Singapore VCC & fund regulation: what changed, and when

2026 — market & commentary

June 2026 — VCC adoption mid-2026 update

Live VCCs past 1,400 with roughly 600 MAS-regulated managers, new incorporations holding at 25–35 per month. The growth is in sub-funds and private-market strategies; pure single-investor wrappers are slowing under the post-2025 substance bar. Where the count sits in mid-2026 →

June 2026 — AML/CFT expectations after the S$3bn case

Two and a half years on from August 2023, source-of-wealth scrutiny, beneficial-ownership documentation and EFI oversight expectations on VCC managers have hardened. Directors own the AML obligation — not the EFI. What MAS now expects to see →

June 2026 — Tokenised VCC sub-funds (Project Guardian)

MAS's Project Guardian has matured from pilot to production for tokenised funds. Money-market and short-duration fixed-income tokenisation is live; private-market tokenisation is still pilots. What 2026 actually looks like →

June 2026 — Private credit's VCC moment

Asia private-credit AUM tracking past US$120bn. The VCC sub-fund — with 13U on the Singapore-end income and 90+ treaty access — has become the default structure for direct-lending and credit strategies. Why managers are picking it →

June 2026 — Hong Kong OFC vs Singapore VCC scorecard

Hong Kong's OFC grant (up to HK$1m) is still live, the VCC grant closed 15 January 2025. Singapore still leads 5–7× on adoption stock, but the gap on quarterly flows is narrowing. Where the two regimes actually sit →

2025

16 July 2025 — Singapore Asset Management Survey 2024

MAS's 2024 survey put total AUM at S$6.07 trillion, up 12%, with 1,200 VCCs and 2,695 sub-funds managed by 628 regulated FMCs — the year the VCC reads as the default fund structure. Alternatives led, and private-credit investments rose 21%. What the numbers mean for managers →

26 June 2025 — MAS Circular IID 04/2025: governance & management of VCCs

After a 2024 thematic review of roughly 1,200 VCCs, MAS set supervisory expectations on independent custody, substantive fund management (no asset-parking conduits), licensing of directors who do regulated work, and AML/CFT ownership. Read the full breakdown →

15 January 2025 — VCC Grant Scheme closed

The MAS VCC Grant Scheme stopped accepting new applications. It had co-funded up to 70% of incorporation costs (capped S$150k) originally, then 30% (capped S$30k) under its 2023–2025 extension. What cost support exists now →

1 January 2025 — 13O/13U economic-substance updates

Section 13O carries a hard S$5 million designated-investments minimum tested at each financial year-end; Section 13U sits at S$50 million, with tiered local business spending of S$200k–S$500k. The current 13O/13U rules →

2024

1 August 2024 — RFMC regime repealed

MAS repealed the Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) regime; existing RFMCs transitioned to Accredited/Institutional Licensed Fund Management Company (A/I LFMC) status. New managers now register as an A/I LFMC, Retail LFMC or VCFM. What changed and why →

August 2024 — Singapore Asset Management Survey 2023

MAS's 2023 survey put total AUM at S$5.4 trillion, recovering the 2022 drawdown, with 1,029 VCCs and 2,158 sub-funds managed by 565 regulated FMCs — the VCC past a thousand vehicles. The read for fund managers →

2020

14 January 2020 — VCC framework launched

The Variable Capital Companies Act 2018 came into force, giving Singapore an onshore corporate fund vehicle with sub-fund ring-fencing, redemptions at net asset value and dividends out of capital. The VCC structure explained →