Family offices in Singapore balloon to 1,650, as sector continues to grow

Sector's ecosystem has added diversity, and contributed to economy, society: Minister

- Angela Tan

Singapore's wealth management sector continues to flourish, with the number of single family offices (SFOS) set up by the super rich ballooning to 1,650 at the end of August, fuelling optimism that the growth of SFOs in 2024 will surpass that in 2023.

From just 400 SFOs awarded tax incentives by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2020, the number of family offices grew to 1,400 at the end of 2023. An SFO manages assets belonging to only one family.

"In the first eight months this year, we added another 250 to reach 1,650 single family offices. Growth has continued to be robust, and we expect the number of new single family offices for 2024 to surpass the 300 that we added in 2023," said Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance.

Speaking at the Global-Asia Family Office Summit on Sept 16, Mr Chee, who is also the deputy chairman of MAS, said the AsiaPacific region is expected to grow by 4.9 per cent in 2025, faster than any other part of the world.

The Republic's financial sector had a good showing in 2023, with a 10 per cent growth in assets under management (AUM) to $5.41 trillion as at Dec 31, 2023.

Growth in AUM in 2023 was driven by an increase in valuation and net inflows across traditional and alternative assets, as well as in wealth management and other activities, Mr Chee said.