[Singapore] The Wealth Management Institute (WMI) has introduced two new initiatives to further deepen engagement of family offices in Singapore at the annual Global-Asia Family Office (GFO) Circle Summit, held on 11 and 12 September 2023 at The St Regis Singapore. Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Mr Heng Swee Keat was the Guest of Honour for the Single Family Office Forum on the second day. The initiatives come on the back of a twofold surge in demand in WMI’s family-office related programmes and forums.
The first initiative will be the pioneering ‘Family Office Discovery Series’, developed and organised with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Series aims to orientate newly arrived family offices to Singapore and support closer integration into Singapore’s dynamic ecosystem, fostering a sense of belonging and purposeful engagement within the community. It will be systematically offered to recent and new family offices arriving into Singapore.
Through the Series, family offices will gain access to an expansive network and exposure to a spectrum of opportunities, from building a strong peer network to exploring co-investment opportunities.
Ms Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI, says, “WMI is continuing its strong momentum in building capabilities and community in the family office sector. Over the past year, total participation in WMI’s family office programmes and forums have doubled to over 3,000 since launch. Additionally, more than 200 professionals have successfully earned their Certified Family Office Advisor credentials by completing a rigorous curriculum.”
“Many family offices we have spoken to have expressed a strong desire to strengthen their bonds here and access the wealth of opportunities Singapore has to offer. The Family Office Discovery Series will support the next stage of integrating family offices into Singapore, to fully tap the capital, knowledge, networks and expertise they bring. Through creating a systematic introduction to various facets of the innovation and social impact community, we will enable family offices to fast-track their engagement, allowing businesses based in Singapore to benefit from mutual technological, innovation and capability transfers,” Ms Foo adds.
The second initiative announced was the upcoming launch of a new Family Office Risk Management & Controls programme. This programme is targeted to help strengthen capabilities in the family office ecosystem to safeguard against financial crime and uphold compliance requirements and standards relating to onboarding and due diligence, cross border jurisdiction and tax, capital and exchange control matters.
Mr Lim Chow Kiat, Chairman of WMI and CEO of GIC, says, “For two decades, WMI has been equipping the wealth management profession with future-ready capabilities. The profession plays a critical role in upholding Singapore’s reputation as a transparent and trusted international financial centre. With the rapid growth of the family office sector, we will continue to create programmes that enhance its capabilities.”
These two new launches build on WMI’s flagship initiatives in the family office sector. In 2021, WMI established the Global-Asia Family Office Circle to create a trusted environment for fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the sector. In March 2023, WMI launched the Impact Philanthropy Partnership (IPP) in collaboration with the Private Banking Industry Group (PBIG) and with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The IPP aims to build greater awareness of and momentum for philanthropy and impact capital among family offices.
For more information about the Family Office Discovery Series and other initiatives by WMI, please visit www.wmi.edu.sg.
About WMI
Established in 2003, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) is committed to building capabilities for investing in a better tomorrow. Founded by GIC and Temasek, our vision is to be Asia’s Centre of Excellence for wealth and asset management education and research. WMI is appointed as Singapore’s Lead Training Provider for Private Banking by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) and supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
WMI also helms the Global-Asia Family Office Circle, a network platform that fosters a trusted environment to build capabilities and community in the family office sector. The GFO Circle is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
WMI provides a comprehensive suite of practice-based certification and diploma programmes and collaborates with leading universities for master’s qualifications. With over 20,000 annual enrolments, WMI provides training in asset management, wealth management, compliance, risk management, family office, as well as the development of the next generation across more than 100 programmes.
About WMI’s Family Office Discovery Series
The Family Office Discovery Series, developed by WMI with support from EDB and MAS, aims to deepen integration among family offices in Singapore. It aims to help family offices:
- Understand the local investment and social impact landscape so that they can home in on areas of interest and fast track engagement.
- Become active members of our venture community and be connected to promising research and tech innovations by Singapore’s start-up communities and research institutes, with opportunities to support scaling of promising new ideas.
- Build new networks in Singapore and find like-minded, trusted partners for co-investments.
Through the Series, family principals and single family offices are given exposure to a spectrum of opportunities as well as peer sharing from other family offices. Individual ‘Discovery Sessions’ will be held on a regular basis throughout the year, starting with two session during October 2023.
About WMI’s Family Office Risk Management and Controls Programme
The Family Office Risk Management and Controls Programme is an upcoming programme that aims to build capabilities in the family office ecosystem, to maintain and safeguard Singapore’s position as an international financial centre with high standards of transparency and compliance risk management and controls. The programme will enable participants to understand the regulatory environment for family offices, examine key legal and regulatory risks and identify solutions to mitigate these risks.
This programme is relevant for parties within the family office ecosystem including financial institutions servicing family offices, wealth managers, law firms, trust companies as well as family office professionals, advisors and partners.
To register interest in the Family Office Risk Management and Controls Programme, visit: www.wmi.edu.sg/formcp.
Press contacts:
Rachel Ooi Rongrawee
Head of Marketing, WMI
rachelooi@wmi.edu.sg
Brian San
Executive Director, WMI
briansan@wmi.edu.sg
