(Image Source: AI-generated image, for illustration only)
(Image Source: AI-generated image, for illustration only)At the end of July 2026, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) adjusted the relevant conditions under the fund tax incentive scheme, effective from 1 August 2026. One of the changes related to family office staffing is the adjustment of the timing arrangement for the placement of investment professionals.
Eligible new applications no longer need to complete the placement of all investment professionals in one go at the application stage, but can complete the subsequent placement before the end of the assessment period of the first year of assessment. This means that after completing the initial placement, family offices can have more time to look for and evaluate suitable investment professionals.
For families that are setting up or expanding a Singapore Single Family Office (SFO), the focus brought about by this change is not just “the recruitment period has become longer,” but that staffing planning can have more room for adjustment. However, from the perspective of actual recruitment, more flexible timing does not mean that staffing planning can be pushed further back. For core investment positions, this period of time can instead be used to more fully understand the requirements of the role, get in touch with professional talent in the market, and evaluate whether a candidate’s experience genuinely matches what the family office needs.
Staffing Timeline Adjusted
According to the latest arrangement, relevant single family offices under Section 13O need to place at least 1 qualified investment professional at the application stage, and must increase this to 2 by the end of the relevant assessment period of the first year of assessment, of which at least 1 must be a non-family member.
For relevant applications under Section 13U, the number of investment professionals goes from at least 2 at the application stage, increasing to 3 by the end of the relevant assessment period of the first year of assessment, of which at least 1 must be a non-family member.
Therefore, for a newly established family office, staffing does not need to be fully concentrated and completed at the application stage. However, the relevant requirements still have a clear completion deadline, and recruitment planning still needs to be arranged in advance.
For a family office, what matters more is how to use this period of time to more fully plan staffing needs and look for suitable candidates.
Greater Flexibility Without Compromising Recruitment Standards
The job title of an investment position does not fully reflect the professional capabilities that a family office truly needs.
For example, even among investment managers, some positions may mainly be responsible for investment research and portfolio management, while others need to participate in asset allocation and investment decisions. If a family office’s investment focus involves private equity, real estate, or other alternative investments, a candidate’s past experience participating in deal execution, due diligence, or related investment management work may also become an important consideration.
Therefore, before recruiting, it is more important to understand what responsibilities this position actually holds within the investment team, and whether the candidate’s past experience can correspond to these requirements.
For family offices that need to place non-family member investment professionals, this point is particularly worth considering in advance. The role shouldn’t exist merely to satisfy a staffing requirement, but needs to have clear responsibilities and play a corresponding role within the actual investment team.
Staffing has clear headcount requirements, but a candidate’s professional background and actual experience still need to match the requirements of the position.
Investment Talent Needs Precise Matching
A family office’s investment team is usually lean, and the scope of responsibilities of core members may also be broader than at large financial institutions. Therefore, a candidate’s job title, years of work, or previous employer alone cannot determine whether they are suitable for a particular SFO.
For example, a talent who has long been responsible for a single investment function at a large institution, and a talent who has taken on broader investment responsibilities within a lean team, may have very different experience structures. For family office positions that require greater autonomy, what a candidate has actually been involved in, and how much responsibility they held in investment decisions, is often more worth understanding than the job title itself.
On the other hand, mid-to-senior investment talent may also not actively look for public recruitment opportunities. Some candidates’ career opportunities come from industry networks, professional referrals, and targeted market outreach. Therefore, core investment positions usually need to be searched for in a targeted way around specific investment fields and experience backgrounds, rather than simply posting a job and waiting for applications.
This is also where family office recruitment differs from general corporate recruitment: the focus of talent search is not just finding someone with a relevant resume, but finding someone whose experience can genuinely correspond to the requirements of the position.
Turning Recruitment Time Into Space for Talent Selection
Recruiting mid-to-senior investment talent usually requires a certain amount of time. From defining the responsibilities of the position, to finding candidates, to understanding their actual investment experience and confirming the arrangement of the position between both parties, this needs to go through different stages.
If recruitment only begins when the deadline is approaching, the range of choice may be limited by time.
Conversely, starting the talent search early allows the family office to reach more candidates and have more sufficient time to compare candidates with different backgrounds. At the same time, it is also possible to observe the capability gaps in the existing team, and in which areas a newly joined talent can provide a complement.
Therefore, the time flexibility brought about by this policy adjustment is more suitable for expanding talent choice and improving evaluation quality, rather than merely pushing the recruitment timeline back.
SMTP Consult’s Practical Experience
SMTP Consult provides recruitment support to family offices and businesses, and holds an Employment Agency License from Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
When assisting clients with the recruitment of investment talent, we first understand the client’s investment direction, existing team, job responsibilities, and future development needs, and then determine the candidate’s required professional background and experience based on actual needs.
For mid-to-senior investment positions, the right candidate is not necessarily the one with the most impressive resume, but one whose past experience can match the family office’s actual needs, while also being able to adapt to the team’s way of working and future development.
Therefore, for families that are setting up or expanding a family office in Singapore, this policy adjustment brings not just more recruitment time, but also greater room for talent selection.
Clarifying position requirements in advance and starting the talent search early can help family offices maintain candidate standards throughout the recruitment process, and gradually build a professional team that can support long-term investment goals.