Why APAC's Richest Families Are Abandoning Single-Hub Models
Asian affluent clients deployed US$52B in net new money in 2025 as family offices expand across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. What this shift means for wealth managers competing for ultra-high-n...
Standard Chartered reported that affluent clients contributed nearly US$52 billion in net new money during 2025, almost double the US$27.1 billion recorded in 2023, as wealthy Asian families accelerate a shift toward operating across multiple financial hubs simultaneously.
Hub Count Numbers Tell the Story
The growth spans three major centers. Singapore's single-family offices exceeded 2,000 by end-2024, a 43% year-on-year increase from roughly 400 offices in 2020. Hong Kong recorded 3,384 family offices by end-2025, up 25% annually. Dubai International Financial Centre reported 1,289 family-related entities, up 61%, the fastest growth rate among the three centers.
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Raymond Ang, Global Head of Private Bank and Affluent Clients at Standard Chartered, described Singapore as the anchor. "Singapore will always be the bedrock" for setting up family offices in Asia, Ang said, while confirming that families are simultaneously expanding into Hong Kong, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi to access different investment opportunities.
Ang added that the shift reflects "an evolution of the tenor of wealth." As family offices grow larger, they seek investable assets beyond Singapore's traditional strengths of safety, governance, and residency, mirroring Western practices where affluent families typically maintain offices in three to four locations.
Scale of the Commercial Opportunity
Standard Chartered's net new money from affluent clients rose from US$43.9 billion in 2024 to US$51.9 billion in 2025. The bank added more than 60,000 new affluent clients per quarter over the past 12 quarters.
Total wealth and retail banking assets under management reached US$447 billion in 2025, with the wealth segment accounting for 54% of that figure. Wealth management income grew 24%, driven by double-digit expansion in investment products and bancassurance.
The bank has set a target of US$200 billion in net new money and double-digit wealth growth by 2029, supported by a US$1.5 billion investment in hiring, product development, digital improvements, and upgraded client centers. Booking centers in Singapore, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Jersey form the operational backbone of this strategy.
Institutionalization Reshapes the Client Base
The multi-hub expansion coincides with a broader professionalization of Asian family offices. Asia-Pacific family offices are projected to grow from approximately 2,290 currently to around 3,200 by 2030, with assets under management expected to double from US$1 trillion to US$2 trillion over the same period.
Singapore's family offices collectively manage an estimated US$66.8 billion in assets, representing 59% of Asia's total family office assets under management. That concentration is being deliberately spread as families seek operational diversification.
Standard Chartered has responded by expanding multilingual relationship managers and opening dedicated Global Indian client centers, reflecting the bank's focus on global Chinese and Indian clients as primary growth segments. According to Deloitte's family office research, 48% of Asia-Pacific family offices planned to increase outsourcing in 2024, and 65% have formal succession plans in place, indicating that governance boards and next-generation principals are becoming the primary decision-makers at these institutions.
Singapore attracted a net gain of approximately 3,500 high-net-worth individuals in 2024, up from 3,200 in 2023, with inflows primarily from mainland China, Hong Kong, India, and Southeast Asian nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Standard Chartered's full-year 2025 results are scheduled to be reviewed by investors in coming weeks, with wealth performance cited as a primary growth driver alongside the bank's broader network strategy.
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