The GFO Circle has been launched by the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) in partnership with family offices and with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
“The ultimate goal of the GFO Circle is to be a trusted environment for the family office community to come together, share knowledge and gain access to domain leaders, changemakers, experts and distinguished global thought leaders,” said Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI.
“The rapidly growing family office segment is creating excellent jobs and new career pathways for Singaporeans in new family office set-ups as well as in sectors such as wealth management, asset management, tax, accountancy, legal and trust services,” she added.
The GFO Circle is a platform that connects family office principals, professionals and advisors, shares best practices and build new capabilities.
To develop a stronger industry talent pipeline, WMI will provide education programmes, research and thought leadership forums. The programmes cover subject areas such as trusts, governance and family office leadership, according to a statement.
The WMI will also launch new masterclasses and certification programmes on global investment strategies and market principles, while the GFO Circle will offer sustainable investing and impact investing courses.
Singapore family office development
The family office industry in Singapore has been growing rapidly. From 2019, the number of family offices has doubled to approximately 400 as at the end of 2020, according to the WMI.
Over the last 12 months, there were over 500 enrolments in WMI’s family office and trusts certification programmes. The institute hopes to double its scale to reach 3,000 enrolments over the next three years across Masterclasses, certification programmes and overseas learning journeys.
