Mr. Lee, please tell us about the role of Singapore in the international wealth planning and family-office business, and how that has changed in the last decade?

Indeed, around 15 years ago, Singapore was not really part of the global family-office conversation. That has changed fundamentally over the past decade. Singapore’s appeal rests on qualities that matter when families make decisions for the long term: the rule of law, political stability, a transparent tax framework and access to experienced financial and professional advisers.

Singapore has deliberately positioned itself as an important neutral wealth-management hub. That Singapore’s neutrality, resilience and certainty has increasingly resonated with global families amid ongoing macroeconomic shifts and geopolitical friction, making Singapore a credible and attractive alternative to traditional wealth centers.

Singapore has become one of the world's leading financial centers. (Image: courtesy)

An alternative to Switzerland as well?

Yes, but for many families, this is importantly not an either-or decision. They may keep their core family office in Switzerland, Germany, France, or the US while establishing an additional satellite family office or structure in Asia.

«Many families that relied exclusively on a single traditional banking domicile structure started to rethink.»

When they decide to do that, Singapore is increasingly their first port of call, offering a trusted and stable strong rule of law environment, a respected and well-managed regulatory framework, and unique access to Asia's growth markets and opportunities.

Did the major structural shake-ups amongst established industry giants in recent years accelerate this trend?

Absolutely. Major industry disruptions of established institutional pillars prompted many wealthy families, particularly across Europe to re-evaluate their risk exposures and long-term asset security.

Many families that previously relied exclusively on a single traditional banking domicile structure started to rethink whether they needed a more robust, multi-jurisdictional diversification strategy to safeguard their legacy. Singapore has emerged as a premier destination to build that foundational resilience.

To quantify this momentum at DBS, the number of our trust structures increased 77% year-on-year in 2025/2026, and we now bank over SGD 1 billion in client assets within our multi-family-office VCC structure.

Leveraging on Singapore's regulatory innovations, such as the Variable Capital Company (VCC) framework, our own Multi-Family Office Foundry (MFO VCC) have been vital in creating flexible options for families that do not want to establish a standalone single family office in Singapore.

Is this simply about diversifying private wealth?

No, and that is a crucial distinction. Particularly in Asia, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate private and corporate capital. Many European entrepreneurial families are already in their third or fourth generation and manage diversified investment portfolios.

«Succession planning is too often viewed strictly as a legal or financial challenge when family dynamics are equally critical.»

In Asia, many families are still in the first or second generation and remain deeply involved in running and growing their businesses—in fact, a significant proportion of DBS private-banking clients still run operating businesses. Therefore, Singapore serves not only as a hub for managing private wealth, but also as a bridge and base for the international expansion of the family business.

With this massive intergenerational wealth transfer underway globally, including in Asia, what are the most common pitfalls you see families make during succession planning?

I would highlight three primary areas:

1. Relying on past formulas: Assuming that what worked for the founder or the first generation will automatically work for the second. The regulatory and macroeconomic environment is constantly evolving, and at a much faster pace than previously so families must prepare for these changes proactively rather than reactively so that legacies can endure the wave of changes.
2. Waiting too long: Delaying important discussions on succession until a health event, crisis, or liquidity transaction forces the issue. Succession planning is too often viewed strictly as a legal or financial challenge when family dynamics are equally critical. In some cultures, discussing mortality or succession is taboo, but starting the communication early with professional support from trusted advisers would be essential to catalyse a breakthrough.
3. Disregarding the views of the next generation: Believing that the family legacy belongs exclusively to the founder. If a legacy is intended to endure, the second, third, and fourth generations must be brought into the discussion early. Families that collectively define their shared vision for the future, and establish appropriate guardrails navigate succession with significantly higher success.

Has this reality fundamentally changed the way DBS approaches wealth and succession planning?

Fundamentally. 15 or 20 years ago, banks focused heavily on legal structures, like advising a client to set up a trust or a corporate vehicle right out of the gate. Today, we do not start with the structure; we start with the family. Every family is unique. We first analyse the family's needs and aspirations, its connections across multiple jurisdictions, and its potential risk exposures and readiness. Only then do we evaluate which legal, governance, or trust structures are truly appropriate. 

This is also why DBS fully leverages its One Bank model, seamlessly coordinating private banking, corporate and investment banking, global markets, wealth planning, and trustee expertise to ensure planning works for both the family and their various enterprises across borders. 

To examine these evolving dynamics in depth, we recently published the DBS Family Office Risk Almanac 2026. We collaborated with an independent  firm to survey and interview family offices, business founders and next-generation UHNW individuals in order to offer actionable insights into wealth transfer, risk readiness, and the impact of AI and technology.

The DBS Family Office Risk Almanac 2026. (Image: courtesy)

The next generation often has very different priorities from their parents—particularly around sustainability, technology, and digital assets. How is this shifting family wealth strategies?

Significantly. Families that deliberately give the next generation a voice are asking us to engage directly with their children to understand what matters to them. We find the next generation is broadening the scope of family wealth to include sustainability, philanthropy, private markets, technology, and digital assets. 

Cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets are a prime example. For instance, we worked with a client in his thirties who built substantial wealth through crypto trading and wanted to secure a legacy for his newborn child. DBS helped place his digital assets alongside traditional assets in a bank-backed trust arrangement—transforming crypto from a trade into a long-term, governed asset.

«The traditional dichotomy, where investing meant chasing high returns and philanthropy meant simply giving money away has dissolved.»

Through the DBS Digital Exchange (DDX)—the world’s first bank-backed platform for trading and custody of tokenized digital assets—and DBS Trustee becoming the world’s first bank-backed trust structure capable of holding cryptocurrencies, we are uniquely equipped to bridge these generational interests.

Is philanthropy evolving along similar lines?

Very much so. The traditional dichotomy, where investing meant chasing high returns and philanthropy meant simply giving money away has dissolved. Today, families are increasingly drawn to impact investing and patient capital, supporting early-stage innovations in biotech or pharmaceuticals with rigorous accountability (tracking IRR, development roadmaps, and scalability) while offering extended timelines.

Unlike in traditional philanthropy, families no longer want to just write a cheque. They want family members or corporate employees to get personally involved, contributing their own entrepreneurial expertise and operational experience in mentoring social entrepreneurs and driving venture philanthropy. It becomes a symbiotic relationship where families give back capital and guidance while learning from the organizations they support.

Insurance solutions are also part of your remit. What role do they play for ultra-wealthy families?

We do not view insurance merely as a product; we view it through the lens of risk management, which is frequently underestimated in private banking. We look holistically at cybersecurity, geographic distribution of family members, human capital, and how non-family professionals can be integrated into a family office without compromising governance and security. For ultra-high-net-worth families, this also encompasses safeguarding high-value passion assets like art, classic cars, yachts, and private jets.

When evaluating life insurance and balance-sheet protection, we collaborate closely with our corporate-banking and private-banking teams. Ultimately, ultra-wealthy entrepreneurial families cannot be served effectively by treating investment management, corporate wealth, succession, insurance, and family governance as isolated silos; they must be managed in an integrated manner.

Lee Woon Shiu is Group Head of Wealth Planning, Family Office & Insurance Solutions at DBS.