Singapore Asset Management Survey 2023: S$5.4 trillion and a steadily building VCC

The headline: S$5.4 trillion, the drawdown recovered

Singapore's total assets under management rose 10% to S$5.4 trillion (about US$4.1 trillion) in 2023, more than recovering the ground lost in the 2022 market drawdown and edging past the previous 2021 peak. The recovery tracked a broadly rising global market — worldwide AUM grew around 12% and Asia-Pacific around 8% — but the Singapore number also reflects net inflows of roughly S$193 billion, positive though still short of the 2021 and 2022 inflow years. The survey drew 1,447 respondents across banks, capital markets services licensees, financial advisers, insurers and exempt entities.

Traditional strategies grew about 7% and alternatives about 8%, so the year was a broad recovery rather than a single-sector story.

Where the money comes from — and where it goes

Singapore's role as a regional gateway is unchanged: 77% of AUM is sourced from outside Singapore, and 89% of total AUM is invested outside the country. The split shows a centre that gathers regional and global capital and deploys it across — and well beyond — Asia:

The VCC is past 1,000 and still building

The structural story in the 2023 survey is the steady accumulation of the Variable Capital Company. By 31 December 2023, 1,029 VCCs had been incorporated or re-domiciled in Singapore — including 18 that re-domiciled in from offshore — holding 2,158 sub-funds and managed by 565 regulated fund management companies. Sub-funds outnumber VCCs roughly two to one, the early signature of managers running umbrella structures rather than incorporating a fresh vehicle per strategy.

The usage map reads exactly as the structure was designed for — closed-ended and family capital first:

Private equity and venture capital lead at 41%, with EAMs and multi-family offices a clear second at 22%. See the full map of VCC fund types.

Alternatives and the sector split

Alternative AUM grew about 8% in 2023, with the gains spread more evenly across sectors than the headline alternatives number suggests:

Private equity and venture capital again did most of the work in absolute terms, while only direct real estate slipped as higher financing costs weighed on property — the strain that would deepen in 2024.

The rest of the picture

• Retail funds. Authorised and Recognised Collective Investment Schemes offered in Singapore reached S$146 billion in aggregate, up about 15% — split roughly S$77 billion authorised and S$69 billion recognised.
• ESG. Monies managed with an ESG overlay made up 51% of total AUM, with 284 managers offering ESG strategies.
• Manager count. The number of licensed and registered fund management companies rose from 1,194 to 1,250, with continued interest from private equity and hedge fund managers establishing a Singapore presence to reach the region.

What it means for managers

The 2023 survey is the moment the VCC stops looking experimental. Past a thousand vehicles, with sub-funds running ahead of incorporations and PE/VC plus family capital dominating usage, the structure is now the mainstream answer for managers domiciling in Singapore — not the option that needs justifying. For anyone weighing it, the live questions are the practical ones: tax incentive eligibility, the right manager arrangement, and whether to launch standalone or as an umbrella.