Singapore VCC insights

Jersey Family Office or Singapore: Where to Run the Office, Where to Hold the Trust

By VCC Editorial Team · Published 26 October 2026

Short answer: A Jersey family office registers with Jersey’s regulator only if it carries on a regulated or Schedule 2 activity as a business, and most Jersey companies pay 0% company tax. A Singapore family office must be Singapore-incorporated, notify the Monetary Authority of Singapore and use a licensed bank. Many families hold the trust in Jersey and run the office in Singapore.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. For matters needing legal advice, we work with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms.

A family advised from London is often shown a Jersey family office as the natural partner to a Jersey trust, while its bankers and next generation are increasingly in Asia. This analysis compares Jersey and Singapore as places to run, staff and tax the office itself, not the trust or the fund vehicle. All sources were checked on 26 October 2026; every Jersey point comes from the JFSC, the Government of Jersey or jerseylaw.je.

Does a Jersey family office need to register with the JFSC?

Not automatically. Registration depends on what each entity in the family office does, and whether it does it “as a business”.

Jersey regulates in two layers. Registration under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 covers investment, trust company and fund services business. Separately, anti-money laundering supervision applies to the activities in Schedule 2 to the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999, recast on 30 January 2023 to mirror the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) definitions, with supervision under the Proceeds of Crime (Supervisory Bodies) (Jersey) Law 2008.

The JFSC’s FAQs on private trust companies and family offices are direct: a family office “will only be in scope and required to register with the JFSC if they are undertaking an activity or operation that is a Schedule 2 activity and are doing so ‘as a business'”, assessed for “each entity comprising the family office”. For trustees, the JFSC applies a three-part test (trustee of an express trust, acting as a business, serving a third party), and a legal person set up to provide trustee services is treated as acting as a business unless shown otherwise.

Three consequences follow:

• A family office employee appointed trustee of a family trust is not acting “as a business”, because the salary is paid for the employment.
• A private trust company (PTC) serving only specific trusts, not dealing with the public, administered by a JFSC-regulated trust company business and notified to the JFSC need not register under the 1998 Law, but must now register as a Schedule 2 business.
• Family members acting unpaid as trustees of their own family’s trust fall under the Proceeds of Crime (Duties of Non-Professional Trustees) (Jersey) Order 2016 instead of registration.

Annex B of the JFSC’s Jersey Private Fund Guide (effective 6 August 2025) adds that arrangements between persons with a “family connection” will not be treated as a Jersey Private Fund, provided the arrangement is not a collective investment fund, is administered by a JFSC-registered trust company or fund services business, and is disclosed in the consent application under the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958. Our comparison of a Jersey limited partnership and a Singapore VCC covers the fund-vehicle side.

How does Singapore regulate a single family office from 15 June 2026?

Through a class exemption from fund management licensing: a qualifying SFO notifies the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), banks locally and files an annual return.

MAS described the revised framework, effective 15 June 2026, as “structure-agnostic”. Under MAS’s FAQs on the Licensing Exemption Framework for Single Family Offices (issued 12 June 2026), the conditions in paragraph 5(1)(ba) of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations, made under the Securities and Futures Act 2001, are that the SFO:

• manages money only for family members (including family trusts and wholly owned family corporations), family-funded charities and key employees, whose assets may not exceed 10% of assets under management;
• is funded exclusively by the family, with key employees allowed a non-controlling stake of up to 10%, and may be held “via a trust, foundation or any other legal structure”;
• is incorporated in Singapore; and
• together with each fund vehicle, maintains an account with a MAS-licensed bank. A foreign-incorporated fund vehicle may instead bank with a regulated bank in a jurisdiction whose anti-money laundering rules are consistent with FATF standards.

A new SFO files a Notice of Commencement of Business within 14 days of starting operations, and the annual return is due within four months of the financial year end, with no extensions. MAS will “generally not grant case-by-case exemptions” to SFOs outside the conditions. The design differs: Jersey asks whether each entity is in business with third parties; Singapore applies one notified exemption to a Singapore company.

Jersey family office or Singapore: how do tax and substance compare?

Jersey taxes most companies at 0% but imposes a statutory substance test on resident companies with relevant activities; Singapore taxes the office company at 17% but can exempt qualifying fund vehicles under sections 13O, 13OA and 13U.

The Government of Jersey states that “the standard rate of company tax in Jersey is 0%”, with 10% for certain financial services companies, 20% for utilities and Jersey property income, and a sliding scale for large retailers. From accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, in-scope companies of multinational groups pay an effective 15% Multinational Corporate Income Tax; the Government says over 95% of Jersey companies are unaffected.

The Taxation (Companies – Economic Substance) (Jersey) Law 2019 lists nine relevant activities in Article 3, including fund management business, headquarters business and holding company business. A resident company carrying one on must, under Article 5(2), be directed and managed in Jersey, have adequate employees, expenditure and physical assets there, and carry out its core income-generating activities in Jersey. Article 5(3) translates “directed and managed” into board meetings in Jersey at adequate frequency with a quorum physically present, strategic decisions minuted there, and minutes and records kept in Jersey. A company with no gross income from the activity is outside the test (Article 5(8)).

Two definitions matter. “Fund management business” is tied to persons who must hold a permit or registration under Jersey’s funds and financial services laws; on our reading, a company managing only its own family’s portfolio is not obviously within it, but Jersey counsel should confirm. A “holding company” must “not carry on any commercial activity”, so a mixed-function family company may fall outside that category.

In Singapore, the corporate income tax rate is 17% (IRAS), and a company is tax resident when its “control and management is exercised in Singapore”. For SFO funds, MAS sets S$20 million in designated investments and 2 qualifying investment professionals (at least 1 non-family) for section 13O/13OA, S$50 million and 3 professionals for section 13U, tiered local spending from S$200,000, a capital deployment requirement and a private banking account with a MAS-licensed financial institution. Our notes on minimum assets under management and the SFO fund banking account condition cover those conditions in depth.

Where does each hub come out across the factors principals weigh?

The table uses official sources only; where no figure is published, none is given.

Factor	Jersey	Singapore
Regulation of the office	No automatic registration; JFSC registration if a Schedule 2 activity is carried on as a business, or if the 1998 Law requires registration; PTCs register as Schedule 2 businesses	Class exemption under paragraph 5(1)(ba); notification to MAS within 14 days; annual return within four months of year end
Corporate form of the office	Any entity, assessed entity by entity	Must be incorporated in Singapore; may be held via a trust, foundation or other structure
Tax on the office company	0% standard rate; 10% for certain financial services companies; 15% Multinational Corporate Income Tax for in-scope groups	17% corporate income tax
Tax on the investment vehicle	Usually 0% standard rate for a Jersey company; Jersey property income at 20%	Exemption for qualifying funds under sections 13O, 13OA or 13U, subject to MAS award conditions
Substance	Statutory test in Article 5 of the 2019 Law for resident companies with relevant activities	Scheme conditions: investment professionals, local spending, capital deployment
Residence for the principal	High Value Residency; minimum tax of £250,000 a year; UK immigration clearance also needed	Work passes for staff and principals employed by the office; the Economic Development Board’s Global Investor Programme route to permanent residence for investors
Banking	No family-office banking condition published by the JFSC	MAS-licensed bank account for the SFO and its fund vehicles; private banking account for 13O and 13U SFO funds
Time zone	UK time; board meetings fall in the evening for Asia-based family members	Asian business hours, alongside Asian private banks and portfolio companies
Main cost drivers	Jersey directors and staff to meet the substance test; administration by a regulated trust company business for a PTC or family pooling vehicle	Investment professionals and local spending tiers for the tax scheme; office premises and compliance filings

What residence route comes with each hub for the family principal?

Jersey offers a discretionary High Value Residency route with a minimum tax contribution; Singapore ties residence to employment by the office or to investment under its Global Investor Programme.

The Government of Jersey grants “entitled” residential status to high net worth individuals whose applications offer a social or economic benefit. Holders pay 20% on the first £1.25 million of worldwide income and 1% above that (Jersey property income stays at 20%), and applicants from 14 July 2023 commit to a minimum annual tax contribution of £250,000. They may buy a house valued above £3.5 million or an apartment above £1.75 million. The programme “is not a citizenship by investment scheme”, and approved applicants also need UK immigration clearance.

In Singapore, residence follows the office. The investment professionals that sections 13O and 13U require must be Singapore tax residents throughout the incentive period, and foreign hires generally need an employment pass; see our guide to hiring the investment professionals 13O and 13U require. Our sister site Singapore Employment Agency handles pass and Global Investor Programme applications.

When should the trust sit in Jersey and the office in Singapore?

When the family values Jersey’s trust law but wants decisions, bankers and investment staff in Asia. MAS expressly allows the SFO to be held through a trust.

Jersey’s trust statute offers firewalls, broad reserved powers and unlimited duration, compared in our Singapore vs Jersey trust analysis. A typical split structure has a Jersey trust, with a Jersey PTC or professional trustee, holding a Singapore-incorporated SFO company and its fund vehicles. Points to design for:

• Singapore requires funding to originate exclusively from the family (and key employees up to 10%), so trust assets should be traceable to family sources.
• A Jersey PTC must register as a Schedule 2 business and be administered by a JFSC-regulated trust company business.
• A Jersey holding company whose board in practice meets and decides in Singapore risks being tax resident in Singapore under the control and management test, while failing Jersey’s Article 5(3) board test if it is Jersey-resident with relevant income.
• The SFO licensing condition lets a foreign fund vehicle bank outside Singapore with a regulated bank in an FATF-consistent jurisdiction, but the 13O and 13U SFO fund condition requires a private banking account with a MAS-licensed financial institution. A Jersey-banked vehicle may satisfy the first and not the second.

How should a family choose between Jersey and Singapore for the office?

Map people and decisions first; the legal answer usually follows from where the investment committee actually sits.

1. List every entity (trustee, PTC, holding company, management company, fund vehicles) and what each does.
2. For each Jersey entity, apply the JFSC “as a business” test and the 1998 Law registration triggers.
3. For each Jersey-resident company, identify any Article 3 relevant activity and whether boards and records will genuinely be in Jersey.
4. For a Singapore office, check each paragraph 5(1)(ba) condition and diarise the notification and annual return.
5. Decide whether a fund vehicle will seek a 13O, 13OA or 13U award, and budget for the professionals and spending tier.
6. Obtain Jersey and Singapore legal and tax advice on the combined structure before transferring assets.

For a wider view across eleven hubs, see our family office location scorecard.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Jersey family office regulated by the JFSC?

Only if it carries on a Schedule 2 activity as a business, or carries on investment, trust company or fund services business requiring registration under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998. The JFSC states that family offices are not automatically in scope and that each entity is assessed separately.

Can a Jersey company act as the single family office under Singapore’s exemption?

No. MAS’s FAQs require the SFO to be incorporated in Singapore. A Jersey trust or company may own it, provided funding originates exclusively from the family and permitted key employees.

Does a Jersey private trust company still need anything from the JFSC?

Yes. It can be exempt from trust company business registration if it meets the specific-trust conditions and is notified to the JFSC, but it must register as a Schedule 2 business and be administered by a JFSC-regulated trust company business.

Can a Jersey-banked fund vehicle qualify for Singapore’s 13O or 13U schemes?

For an SFO fund, MAS requires a private banking account with a MAS-licensed financial institution. A Jersey account would not by itself meet that condition, even though the SFO licensing exemption accepts it for a foreign fund vehicle.

Sources

• JFSC, Schedule 2 Business: Private Trust Companies and Family Offices FAQs
• Taxation (Companies – Economic Substance) (Jersey) Law 2019
• Government of Jersey, High value residency
• MAS, FAQs on Licensing Exemption Framework for Single Family Offices
• MAS, Fund Tax Schemes for Family Offices

Raffles Corporate Services helps families running a trust offshore and an office in Singapore with SFO company incorporation, MAS notification, VCC set-up and ongoing compliance. Email hello@rafflescorporateservices.com or Call/SMS/WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or visit Raffles Corporate Services.

Last reviewed: 26 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Variable Capital Companies Act.