How to strengthen Singapore’s position as a hub for family offices

Amid growing competition from jurisdictions around the world, what can Singapore do to cement its position as a family office hub?

In brief

• With its status as a global business hub and a wealth management center with high livability, Singapore is a favorable location for single family offices. 
• Singapore Budget 2025 and new requirements for tax incentives coming into effect this year may further support the family office ecosystem’s growth. 
• Continual refinement of policies is crucial to help cement the nation's position as a leading global family office hub.

The global landscape of family offices is experiencing unprecedented growth. According to World Ultra Wealth Report, in 2023, the global ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) population increased by 7.6% to a high of 426,330 individuals. This surge is driven by increasing wealth accumulation among high-net-worth and UHNW individuals.

This proliferation coincides with a significant intergenerational transfer of wealth. According to Wealth-X, US$18.3 trillion of collective wealth globally will be transferred by 2030, of which around US$2.5 trillion will be handed over in Asia. As older generations pass on their assets, younger family members are increasingly turning to family offices to manage their inherited wealth efficiently and sustainably.

Governments across the Middle East and Asia — such as Hong Kong, Dubai, Malaysia and Indonesia — are capitalizing on this trend by introducing tax incentive schemes to attract family offices to their jurisdictions.

Singapore has been promoting its status as a family office hub since 2018. Both a global business hub and a wealth management center with high livability, Singapore is an attractive location for wealthy individuals to set up single family offices. From just 400 single family offices awarded tax incentives by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2020, this number grew fivefold by the end of 2024.

Evolving measures to welcome new family offices

Singapore continues to fine-tune its measures to remain attractive to quality family offices from around the world. One such initiative was the introduction of third-party screening reports as a requirement for tax incentive applications. This reduces the time required by the MAS to conduct such screening internally, giving it more time to focus on other aspects of the application while ensuring high standards by appointing screening service providers to run independent checks.

At the same time, the authorities introduced new revisions to tax incentive schemes for licensed fund managers and single family offices to facilitate administration of these schemes. These include the change from using net asset value previously to using the value of designated investments to compute the minimum asset under management for funds receiving tax incentives. The change gives family offices more flexibility to fund the investments.

Single family offices can also expect greater efficiency when applying for tax incentives with the introduction of a web-based portal that makes it easier for tax advisors to submit applications and annual declarations on behalf of the family offices. It also allows for the tracking of the application status and relevant communications, and new applications can be submitted directly without requiring a preliminary round of approval. 

Opportunities to anchor a strategic advantage

With Singapore Budget 2025 to be announced next week and looking at the new requirements for tax incentives coming into effect in 2025, there may be opportunities for Singapore to further support growth of the family office ecosystem. This could help cement the country as a leading global hub for family offices.

For a start, Singapore can consider including insurance products in the definition of designated investments for the single family office tax exemption schemes. Insurance products currently do not qualify as designated investments, which limits their use in family office structures presently.