Singapore wealth management market data: assets under management, family offices, VCCs and HNW populations

Singapore's wealth management market can be described with four sets of public data: assets under management (AUM) and their sources from the MAS Asset Management Survey, the number of single family offices receiving tax incentives, the number of Variable Capital Companies (VCCs), and growth in private banking and insurance. The size of global and Asia-Pacific HNW populations comes from industry reports such as those by Capgemini and UBS. This page gives each figure with its basis, date and source, and explains what each number does and does not tell you. All data is historical and not indicative of the future. Figures are as of 23 October 2026; the page's updated date governs.

Summary table

Asset management: scale, sources and destinations

MAS surveys the asset management industry every year. Respondents include banks, capital markets services licensees, financial advisers, insurers and exempt entities; direct investments by government-related entities are excluded, and adjustments are made for double counting (1,346 institutions took part in 2025).

Trend in scale (read from charts in the MAS report, S$ billion):

The fall in 2022 shows that AUM moves with market valuations and does not only go up. MAS attributes 2025's growth to two components: "strong market performance and net inflows" (MAS wording). The MAS report text gives only "net inflows up 29% year on year"; this site does not quote an absolute net inflow figure, so refer to the MAS original if you need it.

Sources and destinations (read from charts in the MAS report): by source, Asia-Pacific (excluding Singapore) about 39%, Singapore about 24%, North America about 15%, Europe about 12% and other regions about 10%; by destination, Asia-Pacific (excluding Singapore) about 40%, North America about 20%, Europe and other regions about 14% each, and Singapore about 12%. Discretionary assets make up more than half of total AUM. Alternative assets AUM grew only 0.4% in 2025, which MAS explains as the result of one large manager scaling down; excluding it, growth was 9%.

Family offices and VCCs

Both MAS replies give only "more than 2,000" and disclose neither the exact number nor the change between 2024 and 2025, so they cannot be used to conclude that the number was flat or grew.

In a speech on 29 September 2025, the MAS Deputy Chairman noted that most new applications for SFO fund tax incentives were approved within three months, and that MAS was reviewing the relevant parameters to streamline the framework. MAS subsequently issued FDD Cir 05/2026 on 31 July 2026, with revised conditions applying to new applications from 1 August 2026. Separately, from 15 June 2026 SFOs fall under the new class exemption framework and must notify MAS and file annual returns.

On VCCs, as of 31 December 2025, 1,406 VCCs had been incorporated in or redomiciled to Singapore, covering 3,443 sub-funds and managed by more than half of the licensed fund management companies (MAS).

These figures show how widely the regimes are used. They say nothing about family offices' assets under management, investment performance or the compliance standing of any particular family office. MAS's 2026 reply also did not disclose the total assets under management of SFOs.

Private banking and insurance

• Private banking: client assets grew 19% in 2024 (MAS, 29 September 2025). This site has not found a recent public MAS figure for the absolute size of private banking client assets or the number of clients, so none is quoted.
• Life insurance: Singapore life insurance weighted new business premiums were S$6.53 billion in 2025, up 11.3% year on year, with investment-linked products accounting for 44% (LIA, 11 February 2026).
• Large policies: on 24 February 2026, a Singapore life insurer announced it had issued a single life insurance policy with a sum assured of US$300 million, and said it had issued 25 single policies with sums assured above US$50 million in the previous 12 months (Manulife Singapore press release, a unilateral company disclosure).

The company press release above shows only that demand for large protection exists; it is not an assessment of any institution or product. The sum assured is the amount paid when an event occurs and is not the same as premium or asset size.

HNW populations: global, Asia-Pacific and Singapore

Capgemini's HNWI definition excludes the primary residence, collectibles and consumer durables; UBS's wealth per adult includes all assets, property among them, less liabilities. The two bases differ and cannot be added together or compared directly. The UBS 2026 press release does not give the number of US-dollar millionaires in Singapore, and this site does not quote second-hand figures. The legal definition of high net worth and industry tiers are covered in how high net worth is defined.

Policy and compliance timeline

Pitfalls in reading market data

1. AUM is not Singaporeans' wealth: 76% of the money comes from outside Singapore; AUM reflects "money managed in Singapore", not the assets of local residents.
2. SFO counts include only those with tax incentives: family offices that have not applied for incentives are not counted, and the number reflects neither size nor quality.
3. Growth includes market valuation: AUM growth comes from both net inflows and rising asset prices, and falls when markets fall (as in 2022).
4. Currency conversion can inflate or shrink figures: MAS converts to US dollars at the 31 December 2025 rate of USD/SGD 1.2841, and US-dollar values change at rates on other dates.
5. Industry reports and regulatory statistics use different bases: Capgemini and UBS figures are research estimates whose methods are adjusted year by year.
6. Company press releases are unilateral disclosures: figures such as the number of large policies and sums assured are not compiled on a common basis by any regulator.
7. Historical data is not indicative of the future: any trend can change with policy, market or compliance events.

Why these figures matter for family decisions, and their limits, is discussed in why Singapore. If you would like this interpreted for your own situation, you can register your enquiry through the contact details on this site.