DBS has launched its own multi-family office to leverage Singapore’s variable capital company rules and attract more ultra-high net worth wealth.
DBS has launched the «DBS Multi Family Office Foundry VCC» (DBS MFO), according to a statement, which leverages Singapore’s variable capital company (VCC) structure.
This marks «the world’s first bank-backed multi-family office», DBS said, which will act as an alternative option for affluent families seeking to manage their wealth in Singapore without having to set up their own single family office.
Singapore’s VCC structure is designed specifically for family offices in the city-state with both operational and tax benefits.
MFO Offering
DBS MFO is set up as an umbrella VCC with multiple underlying sub-funds. Clients will be offered a range of customizable investment strategies and can choose to have their sub-fund managed by DBS's discretionary portfolio management team, a family member or an investment adviser of their choice.
In addition to DBS’s capabilities, wealthy families opting for the multi-family office structure rather than a single family office structure also benefit from a lower barrier of entry, such as minimum fund size, as well as cost savings through shared resources and expenses.
Client Feedback
According to DBS, it is currently in talks with more than 20 clients and prospects across Asia after previewing its multi-family office offering a few weeks ago.
«Client interest in succession planning and wealth preservation has intensified and, in fact, we recorded a substantial increase in the number of new requests in 1Q23. This will continue to fuel the growth of our family office business,» said Lee Woon Shiu, group head of wealth planning, family office & insurance solutions, DBS Bank.
In the last two years, DBS has more than doubled its assets under management from family offices and it currently banks more than one-third of the 700 single family offices established in Singapore.
