Registration or Licensing of Family Offices in Singapore
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether the Government will mandate registration or licensing for all Family Offices (FOs) and what data exists regarding their typical investment areas. Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about regulatory requirements for Single Family Offices (SFOs) and sought details on where these entities allocate their capital. Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam replied that Multi-Family Offices are regulated under the Securities and Futures Act, but there are no plans to license SFOs that manage single-family assets. He stated that while the Monetary Authority of Singapore lacks comprehensive data, FOs generally maintain globally diversified portfolios including equities, fixed income, and venture capital. The Minister also highlighted growing interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) sectors, local startups, and philanthropic initiatives as more SFOs establish in Singapore.
Transcript
2 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Prime Minister with regard to the increase in the number of Family Offices (FO) being set up in Singapore (a) whether the Government will consider requiring the registration or licensing for all FOs, including Single Family Offices; and (b) whether the Government has data on the areas that FOs in Singapore typically invest in.
Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam (for the Prime Minister): Family offices can be either multi-family offices (MFOs) that manage third party assets of two or more families, or single family offices (SFOs) that manage assets belonging to only one family. MFOs are subject to licensing and regulation under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), which provides safeguards to protect the interests of the different families served by the MFO. As SFOs manage the monies of a single family, they are not subject to licensing and regulation under the SFA. There are no plans to review the current licensing and regulatory approach for SFOs, which is also similar to that in other major jurisdictions.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) does not have comprehensive data on the areas that family offices in Singapore invest in. Investments typically span a globally diversified portfolio of assets including commodities, equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, insurance, structured products, private equity and venture capital.
There is also increasing interest from SFOs in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) -related investments, private equity and venture capital investments which supports local and regional startups, and philanthropic and impact investments in Singapore and the region. Local investments by SFOs in Singapore could also increase as more SFOs set up here.1