Owner, Employment and Investment Profile of Family Offices in Singapore
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the profile of Single Family Offices (SFOs) in Singapore, where Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan inquired about their total number, workforce demographics, and industrial classifications. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong stated that as of 31 December 2023, there were approximately 1,400 SFOs awarded tax incentives, with a workforce consisting primarily of locals and foreign staff mostly from Asia. Demographic data reveals that slightly more than half of employees are male, while 55% are aged above 40, 35% are between 30 and 40, and 10% are under 30. Most SFOs employ fewer than 20 people, with only a small number reaching or exceeding a staff count of 20. The Minister also clarified that SFOs classify themselves under several Singapore Standard Industry Classification codes, including those for fund management and management consultancy, in addition to code 66306.
Transcript
1 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Prime Minister as of 31 December 2023 (a) what is the number of family offices in Singapore; (b) what is the breakdown in these family offices by (i) nationality (ii) gender and (iii) age; and (c) what is its breakdown in terms of employment of (i) less than 20 employees (ii) 21-50 employees (iii) 51-99 employees and (iv) more than 100 employees; and (d) whether there is any family office classification based on asset and investment type that is outside of the Singapore Standard Industry Classification code 66306.
Mr Lawrence Wong (for the Prime Minister): As of 31 December 2023, there were around 1,400 Single Family Offices (SFOs) that have been awarded tax incentives1. The majority of their workforce comprise of locals. The foreign workforce comes from a range of countries, with most from Asia. Slightly more than half of the employees are males and slightly less than half are females. In terms of age profile, about 10% are below the age of 30, about 35% are between 30 and 40 years old and about 55% are above 40 years of age. Most have fewer than 20 employees and a small number have 20 or more employees.
Besides 66306, SFOs have classified themselves under other Singapore Standard Industry Classification (SSIC) codes, such as the other codes in the 663 SSIC family, relating to fund management activities – for example, 66301 Traditional/Long-only asset/Portfolio management; and the 702 SSIC family, relating to management consultancy activities.