Why do guides disagree on Singapore's family-office minimum?
Because the minimum changed three times in three years, and the measuring stick changed with it. Guides quoting S$10 million describe the April 2022 regime (minimum fund size at application, rising to S$20 million within two years). Guides quoting S$20 million describe the mid-2023 tightening. The current regime — conditions effective 1 January 2025 — sets S$5 million measured in Designated Investments at every financial year-end, a narrower base that excludes cash deposits and own-use property, with funds approved under earlier tests required to comply by 2027. A smaller headline number on a stricter base is not a looser rule. The authoritative text is the MAS family-office FAQ; we re-verify this page against it on the date shown.
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The three regimes, dated
April 2022: MAS introduces minimum fund sizes for the 13O incentive — S$10 million at application, rising to S$20 million within two years; 13U at S$50 million. Most of the stale guides online were written in this window.
July 2023: conditions tightened again; many secondary sources updated to a S$20 million figure and then never updated again.
From 1 January 2025: the test moves to Designated Investments — S$5 million (13O) and S$50 million (13U) held in DI at every financial year-end, not merely at approval. Cash deposits and property held for own use no longer count. Existing funds have until 2027 to comply.
How to read any number you find elsewhere
Ask two questions of the source: what date does the page carry, and what base is the number measured on — net asset value or Designated Investments? A page that answers neither is quoting from memory. The primary source is the MAS FAQ on the schemes for family offices; when this page and MAS ever disagree, MAS is right and our correction goes in the public log.