Private Trust Company (PTC) setup — Step-by-step walkthrough
A private trust company (PTC) is a Singapore company incorporated for the sole purpose of acting as trustee of one or more family trusts. A PTC lets a high-net-worth family retain control over trustee decisions while ring-fencing trust assets, and it is the structure most wealthy families use when a professional corporate trustee feels too remote.
Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
What a private trust company is and why families use one
A private trust company is an ordinary private company limited by shares, incorporated under the Companies Act 1967, whose constitution restricts it to acting as trustee of specific family trusts rather than offering trust services to the public. Because it is not carrying on trust business for the public, it is not required to hold a trust business licence under the Trust Companies Act 2005, provided the conditions in the Trust Companies (Exemption) Regulations are met.
The appeal is control. With an institutional trustee, investment and distribution decisions sit with a third party. With a PTC, the board, often comprising family members alongside independent professionals, makes those decisions, while the trust assets remain legally separate from the family’s personal estate. Section 157A(1) of the Companies Act 1967 vests the management of the company in its directors, which is precisely why board composition is the central design question in any PTC.
A PTC is typically paired with a purpose trust or a holding company that owns its shares, so that no single individual owns the trustee outright. This avoids the PTC itself falling into anyone’s personal estate on death.
Who a PTC is suitable for
PTCs suit families with substantial and growing wealth, usually S$30 million or more in trust assets, operating businesses that the family wants to keep within the family, or assets that need active, informed stewardship such as private equity, real estate portfolios or art. Families who want the next generation involved in governance, rather than passive beneficiaries of an external trustee, are natural candidates.
For families whose needs are simpler, a standard trust with a licensed corporate trustee is usually cheaper and lighter to run. The PTC route earns its higher cost when control, confidentiality and bespoke governance genuinely matter.
For a fuller treatment, read our companion guide: Singapore trust structures for HNW families — Step-by-step walkthrough.
Eligibility and the MAS exemption framework
To rely on the licensing exemption, a PTC must satisfy several conditions: it may act as trustee only for trusts whose settlors and beneficiaries are connected, it must not solicit trust business from the public, and its trust administration must be carried out by a licensed trust company. The Monetary Authority of Singapore administers this framework; its guidance on exempt trust companies is published at the MAS website.
Engaging a licensed trust company to provide administration is not optional window-dressing; it is the practical condition that keeps the exemption intact. That administrator typically also performs anti-money-laundering due diligence on settlors and beneficiaries.
Cost and timeline — the numbers
Expect incorporation of the PTC itself to take 1 to 2 weeks once know-your-client checks clear. Setting up the surrounding structure, the purpose trust that holds the PTC shares and the underlying family trust, typically adds 4 to 8 weeks of drafting and negotiation.
Indicative costs in 2026: PTC incorporation and constitution from S$3,500 to S$8,000; the purpose trust and family trust deeds from S$15,000 to S$40,000 depending on complexity; licensed trust administration from S$24,000 to S$60,000 per year; and an annual corporate secretarial and accounting retainer from S$3,600. A resident director and registered office are required throughout, as for any Singapore company.
Related reading: What 2026 Singapore Salary Benchmarks Mean for Your Work Pass Strategy: EP, S Pass and the Market Reality.
Step-by-step: how to set up a private trust company
Step 1 — Map the family, the assets and the control objectives with your adviser. Step 2 — Appoint a licensed trust company as administrator and complete due diligence. Step 3 — Incorporate the PTC under the Companies Act 1967 with a restricted-objects constitution and at least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore, as required by section 145. Step 4 — Establish the purpose trust to hold the PTC shares. Step 5 — Settle the family trust and appoint the PTC as trustee. Step 6 — Open bank and custody accounts and transfer assets. Step 7 — Adopt board governance: meeting cadence, conflicts policy and a distribution framework.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore sets out the tax treatment of trusts and the conditions for exemptions; see IRAS for current positions before assets are settled.
Common mistakes and gotchas
The most frequent error is letting one family member own the PTC shares personally, which defeats the estate-planning purpose and exposes the trustee to that person’s creditors and probate. A second is underestimating ongoing administration: a PTC is a live company with filing, board and AML obligations, not a one-off set-up. A third is appointing an all-family board with no independent voice, which weakens the trust’s defensibility if ever challenged. Finally, families sometimes settle assets before tax residency and source questions are resolved, creating avoidable friction later. The Law Society of Singapore maintains a directory of qualified practitioners at lawsoc.org.sg.
Related guides
Succession often spans residency status as well as structure. Families weighing a PTC frequently read alongside our material on trust structures and on personal tax exposure for internationally mobile members.
A worked example: structuring a PTC for a three-generation family
Consider a family worth S$80 million across an operating business, a property portfolio and listed investments. The patriarch wants the next two generations involved in stewardship but not in personal ownership of the trustee. A typical solution incorporates a PTC whose shares are held by a Singapore purpose trust, appoints a board of two family members and one independent professional, and settles a discretionary family trust with the PTC as trustee. The operating company and properties are transferred into the trust over 12 to 18 months, with valuations and stamp duty addressed at each step. The licensed administrator runs board papers, keeps statutory records and performs annual reviews. The result: control stays with the family board, assets sit outside any individual’s estate, and succession passes by trust deed rather than by will.
Ongoing governance and compliance obligations
A PTC is a live Singapore company. It must hold board meetings, keep minutes and registers, file an annual return with ACRA, and maintain accounting records for at least five years under section 199 of the Companies Act 1967. Because it relies on the licensing exemption, the engagement of a licensed trust company for administration must be continuous, not occasional. Anti-money-laundering due diligence on settlors, beneficiaries and significant contributors is refreshed periodically. A conflicts-of-interest policy, an investment framework and a distribution policy give the board defensible decision-making. Families that treat the PTC as a set-and-forget structure usually find governance gaps surface precisely when a succession event or a dispute arises.
How the PTC fits the wider wealth plan
The PTC rarely stands alone. It typically pairs with a will that deals with assets outside the trust, CPF nominations, lasting powers of attorney, and, for internationally mobile families, coordinated foreign wills. Tax residency of beneficiaries, source of trust income and any foreign reporting, such as common reporting standard obligations, all interact with the structure. A PTC can also hold the shares of a Singapore family office, aligning investment management with trustee oversight. The design question is always the same: who should control decisions, who should benefit, and how should both survive a death or incapacity without disruption.
Tax treatment and reporting to keep in view
Singapore does not levy estate duty, and trusts can be tax-efficient, but the treatment is not automatic. Income of a trust may be taxed in the hands of the trustee, the beneficiary or under specific exemptions, and the conditions for foreign-trust and locally-administered-trust exemptions must be examined before assets are settled. A PTC that holds an operating business should consider the corporate-tax position of that business separately from the trust. Internationally connected families also weigh Common Reporting Standard obligations, since trust structures are reportable in many cases. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore publishes the trust-taxation rules and exemption conditions; confirming the position in advance avoids surprises once assets are inside the structure. A short pre-settlement tax memo, prepared with the family’s adviser, is money well spent.
FAQs
Does a private trust company need a MAS licence?
Not if it meets the exemption conditions: it acts only for connected family trusts, does not solicit the public, and uses a licensed trust company for administration. Outside those conditions, a trust business licence under the Trust Companies Act 2005 is required.
How much does a PTC cost to run each year?
Budget from roughly S$30,000 to S$70,000 a year once licensed trust administration, corporate secretarial, accounting and director services are combined. Investment complexity drives the upper end.
Can family members sit on the PTC board?
Yes, and that is the point of the structure. Best practice pairs family directors with at least one independent professional director to strengthen governance and defensibility.
How long does the whole structure take to establish?
The PTC incorporates in 1 to 2 weeks; the surrounding trusts usually take a further 4 to 8 weeks to draft, negotiate and execute.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.