Family Office in Singapore: Setting One Up Under the New MAS Licensing and Tax Rules

Short answer: A family office in Singapore is usually a Singapore-incorporated management company plus a fund vehicle. The management company notifies MAS under the single family office licensing exemption within 14 days of starting. The fund vehicle can then apply for the Section 13O or 13U tax incentive, which needs S$20 million or S$50 million in designated investments.

Setting up a family office in Singapore now involves two separate MAS regimes, and both changed in 2026: a revised licensing exemption for single family offices took effect on 15 June 2026, and new tax incentive conditions apply to single family office funds approved on or after 1 August 2026. This guide sets out what applies today and how the principal’s residence options fit around it.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

What does a family office in Singapore usually look like?

Most single family offices use two layers: a management company (the SFO) that employs the investment team, and one or more fund vehicles holding the family’s assets under an investment management agreement.

Under MAS’s licensing exemption, the SFO itself must be incorporated in Singapore. The fund vehicle depends on the tax scheme. For Section 13O the fund must be a Singapore-incorporated company that is tax resident in Singapore; Section 13OA extends the same scheme to limited partnerships registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 2008. Section 13U accommodates standalone funds, master-feeder structures and structures that hold investments through special purpose vehicles. Families wanting several ring-fenced pools sometimes use a variable capital company, explained on our sister site variablecapitalcompaniesact.com.

Managing money for unrelated families is a different licensing position; see single family office vs multi-family office in Singapore.

Does a single family office need an MAS licence?

No, provided it meets the conditions of the SFO licensing exemption in paragraph 5(1)(ba) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations. It must notify MAS instead of applying for a capital markets services licence.

According to MAS’s FAQs (updated 31 July 2026), the exempt SFO:

• may manage money only for family members (including family trusts and wholly owned family corporations), charities funded exclusively by the family, and key employees, whose assets must not exceed 10% of the SFO’s assets under management;
• must be funded only by the family, with non-family key employees allowed a non-controlling stake of up to 10%;
• must be incorporated in Singapore; and
• must, together with each investment vehicle it manages, open and maintain a bank account with an MAS-licensed bank (a foreign-incorporated vehicle may instead bank with a regulated bank in a jurisdiction meeting FATF standards).

A new SFO files the Notice of Commencement of Business within 14 days of starting operations, once its bank accounts are open, then an annual return within four months of each financial year end, with no extensions. SFOs already operating before 15 June 2026 have a transitional period until 15 June 2027; our article on the 15 June 2027 SFO transition deadline covers what existing offices must do. The licensing exemption has no minimum fund size. The asset thresholds below belong to the tax schemes only.

What are the Section 13O and 13U requirements for a new family office?

For SFO funds whose awards are approved on or after 1 August 2026, MAS Circular FDD Cir 05/2026, summarised on the MAS fund tax schemes page, sets the conditions below.

A qualifying investment professional is a portfolio manager, research analyst or trader who is a Singapore tax resident, earns more than S$3,500 a month and spends more than half of their time on fund management. If the second (or third) professional is not hired by the end of the first basis period, the award is revoked back to its start date. The family’s investments in its own operating businesses cannot count towards the minimum fund size. For a side-by-side comparison, see Section 13O vs 13U compared.

How much must the family office spend in Singapore each year?

Local spending is now tiered by the fund’s designated investments at each financial year end, and part of the higher tiers can be met through local donations and blended finance grants.

Local business spending means operating expenses, such as salaries and fund management fees, paid to parties in Singapore. Donations must go to Singapore registered charities, exempt charities or Institutions of Public Character. Grants to blended finance instruments distributed by licensed Singapore financial institutions count at twice their value.

What is the capital deployment requirement?

The fund must invest at least the lower of 10% of its designated investments or S$10 million in Singapore-linked investments. This is first tested at the end of the first full financial year after the award starts, then every year after.

Qualifying investments are those listed on MAS-approved exchanges, those distributed by MAS-licensed financial institutions in Singapore (excluding equities listed outside approved exchanges), and non-listed Singapore-incorporated companies with operating businesses and substantive presence in Singapore. Equities on approved exchanges, funds investing substantially in Singapore-listed equities, blended finance instruments and non-listed Singapore operating companies count at twice their value. In MAS’s example, an award starting on 1 August 2026 with a 31 December year end must comply by 31 December 2027.

What changed from 1 January 2025, and what about existing awards?

From 1 January 2025, fund size has been measured in designated investments, Section 13OA opened the 13O scheme to Singapore limited partnerships, and the rule that a 13O fund must be a newly set-up company was removed, so an existing company with investments can apply.

Older awards follow revised annual conditions from the year of assessment whose basis period ends on or after 1 August 2026, depending on when the original application was made (before 18 April 2022, from 18 April 2022, or from 5 July 2023). Check your letter of award against Annex 6B or 7B of the circular.

How do you set up a family office in Singapore, step by step?

The order matters, because the MAS notification needs bank details and the tax application needs the investment team in place.

1. Agree the family’s mandate, the assets to be transferred and the source-of-wealth evidence. Structuring and licensing questions should go to a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor or tax adviser.
2. Incorporate the SFO and the fund vehicle through ACRA’s Bizfile. EDB notes registration typically takes 1 to 3 working days; we incorporate within 1 business day of receiving complete documents, subject to compliance checks.
3. Appoint officers: ACRA requires at least one director meeting the local residency rules, and a company secretary within six months of registration.
4. Open bank accounts for the SFO and each fund vehicle with an MAS-licensed bank, plus the private banking account needed for the tax scheme.
5. File the Notice of Commencement of Business with MAS within 14 days of starting operations.
6. Hire the first qualifying investment professional (two for 13U) and appoint a Singapore-based fund administrator.
7. Apply to MAS for the 13O, 13OA or 13U award. EDB’s SFO setup guide says applicants can expect an outcome from MAS within 3 months.
8. After the award, complete the professional headcount by the end of the first basis period, meet capital deployment by the end of the first full year, and file the SFO’s annual return within four months of each year end.

Can the family principal relocate on a ONE Pass or the GIP?

Possibly, but neither replaces the MAS conditions. The Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass (ONE Pass) and the Global Investor Programme (GIP) govern the principal’s right to live and work here, not the tax scheme’s headcount.

MOM’s main ONE Pass route needs a fixed monthly salary of at least S$30,000 for the 12 consecutive months before applying, from an established company (market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or annual revenue of at least US$200 million), or the same salary from an established Singapore employer. The pass is renewable for five years at a time. See our ONE Pass guide; our associated employment agency’s site, singaporeemploymentagency.com, covers work passes for the team.

The GIP grants permanent residence. Under EDB’s GIP factsheet (updated 5 May 2025), the Family Office Principal profile needs at least five years of track record and net investible assets of at least S$200 million. Option C requires an SFO with at least S$200 million under management, of which at least S$50 million is transferred into Singapore and deployed in EDB-specified investments within 12 months of final approval. The application fee is S$20,000 and EDB estimates about 12 months’ processing. Compare the options in GIP Options A, B and C.

What does a family office cost to run?

Running costs are set mostly by the scheme conditions, not incorporation fees. Legal, fund administration and audit fees vary with complexity, so we do not quote ranges for them.

Our free tools can help with compliance deadlines once the companies are running.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum asset size to set up a single family office?

Not for the licensing exemption. The S$20 million (13O or 13OA) and S$50 million (13U) minimums apply only if the fund wants the tax incentive.

Can a family member be an investment professional?

Yes. For new awards, the first professional may be a family member, but by the end of the first basis period at least one qualifying professional must not be a family member.

How long does MAS take to decide a 13O or 13U application?

EDB’s setup guide says applicants can expect an outcome from MAS within 3 months. Incomplete files, especially on source of wealth, take longer.

Can a service provider file the MAS notification for us?

Yes, using its own Corppass account, but a family member who provided the assets and a director of the SFO must sign the declaration that accompanies it.

What happens if the fund misses a condition in one year?

It loses the exemption for that year of assessment and can regain it later if all conditions are met again. Missing the first-year headcount is different: the award is revoked from the start.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.