In the opening address at the GFO Summit, which will see over 450 participants from family offices from the region, as well as partners and advisors in the sector, WMI's CEO Ms Foo Mee Har said, "Skilled talent will be the key enabler for the continued growth and development of family offices. The hunger and drive to learn and build expertise have been very evident. To serve the strong demand for capability building in the sector, WMI is gearing up to reach 5,000 enrolments into our family office programmes by 2025. We will press on in our efforts so that our learners can gain access to domain experts, changemakers, and distinguished global thought leaders."

Supporting the Growth and Development of Singapore's Family Office Talent and Network

Since 2020, WMI has had over 1,200 enrolments for family office-related programmes. In October 2021, it expanded beyond education into community building to launch the Global-Asia Family Office (GFO) Circle, with the support of EDB and MAS, to create a trusted environment for the family office ecosystem to build community, learn from each other, and access the latest thought leadership.

Since its inception, the GFO Circle has received strong support from family offices and the broader ecosystem. The GFO Circle serves the ecosystem across family principals, family office professionals, advisors and partners.

Leading partners to the family office ecosystem have come together to form the founding cohort of 14 Corporate Members, who will work with WMI on initiatives to build deeper pools of expertise in the sector as a whole. These founding Corporate Members include Bank Julius Baer & Co, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank, Dentons Rodyk, Ernst & Young, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, KPMG in Singapore, LGT Private Banking, Schroders, UBS, Withersworldwide, WongPartnership, and Zedra Trust Company (Singapore).

The Inaugural GFO Summit as a Key Initiative

The GFO Summit is organised by WMI and brings together leading family offices, advisors and thought leaders from Asia, the US, Europe and around the world, to learn from each other and address topics across investments, family office leadership and social impact.

The Summit has drawn a diverse pool of participants across family offices, private banking, wealth management, asset management, trusts, legal, tax, estate planning, philanthropy advisory and professional services. The agenda features sharing by leading family offices as well as thought leaders from around the world from sovereign wealth funds, investment managers, university endowments, social change organisations, philanthropic foundations, private banks and family office advisors.

New Initiatives to Support Capability Building

To continue building capabilities in the sector, WMI's programmes will cover a range of critical skill sets including investments and portfolio management, ESG, philanthropy, impact investing, trusts, governance, and family office leadership.

WMI will continue to partner with the industry to develop new research and tools that support purposeful wealth. For example, WMI will soon publish a Philanthropy Guide on Donor-Advised Funds, which is being co-developed by WMI and the Private Banking Industry Group.

In addition, WMI will launch a new applied thought leadership journal on family office topics, named WMI Impact to benefit the family office ecosystem in Singapore and beyond. WMI will share case studies, best practices and practical tools on in-demand topics such as investments, impact, entrepreneurship and governance.

"We have many exciting new initiatives in the pipeline to deepen the knowledge and expertise of Singapore's talent pool to support the rapidly growing family office sector. We aim to play an active role through education and community building to seed new enterprise and innovation, make social impact, and further strengthen the family office ecosystem. We warmly welcome family offices to co-create with us a platform to collaborate, share best practices and build new capabilities," added Ms Foo.

Commenting on the initiatives, Mr Lim Chow Kiat, Chairman of WMI and CEO of GIC said, "We are living through changing times, with profound uncertainties on multiple fronts. We need innovative solutions and creative capital to solve the many issues facing us. Family offices, with their higher flexibility and agility compared to institutional capital, can make a decisive contribution. I look forward to WMI's initiatives in empowering family offices with the skills, knowledge and capabilities to take bold actions towards purposeful wealth in Singapore and Asia."

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References

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