Family Offices in Singapore

A family office is a private wealth-management vehicle established by a wealthy family to manage its financial and non-financial affairs in a coordinated way. The functions typically span investment management, estate and succession planning, philanthropy, family governance, lifestyle administration, and intergenerational wealth transfer.

Family offices fall broadly into two categories:

• Single-family office (SFO). Serves the affairs of one family. It does not provide services to the public and therefore is generally not regulated as a financial institution. The SFO is the structure most prospective principals are referring to when they ask about "setting up a family office in Singapore".
• Multi-family office (MFO). Provides services to more than one family. An MFO that holds itself out as a financial adviser, fund manager, or asset manager will typically require licensing from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 or the Financial Advisers Act 2001.

Singapore has positioned itself as a leading Asia-Pacific hub for family office activity through a combination of factors: political and legal stability, a high-quality professional services sector, a robust banking system, English-language commercial life, and a series of MAS-administered tax incentives designed specifically for fund vehicles owned by ultra-high-net-worth families. As at 2026, MAS publishes regular updates on incentive uptake and refinements to the underlying frameworks.

Setting up a family office in Singapore typically involves several streams of advice:

• Corporate structuring. Choice of vehicle (private limited company, Variable Capital Company, limited partnership) and ownership structure.
• Tax advice. Application for incentive schemes and ongoing compliance.
• Regulatory advice. Whether MAS licensing is required for the activities contemplated.
• Private-client legal advice. Wills, trusts, LPAs, and intergenerational succession arrangements.
• Immigration advice. Where the principal seeks Singapore residency, including via the Global Investor Programme.

This article focuses on the legal and tax framework relevant to family office establishment. For the estate planning components, see our parent hub on wills and estate planning in Singapore.

A single-family office is a private entity — usually a Singapore private limited company — that manages the assets of a single family. It does not hold itself out as a financial services provider to third parties, does not solicit clients outside the family, and does not transact for others on a commercial basis.

A typical SFO sits alongside an investment fund vehicle that holds the family's investible assets. The SFO acts as the manager or adviser of the fund vehicle. The family's assets are held in the fund, the SFO manages them, and the family receives the economic benefit of the fund's performance.

Under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 framework administered by MAS, fund management activities generally require a Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence. SFOs typically rely on the "related corporations" exemption — managing assets only for related corporations within the family group — to operate without a CMS licence. This is not a blanket exemption: the SFO must structure itself so that it qualifies, and changes in ownership or services may take the SFO outside the exemption.

Typical SFO functions include:

• Investment management. Asset allocation, manager selection, direct investments, co-investments alongside private equity firms.
• Estate and succession planning. Coordination of wills, trusts, LPAs, and family-governance documents across multiple jurisdictions.
• Philanthropy. Establishing and operating charitable foundations or donor-advised funds.
• Family-governance support. Maintaining family constitutions, organising family councils, coordinating next-generation education.
• Concierge and administrative services. Real estate, art collections, aviation, and other lifestyle assets.

The economic question of whether a family should set up an SFO turns on scale. An SFO has fixed costs — premises, professional staff, compliance, audit. As a rough guide, families with investible assets at the higher end of the high-net-worth range typically find an SFO economically rational, although the breakeven varies with the complexity of the family's needs.

An SFO may also seek to qualify under one of the MAS-administered tax incentives, discussed below. The incentives are an important reason families establish their fund vehicles in Singapore but are not automatic and impose ongoing commitments.

The section 13O incentive — formally the Onshore Fund Tax Incentive Scheme under section 13O of the Income Tax Act 1947 — exempts qualifying income of an approved Singapore-resident fund vehicle from Singapore tax, where the fund is managed by a Singapore-based fund manager.

Section 13O is the incentive most commonly used by family offices managing moderate-scale family wealth. The fund vehicle must be a Singapore tax resident company or other approved structure; the fund manager (the SFO) must be Singapore-based, employ qualifying investment professionals, and incur a minimum level of local business spending.

Following the most recent revisions effective from January 2025, the indicative criteria for section 13O applications include:

• The fund must have a minimum fund size (Assets Under Management) at the point of application;
• The fund must maintain a minimum increase in AUM during the incentive period;
• The fund manager must employ a minimum number of investment professionals, including non-family-member professionals;
• The fund manager must incur a minimum level of annual business spending in Singapore;
• A proportion of the fund must be deployed into local market investments, including Singapore-listed equities, qualifying private equity, eligible bonds, or other categories approved by MAS;
• The principal must demonstrate substantive economic activity in Singapore.

Specific thresholds are set out in the MAS application guidelines and may change. Prospective applicants should consult the current MAS website guidance and obtain tax advice before committing to a structure. The qualifying thresholds are calibrated to encourage genuine economic activity in Singapore, not paper-only structures.

Where an SFO meets the section 13O criteria and obtains MAS approval, the fund vehicle's qualifying investment income — typically interest, dividends, and capital gains on designated investments — is exempt from Singapore income tax. The exemption is meaningful: it removes a layer of taxation at the fund level, although individual beneficiaries remain subject to tax in their personal jurisdictions according to their own residency rules.

Maintenance of section 13O status is conditional on ongoing compliance. MAS expects continued local spending, continued employment of qualifying staff, and continued deployment into the local market. Annual reporting is required, and incentive status can be withdrawn if conditions are not met.

The section 13U incentive — formerly known as the Enhanced-Tier Fund Tax Incentive Scheme — is the equivalent of section 13O for larger fund vehicles. It applies to qualifying funds, including those located outside Singapore, but requires a higher level of substantive economic activity in Singapore.

Section 13U is used by larger family offices and by fund managers operating institutional-scale vehicles. Its principal advantages are flexibility in fund domicile (the fund vehicle need not be Singapore-resident) and a higher cap on the size of qualifying funds.

The indicative criteria, as updated from January 2025, include:

• A higher minimum fund size at point of application than section 13O;
• A minimum level of business spending in Singapore that scales with fund size;
• A minimum number of investment professionals employed locally;
• Qualifying investments deployed into the Singapore market, with thresholds expressed as percentages of AUM;
• An ongoing reporting and compliance regime administered by MAS.

Family offices often progress from section 13O to section 13U as the family's wealth grows and the local economic footprint expands. The two schemes are not mutually exclusive in concept but apply to different qualifying vehicles. A single family may operate multiple fund vehicles, some under 13O and others under 13U.

Both schemes are administered by MAS. The application process is structured, with pre-application engagement encouraged. A prospective applicant typically:

1. Engages tax and legal advisers to structure the SFO and fund vehicle;
2. Prepares a business plan demonstrating substantive economic activity;
3. Engages with MAS through preliminary consultations;
4. Submits a formal application with supporting documentation;
5. Receives MAS feedback and, if approved, an incentive award letter setting out the conditions;
6. Implements the structure and complies with ongoing reporting.

The total application timeline commonly runs to several months. Prospective applicants should plan accordingly and not anticipate immediate operational status.

The 13O and 13U incentives are valuable but conditional. They reward genuine economic activity. Structures that look good on paper but lack substance — no real Singapore staff, no local spending, no domestic investment — will not qualify and may face later revocation if circumstances change.

Two further legal frameworks support the family office ecosystem in Singapore: the Eligible Securities Scheme (ESS) and the Variable Capital Company (VCC).

Eligible Securities Scheme (ESS)

The ESS is a MAS-administered framework that determines which classes of securities qualify for inclusion in funds seeking section 13O or 13U incentive treatment. The ESS provides clarity on what counts as an eligible investment when computing the "local deployment" requirements of the incentive schemes.

Qualifying securities typically include:

• Singapore-listed equities;
• Certain qualifying corporate bonds;
• Approved private equity and venture capital investments in Singapore-incorporated companies;
• Other categories as designated by MAS from time to time.

Family offices structuring their portfolios should track the current ESS classifications, since changes affect whether a given deployment counts toward the incentive threshold.

Variable Capital Company (VCC)

The VCC is a corporate structure introduced by the Variable Capital Companies Act 2018, administered by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and supervised by MAS. The VCC is designed for collective investment schemes and is now widely used by family offices.

Key VCC features:

• Variable capital — shares can be issued and redeemed without the formal capital reduction process required of a normal company;
• Umbrella structure — a single VCC can host multiple sub-funds with segregated assets and liabilities;
• Eligible for section 13O and 13U incentives, subject to the qualifying criteria;
• Lower public-disclosure obligations than a listed entity, with confidential filings of constitutional documents.

The VCC has become the structure of choice for many new Singapore family office fund vehicles. Existing fund vehicles in other forms may continue to operate, but the VCC's flexibility and dedicated regulatory regime make it attractive for new launches.

Establishing a VCC requires a licensed fund manager, an appointed custodian, an auditor, and ongoing compliance with VCC Act requirements. The fund manager may be the SFO if structured correctly to fall within the SFO licensing exemption.

Principals establishing a family office in Singapore frequently seek long-term residency for themselves and family members. The Global Investor Programme (GIP), administered by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is the principal pathway for high-net-worth investors seeking Permanent Residence (PR) on the basis of a substantive Singapore investment.

The GIP has three investment options, designed to suit different applicant profiles:

• Option A. Invest a prescribed minimum amount in a new business entity or expand an existing operation in Singapore.
• Option B. Invest a prescribed minimum amount in a GIP-select fund that channels investment into Singapore-based companies.
• Option C. Establish a Singapore family office with a prescribed minimum AUM and deploy a portion of the AUM into the Singapore market.

The exact thresholds, eligibility criteria, and deployment requirements are updated periodically by EDB. The 2023 revisions increased the AUM thresholds and tightened the local-deployment criteria, reflecting policy emphasis on substantive activity. Prospective applicants should consult the current EDB GIP guidance and obtain immigration legal advice before applying.

Option C is the option most aligned with family office activity. An applicant under Option C must:

• Establish a Singapore family office;
• Maintain a minimum level of AUM as prescribed by EDB;
• Demonstrate a track record consistent with the AUM threshold;
• Deploy a percentage of the AUM into Singapore-eligible investments;
• Employ a minimum number of investment professionals, including non-family-member professionals.

Successful applicants receive Permanent Residence status, which extends to the principal's spouse and dependent children. Permanent Residence is granted on conditions; principals must continue to meet the investment and operational requirements for the prescribed period to retain status.

The GIP, the 13O/13U incentives, and SFO structuring sit alongside one another. Many family offices combine all three: an SFO structure for operations, a 13O or 13U incentive for the fund vehicle, and GIP residency for the principals.

Setting up a family office in Singapore involves multiple streams of advice. The legal advice components include:

• Corporate structuring. Incorporation of the SFO and fund vehicle, shareholders' agreements, board governance, and intra-group services arrangements.
• Regulatory advice. Confirmation that the SFO falls within an exemption from MAS licensing, or, where required, application for a Capital Markets Services licence.
• Tax advice. Structuring the fund vehicle to qualify for section 13O or 13U, including business spending and local deployment planning.
• Estate planning. Wills, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney, and family-governance documents — see our estate planning in Singapore overview.
• Immigration advice. GIP application, Employment Pass for non-resident professionals, and dependent passes for family members.
• Cross-border advice. Coordination with advisers in the principal's home jurisdiction, particularly on succession, tax residency, and reporting obligations.

Singapore-qualified solicitors active in family office work typically operate within larger commercial firms with cross-practice teams, or in boutique private-client practices with established networks of overseas counsel. The practice areas required overlap with private wealth, trusts, corporate, tax, and regulatory law.

For families considering Singapore as a base for their family office, an initial consultation with a Singapore-qualified solicitor will help identify the relevant streams of advice, sequence the engagement, and coordinate the necessary specialists. See our find a lawyer directory or contact us to begin.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Always consult a Singapore-qualified lawyer holding a current Practising Certificate before acting. Tax and regulatory thresholds described are indicative and change from time to time; prospective applicants should verify current MAS and EDB criteria before committing to a structure.