The strong growth in the number, as well as the professionalization of family offices in Singapore, will trigger a corresponding demand for local talent with diverse skillsets: from investments to wealth planning, philanthropy, governance, and family office operations. Equipping family office principals, family office professionals, advisors, and partners with the knowledge and expertise that are specific to the needs of family offices will be critical.
In the opening address at the GFO Summit, which will see over 450 participants from family offices in the region, as well as partners and advisors in the sector, WMI’s CEO Ms. Foo Mee Har said, “Skilled talent will be the key enabler for the continued growth and development of family offices. The hunger and drive to learn and build expertise have been very evident. To serve the strong demand for capability building in the sector, WMI is gearing up to reach 5,000 enrolments into our family office programs by 2025. We will press on in our efforts so that our learners can gain access to domain experts, changemakers, and distinguished global thought leaders.”
Supporting the Growth and Development of Singapore’s Family Office Talent and Network
Since 2020, WMI has had over 1,200 enrolments for family office-related programs. In October 2021, it expanded beyond education into community building to launch the Global-Asia Family Office (GFO) Circle, with the support of EDB and MAS, to create a trusted environment for the family office ecosystem to build community, learn from each other, and access the latest thought leadership.
Since its inception, the GFO Circle has received strong support from family offices and the broader ecosystem. The GFO Circle serves the ecosystem across family principals, family office professionals, advisors, and partners.
Leading partners to the family office ecosystem have come together to form the founding cohort of 14 Corporate Members, who will work with WMI on initiatives to build deeper pools of expertise in the sector as a whole. These founding Corporate Members include Bank Julius Baer & Co, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Dentons Rodyk, Ernst & Young, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, KPMG in Singapore, LGT Private Banking, Schroders, UBS, Withersworldwide, WongPartnership, and Zedra Trust Company (Singapore).
The Inaugural GFO Summit as a Key Initiative
The GFO Summit is organized by WMI and brings together leading family offices, advisors, and thought leaders from Asia, the US, Europe, and around the world, to learn from each other and address topics across investments, family office leadership, and social impact.
The Summit has drawn a diverse pool of participants across family offices, private banking, wealth management, asset management, trusts, legal, tax, estate planning, philanthropy advisory, and professional services. The agenda features sharing by leading family offices as well as thought leaders from around the world from sovereign wealth funds, investment managers, university endowments, social change organizations, philanthropic foundations, private banks, and family office advisors.
New Initiatives to Support Capability Building
To continue building capabilities in the sector, WMI’s programs will cover a range of critical skill sets including investments and portfolio management, ESG, philanthropy, impact investing, trusts, governance, and family office leadership. WMI will continue to partner with the industry to develop new research and tools that support purposeful wealth. For example, WMI will soon publish a Philanthropy Guide on Donor-Advised Funds, which is being co-developed by WMI and the Private Banking Industry Group.
In addition, WMI will launch a new applied thought leadership journal on family office topics, named WMI Impact to benefit the family office ecosystem in Singapore and beyond. WMI will share case studies, best practices, and practical tools on in-demand topics such as investments, impact, entrepreneurship, and governance.
“We have many exciting new initiatives in the pipeline to deepen the knowledge and expertise of Singapore’s talent pool to support the rapidly growing family office sector. We aim to play an active role through education and community building to seed new enterprises and innovations, make a social impact, and further strengthen the family office ecosystem. We warmly welcome family offices to co-create with us a platform to collaborate, share best practices and build new capabilities,” added Foo.
Commenting on the initiatives, Lim Chow Kiat, Chairman of WMI and CEO of GIC said, “We are living through changing times, with profound uncertainties on multiple fronts. We need innovative solutions and creative capital to solve the many issues facing us. Family offices, with their higher flexibility and agility compared to institutional capital, can make a decisive contribution. I look forward to WMI’s initiatives in empowering family offices with the skills, knowledge, and capabilities to take bold actions towards purposeful wealth in Singapore and Asia.”
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 space of the family office.
WMI provides a comprehensive suite of practice-based certification and diploma programs and collaborates with leading universities for master’s qualifications. With over 18,000 annual enrolments, WMI provides training in asset management, wealth management, compliance, risk management, family office, and family business, as well as the development of the next generation across more than 100 programs.
About the Private Banking Industry Group
The Private Banking Industry Group comprises senior industry leaders and representatives from the private banking industry. It was re-constituted from the Private Banking Advisory Group in 2011, with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore to further strengthen the competency and market conduct standards of the private banking industry in Singapore.
The Private Banking Industry Group is currently co-chaired by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and UBS AG. The Private Banking Industry Group Executive Committee comprises the Association of Banks Singapore (ABS) and 14 banks.
