What happened
At the Wealth Management Institute's Global-Asia Family Office Summit on 5 October 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong said MAS is reviewing the designated investments list for the section 13O and 13U schemes, after single family offices asked for more flexibility in how they deploy capital. Families had raised digital payment tokens and insurance policies. The updated list and its implementation date will be announced "in due course". This follows MAS's October 2025 parliamentary statement that it would expand eligible investments, and the July 2026 circular that already removed the precious-metals cap and admitted tokenised versions of existing designated investments.
Why it matters
The list does two jobs. Only income from designated investments is exempt; income from anything else is taxed normally. And AUM for the S$20 million (13O) or S$50 million (13U) SFO threshold is measured by the value of designated investments, now tested at application and each year-end. An asset off the list therefore produces taxable income and does nothing for the threshold. Today, digital payment tokens, Singapore property and collectibles sit outside it. Insurance raises harder questions: who is policyholder, life assured and beneficiary, how returns are characterised, and how cash-value policies are reported under CRS.
What to do now
Map the portfolio against the current list and measure threshold headroom without the non-qualifying assets. Do not transfer tokens or policies into a fund vehicle in anticipation: until the list, conditions and commencement date are published, the transfer risks taxable income with no threshold benefit. Assemble acquisition costs, custody records and policy documents now, so a decision can be made quickly once the rules land.
Key resources
- Opalesque: Singapore weighs adding crypto and insurance to family office incentive list (5 Oct 2026)
General information only; not tax or legal advice.
