Debated in Parliament on 9 Jan 2023.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Prime Minister with the increase in Singapore-based Single Family Offices (a) how many financial professionals have left financial institutions to join these family offices; (b) what are the common reasons for the job switch; (c) how does the outflow of talent impact our local financial institutions and in turn, our global economy hub status; and (d) whether the Government plans to take measures to encourage the retention of top financial talents or grow the pool of financial professionals in Singapore.
Data on the number of individuals who leave financial institutions (FIs) to join Single Family Offices (SFOs) is not available. There is no indication of a sizeable outflow of talent from the financial sector to SFOs or adverse impact on the financial sector's hub status. The growth of the SFO industry has also been complementary to Singapore's value proposition as a global wealth management hub.
MAS has been working actively with the financial industry over the years to build a strong pipeline of professionals who can take on leadership roles as well as specialised jobs in the financial sector. The various measures that have been put in place and the outcomes achieved have been elaborated on several occasions in this House1.
In the specific area of SFOs, MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) launched two skills maps in 2021 that set out the competencies that employees of SFOs and external service providers, including private banks, tax advisory firms and legal firms advising the SFOs, should acquire. These skills maps are used by training providers such as the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) and the SMU Business Families Institute to develop relevant training programmes, with co-funding of training fees provided by schemes administered by MAS.
MAS and IBF will continue to work with FIs and tripartite partners to develop and grow the local talent pool to meet the financial sector's needs, including that of SFOs.
PAPERCUTS