Singapore counted more than 2,000 single family offices in January 2025, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In 2020 the figure was about 400. That five-fold rise is usually filed as a wealth migration story, and it is one. The part that tends to go unreported is that the price of admission rose roughly four times over the same stretch.
For readers weighing whether to follow the capital, the threshold matters more than the headcount. A family that would have qualified comfortably in 2021 may not qualify today.
The numbers, with the dates attached
Counts published by MAS and cited in ministerial remarks track the growth closely:
- About 400 single family offices awarded tax incentives as at 2020
- 1,400 at the end of 2023
- 1,650 by August 2024
- More than 2,000 as of January 2025
Scale is worth keeping in proportion. Family offices granted MAS tax incentives managed roughly S$90 billion as at 2021, against S$5.4 trillion managed in Singapore overall. That is under 2 percent of the total. The sector is growing quickly from a small base rather than dominating the market. MAS publishes the underlying series in its Singapore Asset Management Survey.
What Section 13O and Section 13U actually require
Two schemes carry almost all single family office activity. Both exempt qualifying fund income from Singapore tax, and both attach conditions on size, staffing and local spending.
| Condition | Section 13O | Section 13U |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum fund size | S$20 million (S$10 million at application, S$20 million by year two) | S$50 million |
| Investment professionals | Two | Three, at least one non-family |
| Minimum annual business spending | S$200,000 | S$500,000 to S$1 million, scaled to fund size |
| Scheme runs to | 31 December 2029 | 31 December 2029 |
The 13O threshold is the number that moved. It stood at S$5 million before April 2022. Figures circulating on advisory sites still quote the old S$5 million minimum, which is one reason families arrive at a first meeting with the wrong arithmetic. The current conditions are set out by MAS in its FAQs on the schemes for single family offices, and summarized by PwC Singapore.
A family that would have qualified comfortably in 2021 may not qualify today.
Rich & Richer
Why the bar went up
Raising the minimum filters for substance. A S$5 million vehicle can be run from a laptop and a mailing address. A S$20 million vehicle with two investment professionals and S$200,000 of annual local spending has to employ people, rent space and buy services in Singapore. The condition set is designed to convert registrations into economic activity, and it works as a screen against families using the structure purely as a residency or tax label.
The same logic drives the staffing rule. Requiring a non-family investment professional at the 13U tier puts at least one person in the room whose job does not depend on agreeing with the principal.
The October 2024 tightening
From 1 October 2024, every new tax incentive application for a fund vehicle managed by a family office must arrive with a screening report from a provider prescribed by MAS. Allen & Gledhill sets out the requirement in detail.
Read alongside the higher thresholds, the direction is consistent. Singapore is still recruiting, and it is being more careful about who it recruits. Families should budget for a longer runway between decision and approval than the 2021 experience suggested.
What this means if you are below the threshold
Most families with international assets do not clear S$20 million in a dedicated fund vehicle, and for them a single family office in Singapore is the wrong tool. The realistic options are a multi-family office, an external asset manager, or an outsourced arrangement that buys the same governance without the fixed cost base. The structural tradeoffs between running your own and joining someone else’s are laid out plainly in this overview of family office structures.
The mistake worth avoiding is treating the Singapore number as a target. Two thousand offices exist because two thousand families had a reason for one. The structure follows the balance sheet, not the other way round.
The wider pull toward Asia
The family office count is one line in a longer trend that has shown up repeatedly in our coverage: watch groups moving inventory and retail into Southeast Asia, charter operators repositioning fleets for Asian demand, and galleries programming Singapore as a primary market. Capital arrives first and the service economy follows. Other jurisdictions are running the same playbook, as we found looking at Mauritius and its residency-linked structures.
Frequently asked questions
How many family offices are in Singapore?
More than 2,000 single family offices as of January 2025, per MAS. The count was about 400 in 2020, 1,400 at end-2023 and 1,650 by August 2024.
What is a single family office?
An entity set up to manage the investments and affairs of one family. It is distinct from a multi-family office, which serves several unrelated families and spreads its cost base across them.
What is the minimum to qualify for Section 13O?
S$20 million in the fund, with S$10 million at the point of application and S$20 million by the end of the second year, two investment professionals and S$200,000 of annual local business spending.
Do the schemes have an end date?
Both Section 13O and Section 13U currently run to 31 December 2029.
Is a Singapore family office worth it below S$20 million?
Not as a single family office under these schemes, because the fund would not qualify. Families below the threshold generally use a multi-family office or an external asset manager instead.
Sources
- Monetary Authority of Singapore, Wealth Management
- MAS, FAQs on the Schemes for Single Family Offices
- MAS, Singapore Asset Management Survey
- PwC Singapore, Updates on Singapore fund tax incentives for single family offices
- Allen & Gledhill, MAS screening report requirement
- Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore