Singapore Could Become New Switzerland, As Assets Managed There Reach Record Levels

Singapore’s central bank said on Tuesday that wealth management assets in the city-state reached a record high of $1.29 trillion, an increase of 22 percent from a year earlier, helping to cement Singapore’s reputation as a rapidly rising wealth management center.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said that Asia was the most common destination for fund investments originating in Singapore, with 70 percent of investments headed to Asia, up from 60 percent the previous year.

Hedge fund assets rose nearly eight percent to $77.5 billion, compared to a year earlier. From 2007 to 2012, assets under management in Singapore grew at an average of 9 percent per year.

The central bank’s managing director Ravi Menon noted that 80 percent of Singapore’s assets under management came from outside the city, confirming its role as an international wealth hub.

“The asset management industry has reached a new peak,” Menon said in prepared remarks.

Singapore’s emergence as a key financial hub may threaten Switzerland’s preeminence at handling funds for wealthy private clients, the Financial Times reports.

Consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in July that Singapore’s managed funds could overtake Switzerland’s by 2015 if current growth rates continue.

“Singapore is closing the gap on Switzerland as an International Financial Centre for private client assets,” the report said.

The report said that Switzerland, Singapore, London, Hong Kong and New York are the top international finance centers. Shanghai and Dubai are two other notable up-and-coming hubs.

The report also noted that stricter tax and regulatory policies, highlighted by recent interest in tax avoidance crackdowns in Singapore, Switzerland and Europe make wealth management more expensive.