Trust is earned through time
COPFA celebrated a successful inaugural in-person launch event in Singapore. The event highlighted COPFA’s dedication to fostering connections and collaborations with international industry bodies to reinforce industry-wide partnerships, and it was met with a positive reception from the audience.
Congratulations once again and many thanks to CHINESE OVERSEAS PRIVATE FUNDS ASSOCIATION 中资海外私募基金协会, David Lau and Howard Ching for the kind invitation!
It was a pleasure to share and discuss the key points of fund operations, including regulatory and structural key points, with the world’s largest PE Institutions on the panel (Apollo, Blackstone, CITIC Capital) at the Asian Private Equity Forum held in Singapore.
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A family office is an organization created to manage the wealth and investments of a high net worth family or individual. It provides a range of services such as investment management, tax planning, philanthropy, and estate planning. Singapore is an attractive location to set up a family office due to its stable economy, favorable tax policies, and business-friendly environment.
The following is a step-by-step guide to setting up a family office in Singapore:
Before setting up a family office, it is important to determine the objectives of the office. This includes identifying the family’s current and future financial needs, goals, and priorities. This will help in determining the type of services required from the family office.
The next step is to choose the right structure for the family office. The most common structures are a single-family office, which is created for a single family, or a multi-family office, which serves multiple families. Other options include a private trust company or a corporate entity. Each structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to choose the one that best fits the family’s objectives.
Family offices in Singapore are regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The regulatory requirements will vary depending on the structure of the family office. For example, a single-family office may not be required to be licensed by the MAS, while a multi-family office will require a capital market services license. It is important to seek professional advice to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements.
Once the structure has been determined and regulatory requirements have been met, the family office will require the services of various professionals such as lawyers, administrators, accountants, and investment managers. It is important to choose service providers who are experienced in working with family offices and have a good understanding of the family’s objectives.
Once all the steps above have been completed, the family office can be implemented. This include establishing policies and procedures, hiring staff, and setting up systems for investment management, accounting, and reporting. It is important to ensure that the family office is structured in a way that is flexible and can adapt to changing circumstances.
In conclusion, setting up a family office in Singapore can be a complex process, but with proper planning and guidance, it can be accomplished efficiently. It is important to define the family’s objectives, choose the right structure, determine the regulatory requirements, choose the right service providers, and implement the family office. Seeking professional advice is essential to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and the successful implementation of the family office.
Thank you for attending and meeting our team John Hebert Chris Daly Liam McHugh at the Sparkplus event in Singapore this evening. We had a great night and great conversations. A big appreciation to the efforts of the organiser and our joint sponsors for the event.
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Pleased to have moderated the 1st Panel Discussion to kick off the 1st day of the Asia Investment Conference Shanghai Summit 2019 last week. Our well-balanced mix of GP and LP Distinguished Guests of Panelists brought many perspectives to the floor and shared experience and their expertise with the Audiences on the topic “Quest for Returns: Private Equity in China”.
Thank you for the efforts from the organisers IJK Capital Partners and UBI for the excellent event and turnout. Thank you for dropping by our CSC Global Financial Markets booth and meeting our APAC team Judith Siegmund Mirella Nielsen Koldo Krutxaga Jessie Torti 刘思佳 Lucas Wang. The panel discussions at the conference was excellent!
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VCC Launched 15 Jan 2020: Singapore launches new fund framework as Game Changer to boost Asset Management Industry
The Launch
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) launched the Variable Capital Companies (VCC) framework on 15th Jan 2020. The VCC is a new corporate structure launched used for a wide range of investment funds and provides fund managers greater operational flexibility and cost savings.ACRA – Variable Capital Companies Act
14th January also marked the launch of ACRA’s online application platform, for more information, please refer to https://www.acra.gov.sg/business-entities/variable-capital-companies. The Variable Capital Company (VCC) is constituted under the Variable Capital Companies Act which took effect on 14 Jan 2020. The VCC is aimed to complement the existing suite of investment fund structures available in Singapore. The VCC Act and subsidiary legislation is administered by ACRA. All VCCs must be managed by a Permissible Fund Manager [1]. The anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism obligations of VCCs will come under the purview of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Some Key Features of VCC as a Corporate Structure:
● A VCC has a variable capital structure that provides flexibility in the issuance and redemption of its shares. It can also pay dividends out of capital, which gives fund managers flexibility to meet dividend payment obligations.[1] Generally, a VCC will have to be managed by a fund manager which is a licensed fund management company (i.e. a holder of a capital markets services licence for fund management under section 86 of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289)), a registered fund management company (i.e. a corporation exempted from holding a capital markets services licence under paragraph 5(1)(i) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations) or a person exempted under the Section 99(1)(a), (b), (c), or (d) of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) from the requirement to hold a capital markets services licence to carry on business in fund management (i.e. a bank licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19), a merchant bank approved under the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186), a finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108), or a company or cooperative society licensed under the Insurance Act (Cap. 142)).
[2] An open-ended fund allows investors to redeem their investments at their discretion, while a closed-end fund does not permit investors to do so. Closed-end funds also have a fixed number of shares and do not allow new subscriptions after the offering period is over, while open-ended funds are open to new subscriptions by new investors at any time.
Pilot and Grants
A total of 18 fund managers participated in a VCC Pilot Programme that was initiated by MAS and ACRA in September last year. All of these fund managers have today incorporated or re-domiciled a total of 20 investment funds as VCCs. These investment funds comprised of venture capital, private equity, hedge fund and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, demonstrating the viability of the VCC framework across diverse use cases. The list of fund managers that participated in the VCC Pilot Programme is set out in the Annex on MAS’ website.
THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday launched a new variable capital companies (VCC) grant scheme to help fund managers with costs when incorporating or registering a VCC. MAS will co-fund up to 70 per cent of eligible expenses paid to Singapore-based service providers. The grant is capped at S$150,000 for each application, with a maximum of three VCCs per fund manager. The new grant scheme will be available for up to three years, funded by the Financial Sector Development Fund established by MAS in 1999 which looks to encourage industry adoption of the freshly launched VCC framework in Singapore.MAS launches new VCC grant scheme for fund managers
“The Game-Changer for Singapore’s Fund Management Industry”
Singapore Based Requirements
Directors Requirement
* An
Authorised scheme are schemes such as the CIS that is constituted in Singapore
and authorised by MAS or any schemes as defined by MAS
*There are currently out of scope scenarios for the VCC adoption, such as fund managers exempted from regulations (such as non-regulated real estate managers or have already been granted incentive schemes on exemptions)
*At least One Director of the VCC must be a Director of the Fund Manager or must be a Qualified Representative
* Directors of VCCs must be fit and proper based on the guidelines provided in the regulations. Some areas to be looked at include the Director’s past conduct, application history as a director of financial institution, similar VCC entities, adverse information on due-diligence, compliance and AML perspective for the assessment consideration.
Foreign Fund Re-domiciliation
Please observe MAS’s proposal on requirements for assessment.
Capital and Members reflection/ requirement
Accounting Standards
Tax
Should you consider VCC?
Singapore has positioned herself as a developed asset management centre with a conducive environment for asset managers and asset owners to locate and hub their investment activities.
With the trend of onshoring and consolidation in views for establishing economic substance, onshoring in Singapore on the fund manager level; incorporating the VCC in the fund structure allows the funds to benefit from the extensive number of DTAs signed with Singapore as a jurisdiction as well as tax incentives under the available schemes.
Given its flexibility on capital structure, suitable to be tailormade to different investment strategies, the VCC will provide an alternative even for Fund structures onshoring to Singapore or already onshore in Singapore.
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CSC Global is pleased to have co-sponsored the Fund Administration Networking Event 2019 with Amethyst Partners organised by the Singapore Fund Administration Association. Beautiful iconic skyline of Singapore as backdrop to our event. Thank you very much for the excellent turnout, it was pleased to be connected with the attendees. More photos to come.
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