10 Sep 2025
The compliance costs incurred when setting up single-family offices (SFOs) in Singapore are prompting the ultra-rich to turn to private banks, which effectively manage their wealth on their behalf. SMU Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship (Education) and Academic Director of SMU’s Business Families Institute Kenneth Goh noted that private-banking products offering tax exemptions provide wealthy families a cost-effective alternative to establishing SFOs and could serve as an intermediate step before eventually setting one up. However, Assoc Prof Goh added that long-term platform fees of private banks may eventually exceed SFO costs, and families might face a reputational risk if their bank encounters compliance issues.
