipating future dilution and acquiring a sufficiently large stake from the outset to remain within their target ownership range several years later, even after financing rounds in which they are unlikely to participate."
This also helps explain why 92% of family office investments are made directly, rather than through intermediary investment vehicles that could reduce transparency over ownership positions. Likewise, 43% describe their involvement as purely financial, while only 7% seek an active role in shaping a startup's strategy.
In short, family offices are not primarily seeking operational control—they are seeking certainty that they will be able to preserve a meaningful ownership stake over time.
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45% of venture capital funds expect 2026 to be their most active inves...
