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ANLIAN GROUP

Case study · C2

HK Family Office: Relocating a 13O Structure to Singapore Within 90 Days

Disclaimer

This case study is anonymized. Identifying details have been changed and the engagement described may combine multiple Anlian Group engagements with similar features. Outcomes are illustrative; individual situations vary.

Client profile

Industry
Single Family Office
Origin
Greater China
Engagement period
2024
Size
AUM in the S$30M-S$70M range; multi-generational principals

The situation

The client was a multi-generational family with a Hong Kong-based investment vehicle that had run for over a decade. The principals decided to relocate the primary structure to Singapore for the Section 13O fund tax incentive scheme, with two driving reasons: their younger-generation principal was completing studies and intended to live in Singapore, and the family wanted to consolidate the investment vehicle in a jurisdiction with a longer-term framework certainty. The constraint: a major family milestone event was scheduled 90 days from the date of engagement. The principals wanted the new Singapore structure operational and the MAS application submitted before the event so the younger-generation principal could be appointed at the event.

What we did

  1. Step 1

    Pre-incorporation structuring within the first two weeks

    We finalised the Singapore Pte Ltd structure for the family office entity, the share class arrangement to accommodate the multi-generational ownership, and the constitution to reflect the family's governance preferences. ACRA filing completed within the first two weeks. The fund vehicle and the family office (manager) entity were structured separately from day one to keep the 13O eligibility clean.

  2. Step 2

    Local investment professional sourced and onboarded by week 5

    The 13O scheme requires at least one qualifying investment professional employed by the family office. We worked with the family's preferred candidate (an investment manager with prior Singapore-based experience) on the work pass application alongside the family office's employer registration. The work pass approval and the local hire onboarding completed by the fifth week.

  3. Step 3

    Corporate banking introduction in parallel

    Family office banking applications can take eight to twelve weeks at a major Singapore bank when ownership is overseas-based. We introduced the family to a Singapore private banking team at the engagement start (week 1), worked with them on the source-of-funds documentation in weeks 2-6, and had operational accounts in place by week 8.

  4. Step 4

    MAS 13O application submission by week 11

    With the entity, the local IP, the local investment plan, and the banking in place, we prepared and submitted the MAS 13O application. The application packet documented the AUM, the qualifying investment professional, the proposed local investment deployment, the business spending plan, and source-of-funds for the principals' wealth.

Outcome

The MAS 13O application was submitted within the 90-day window, ahead of the family milestone event. The younger-generation principal was formally appointed at the event with the Singapore structure visibly in place. Final approval from MAS came through in approximately three additional months, which was within the published expected processing window for well-prepared applications. The family deployed AUM into the qualifying local investment categories within the post-approval window. Local business spending and the investment professional's engagement met the scheme conditions throughout the first reporting period.

What this case illustrates

Three patterns from Singapore family office relocation work. First, the 90-day window is realistic when parallel-tracked. The single-track approach (incorporate, then hire, then bank, then file MAS) takes six to eight months sequentially. Parallel-tracking shaves this to about ninety days for entity-plus-application, with MAS final approval following the published timeline. Second, the local investment professional hire is typically the longest critical-path item. Identifying a candidate who fits both the family's investment style and MAS's qualifying-IP definition takes weeks; pre-existing relationships with the right candidates saves the most time. Third, the corporate banking introduction quality matters more than its timeline. A poorly-prepared banking application stretches account opening into months and sometimes triggers diligence on the family's wealth that surfaces later in the MAS review. Anlian Group works with families to align the banking application narrative with the source-of-funds story they will present to MAS.

Could this be your situation?

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