Parliamentary Replies
 Published Date: 09 January 2023

Written reply to Parliamentary Question on outflow of talent from the financial sector to Single Family Offices

Date: For Parliament Sitting on 9 January 2023

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Yip Hon Weng, MP, Yio Chu Kang SMC

Question

To ask the Prime Minister with the increase in Singapore-based Single Family Offices (a) how many financial professionals have left financial institutions to join these family offices; (b) what are the common reasons for the job switch; (c) how does the outflow of talent impact our local financial institutions and in turn, our global economy hub status; and (d) whether the Government plans to take measures to encourage the retention of top financial talents or grow the pool of financial professionals in Singapore.

Answer by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Minister in charge of MAS:
1. Data on the number of individuals who leave financial institutions (FIs) to join Single Family Offices (SFOs) is not available. But MAS estimates that the number of investment professionals employed at SFOs is about 1% of the total number of individuals employed by FIs in 2022. There is no indication of a sizeable outflow of talent from the financial sector to SFOs or adverse impact on the financial sector’s hub status. The growth of the SFO industry has also been complementary to Singapore’s value proposition as a global wealth management hub.

2. MAS has been working actively with the financial industry over the years to build a strong pipeline of professionals who can take on leadership roles as well as specialised jobs in the financial sector. The various measures that have been put in place and the outcomes achieved have been elaborated on several occasions in this House.See PQ 3454 , PQ 1570 , PQ 643 , PQ  21 . 

3. In the specific area of SFOs, MAS and the Institute of Banking & Finance (IBF) launched two skills maps in 2021 that set out the competencies that employees of SFOs and external service providers, including private banks, tax advisory firms and legal firms advising the SFOs, should acquire. These skills maps are used by training providers such as the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) and the SMU Business Families Institute to develop relevant training programmes, with co-funding of training fees provided by schemes administered by MAS. 

4. MAS and IBF will continue to work with FIs and tripartite partners to develop and grow the local talent pool to meet the financial sector’s needs, including that of SFOs. 

 

***