The trust industry in Singapore is characterized mainly by large trust entities with full trust services. The trust practices are comprehensive as all capabilities are covered by the trust company from the setting up and registration of trusts to the administration and termination of trusts. The trust practitioners are also well-educated. They are often either legal practitioners or chartered accountants with a minimum of bachelor’s degrees or possess post-graduate, law or accountancy, higher professional education recognized by Singapore’s professional bodies. This regulation has led to the implementation of recognized industry-wide good practices and quality service. In particular, for the protection of the little trust fund owners, the Supreme Court of Singapore has ruled that when the victims of crime and claimants are bankrupt or insolvent, the provisions of the creditor should not prohibit the distribution of property to the cracked team by “good performing” fixed beliefs designated by the RDC.
A trust company Singapore has an important role in safeguarding the assets of its clients and providing for their wealth succession or preservation. At the same time, it must fulfill the requirements of any government entities and policies in maintaining and documenting client and trust data. In light of the importance, the government has come up with continuous regulations to govern trust companies and professionals and protect clients. This paper provides an overview of trust companies’ role as a trust company in Singapore and deals with any potential and actual impact of such laws and regulations on their client providing and data maintenance, including its costs, benefits, and operational aspects, towards the establishment of an automated inter-agency information exchange system in Singapore. In order to check the capability of trust companies to interact in the exchange of the automatic data system set up, details on the trust structure for the trust and details on the data exchange in Singapore are drawn up from discussions with trust practitioners in this area.
Benefits of Trust Company Services in Singapore
One of the highly sought benefits of engaging trust company services in Singapore is privacy. If the will proceeds through letters of administration or probate, the inventory of the estate of the deceased is a public document. As a result, everyone will be aware of the assets held under your name and distributed through your will. Trust structures can guarantee privacy and your property won’t be disclosed to anyone, so you can be assured that your loved ones won’t have to face any unwanted visitors. This is especially beneficial for families who have assets in multiple regions and are at risk of probate in different jurisdictions. There are other benefits like taking care of your loved ones with special needs and supporting the charity you are associated with, to name a few. Overall, the benefits of creating a trust are expansive and can extend further than the details discussed in this article. Always consult a professional in trust company services in Singapore before deciding to implement a trust structure for your familial needs or your business needs.
Did you know that settlements and estate tax can turn into significant obstacles for families? Fortunately, these could be easily avoided with the help of proper responsible financial planning and establishing trusts. Hence, more and more people see the importance of trust company services in Singapore in setting up and managing trusts. Some of the benefits of trust services include wealth preservation and property division. It is equally important that the assets be distributed as per your preferences without causing any legal conflicts in your family. Setting up a trust will specify a roadmap and ensure that the distribution is seamless. It is necessary to set up a trust structure with the help of trust services for wealth preservation. It is essential to protect your wealth from unnecessary fees and taxing debts.
Asset Protection and Wealth Preservation
The establishment of a trust when the settlor is solvent and has no intention to cheat or defraud creditors and there is no evidence of such intention at the time the trust is established can preclude any challenge against the trust by future creditors or bankruptcy trustee. Often when a person is declared a discharged bankrupt, the trustee will review the bankrupt’s past transactions and set aside any transactions that were executed within 5 years or were executed to transfer beneficial interest from the bankrupt to a third party. If property is settled within a trust structure when the settlor is solvent and has no intention to evade creditor’s claim and there is no proof of fraud or intention to evade the creditors’ claim, the transfer becomes unassailable given that relevant local limitation statues does not exceed 5 years.
With an increasingly litigious world, people of means would want to protect what they have worked hard to acquire in their lifetime for their loved ones and their future generations. Various asset protection structures can play a vital role in the preservation of mature wealth. Singapore’s trust industry is firmly regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Discretionary trust structures are particularly attractive because the clients can remain as the settlors of such trust and continue to influence the daily operation of the trust through their informal directions notwithstanding that the asset has been settled within the trust structure. Such directions can cover discretionary trust and a protector powers, and demonstrate to the court or to creditors that the trust was structured for bona fide reasons and is not a sham.
Tax Planning and Optimization
To provide greater financial flexibility for trust beneficiaries, a structure involving more than one trust may be introduced to create inter-trust loans to reduce or avoid tax liabilities. As individual European beneficiaries of trusts do not enjoy the general exemption from income tax which beneficiary companies may be entitled to under the domestic interest reacquisition rules, inter-trust loans may be beneficial from the beneficiary’s point of view. For trust structures comprising only one irrevocable discretionary trust, the only way to reduce estate taxes is to ensure that the trust terms do not assign any capacity to the settlor to speak to the covered persons about trust management.
Many wealthy families have intentions and interests in advancing their tax planning strategies to preserve and grow their family wealth for future generations. To ensure the effectiveness of the trust structure, taxation and tax planning aspects will play key roles. The trust structure itself is designed to render the trust as tax efficient as possible (or tax neutral), yet it also provides the ability to take advantage of various tax-saving investments and tax planning steps. Often, through working closely together with professional private client lawyers and advisers, tax professionals play a key role in the trust and estate planning process, including physical and corporate trustees, tax advisers, auditors, and investment advisers, as well as other relevant experts in their various fields.
Confidentiality and Privacy
Compliance is incredibly important for any unlimited company service. The regulations for trust company service are strict over several Singapore jurisdictions, meaning that they need to keep regularly informed of all rule developments and the latest regulatory requirements. Regularly providing enterprise briefings, training, and updates is part of the routine provided by the professionals at trust company services. When a person selects a Singapore trust company to review any issue they may have, there are benefits that they can take advantage of. Along with their significant practical experience, the company will also demonstrate their deep understanding of Singapore trusts, foundations, corporate entities, Singapore, and international tax compliance. The corporation is then able to advise clients on the best course of action based on their unique scenarios.
Having their personal and financial information well protected is a significant concern for many people when it comes to setting up a trust with a corporation. To comply with Singapore’s strict regulations, the utmost level of confidentiality is maintained by the corporation that provides these services. This means that the corporation cannot reveal or use the details of the individual establishment of their trust or enterprise structure without first receiving the express and precise consent of the client. Depending on the unique rules and legislation of the specific trust company that clients have arrangements with, regulation can also come in some other ways.
Key Features of Singapore Trust Company Services
Deeper product knowledge in wealth planning and financial planning: Singapore TCs, in their roles in managing high-net-worth clients’ wealth planning or financial plans, also enjoy the trust concept flexibility, particularly relating to its foreign trusts, private trust companies, and settlor’s reservation of powers. Other innovating features, like asset enhancement schemes, and such diverse products, are not only suitable for asset protection but targeted for value and virtues accumulation for the next generation or nurturing their involvement in managing family wealth. Meanwhile, clients’ situations vary due to the differences in their wealth structures, their family composition and formation, or the industries which make them acquiring the said wealth. In designing customizable wealth planning concepts and execution, both knowledge and fluency in providing insights into including successions [their implications], companies’ merits and demerits, estate planning, pre-residence planning, tax implications and availability of tax treaties as well as foreign law considerations come handily.
Fully capable of acting in multiple roles: Singapore TCs provide a wide range of corporate fiduciary services to meet clients’ different needs. They can be the trustee, protector, or enforcer in complex private trusts. They can also act as the administrator or trustee of purpose trusts, the corporate trustee in a syndicated finance arrangement, a member of management and investment committees of the trust, the managing company of a fund. They can also be the Cyprus International Trust if required. In other words, a Singapore TC is well-equipped in offering full support to the clients and other intermediaries, like lawyers, family officers, or other TCs, and for timely handling of the related regulatory issues, particularly when dealing with multi-jurisdictional aspects or other parties.
Professional Trustee Services
Professional Trustee Services (PTS) of Singapore have their foundation on public trust. Section 6 of the Trustees Act (Chapter 337) of Singapore provides that any person, not being under any legal incapacity who has the full capacity to contract, may be a trustee. Being a trustee can be a business or profession in Singapore. In Singapore, professional trust services are provided only by licensed trust companies. Equipped with the resources, competency, and the accountabilities to deliver the best standards in total stand-alone services to the diverse needs of the clients, PTS is an essential industry in Singapore. These services include accountancy and administration services, custodial and portfolio management services, including certain approved trust instruments governed under the Singapore legislation such as employee share trusts, real estate investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds. The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), and the Land Property Authority have completed checks and balances to help ensure the integrity of the services provided.
The uses of trust and fiduciary structures have gained prominence, particularly in today’s complex and unique economic environments. Trust structures have different uses and purposes including wealth preservation and planning, combined commercial and estate planning objectives, safeguarding assets during the pendency of legal proceedings, and allowing the owners to free up time for their business ventures. The increase in the use of trust structures has led to the growing demand for professional trust company services in Singapore.
Trust Administration and Management
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has further strengthened the trust industry infrastructure, making Singapore a transparent and robust choice for legitimate trust-related planning. This includes providing options for wealth holding vehicles agreed upon by family financial trustees.
The restructuring of Singapore’s trust laws has placed a strong emphasis on transparency as a crucial element of effective regulation. The need for effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures is critical in light of the growing international emphasis on transparency in the finance industry. Regulatory compliance is a complex issue, but transparency assures the financial services industry and international partners that Singapore’s financial industry operates at the world’s best practices. This focus on regulatory excellence is essential for Singapore’s competitiveness.
One of the incentives for trust administration and management in Singapore is ministerial encouragement. BG (NS) George Yeo, speaking in 2000, highlighted the importance of trust companies existing within a regulatory framework that does not stifle them. Singapore is ready to be a player in this field and generate innovative solutions that align with the country’s high standards of transparency. To support this, MAS established a “Trust Law Review Tribunal” in 2006, with the aim of introducing new ideas and innovative approaches to regulation and building a robust trust infrastructure in Singapore.
Trust administration and management in Singapore is particularly attractive for several reasons. Singapore’s regulatory policies stand in contrast to those of many other Asian countries, making it a favorable destination for trust operations. The banks in Singapore have shown great eagerness to establish trust operations, with activity more than doubling in recent years.
Estate Planning and Succession
List of Trust Service Providers: Singapore has developed into a hub for private client services, and the increased demand for trusts and related services is reflected in the establishment of trust companies here. The growing community of trust companies locally augurs well for Singapore as the preferred jurisdiction for both international, as well as domestic families wishing to avail themselves of trust and fiduciary services. Furthermore, leading trust companies, with deep industry knowledge, play an instrumental role in promoting the trust industry in Singapore and elevating the city-state as a preferred domicile for international families to structure their succession and estate planning objectives. The strengths and competencies of each trust company are different, and a family will have different needs and expectations in planning their succession and estate planning objectives. This list of trust companies in Singapore is not exhaustive and is not in any order of ranking.
Singapore’s growing wealth management sector and a robust legal and regulatory framework make it a convenient and credible location for the establishment of trusts. Leading trust company service providers who are well versed in the local laws and practices are well placed to assist both in the establishment of such vehicles and in their ongoing management and administration. The advantages of utilizing Singapore’s trust services are well documented: the independent trustee is subject to robust regulation ensuring that every trustee acts in both the settlor and beneficiaries’ interests and impartially. The relationship with the beneficiaries and other stakeholders is stronger when an independent trustee is involved, and the settlor’s heirs are able to preempt potential squabbling from the family.
Corporate Trustee Services
And where would the wealth structure typically end up? Exactly with the very well-established, largely respected, and regulated corporate trust service providers. This basically means that most of the key players in the corporate trustee space have a representative (often the preferred service provider or trustee) in their private trust compartment. Before providing more guidance on the most performance-relevant must-have data points, it could be useful to first expand a bit on what private trust companies are and how and why they are relevant in a wealth planning context, and why they still matter when considering corporate trustees in the first place.
Private trust companies are also surprisingly fragile legal entities. The volatile mix of intra- or inter-family issues, delegation and shared management responsibilities, and sometimes very emotional disputes in regard to the proposed succession of assets, even as a planning need nor a decision, very often precipitated a crisis and demise of quite a few of these entities.
Since the increased availability and popularity of so-called private trust companies, some 10 or 15 years ago, it has not exactly been easy to keep track of the evolution of this type of service providers. Private trust companies are often shielded from public view, some because of their nature and the services provided, but also because often these are family-controlled structures. Therefore, they don’t have a legal or regulatory obligation to necessarily communicate about themselves. And when communications or promotions do take place, it often ends up as cases such as the high-profile struggles of the Swiss-based entities, specifically used for the management of the wealth of the very successful, very versatile, but clearly highly controversial Boeing industrial empire.
Choosing the Right Trust Company in Singapore
These are challenging questions that clients consider when choosing a trust services provider. Historically, clients have been advised to consider firms on the size of their balance sheets, the ratings of their parent companies, their history, and their assets under management. These are just some of the ways that clients judge their trust services providers, and these are good initial starting points. However, the reality is that looking at the number of clients with a firm does not explain why clients choose a particular firm, and neither does the number of trust professionals that a firm has. The discussion below represents an attempt by a “Leading Independent Trust Services Provider” to offer some advice to clients trying to understand what makes people choose one firm in preference to another.
Reputation and Track Record
The trust company services industry in Singapore has inherent and infrastructural strengths, leverages a robust legal system framework, and is adequately governed and managed. Our deeply rooted regulatory environment is conducive to providing an effective family wealth transition hub. The trust company services industry providing trust solutions in Singapore can be broadly classified as global trust companies and trust companies that are more locally oriented. The global trust companies, based on our own research, exhibit a number of unique strengths, in terms of reputation and track record, the diversity of services offered either directly by the trust company or through closely aligned relationship structures or other companies that are part of the larger global network of companies. This provides the international clientele that typically engages Singapore trust company services with either strategic plans for inter-generational continuity/protection/transitional mentoring, the global footprint required to ensure seamless facilitation, with simultaneous global presence, coordinate local relationships, where client plans require attention. These offerings are often further supplemented with extensive, complex, high-quality cross-border legal and audit support.
Singapore takes a robust approach toward identifying and resolving legal and regulatory challenges that can affect the future stability and sustainability of trust and trust-related service providers. The country maintains a vigorous commitment towards international norms and practices, and the trust service sector has been largely following suit. In Singapore and globally, administrative positions have continued to be implemented with the aim of improving transparency and cooperation at an inter-country level, thus keeping Singapore as a highly effective and responsible player and stakeholder internationally. The proposed paper shares a number of insights into trust companies in Singapore. In order to transition into a global role, Singapore must be future-focused. As such, the authors will attempt to provide timely insights in respect of the future of the TCS industry in Singapore.
Expertise and Experience
Both project and structured finance or core private equity funding to the infrastructure groups, capital markets to real estate related groups and an investment holding to superannuation or an active financial strategy in the agribusiness would necessitate both agility and insight. They probably also do not have client incentives or syndication fees from third party products or real estate funds that might compromise their ability to develop transaction. Typically, the CEO of a Rely Trust Company services has live experience in various countries ranging from capital markets experience or in financial product development to risk investing. This depth of commercial knowledge could offer you hands-on live experience and could have had previous relationships with a range of professional service providers that include the financial institutions, banker, auditors, trustees, and legal and compliance experts having worked and managing numerous complex transactions prior to your corporations.
A professional client advisor at a Rely Trust Company would have expertise in property syndication, agribusiness ventures, infrastructure business, REITs, consultancy services in business restructuring and enterprise growth, advising clients in corporate finance related matters, corporate finance solutions such as liquidation, corporate recovery, and business advisory. The collective intellects between your advisory team would also entail extensive experiences and could have been trained to structure, perform due diligence checks or valuations and provide resolutions for the reorganizations or restructuring on both the asset holding perspective and in the group and holding company level in cases such as private or public companies in a variety of sectors. What could make them the best pick among the many service providers? A prospect client needs trained advisors with experiences in complex business transactions spanning more than a few service sectors required by an investment vehicle or in conflict resolution or skillful communicators, dispute resolution professionals and negotiation specialists with restructurings that need the senior debt investors to remain secure by providing returns.
Range of Services Offered
This tells us that where interest and dividends are credited directly to a bank account, or trustees under a will deposit money into a bank account, the bank account will become an estate asset of the deceased.
The Administration of Estates Act applies equally to nominees of shares or of a bank account, whether the nominee is a natural person or a trust corporation. Upon death, the legal and beneficial ownership of the shares vest in the nominees and the assets will be distributed pursuant to the terms of the respective Deeds of Appointment settled upon their initial execution, and the nominees will hold the relevant assets in trust in accordance with the appointed shares.
The trust companies generally pause to inform potential clients that for further details, one should either approach the company or contact their own independent financial, tax, or legal advisors. In addition, polytelephonic services to selected family members in respect of dividend options and payment, and the existence of nominee directors/shareholders are also advanced by certain trust companies.
As regards the holding of seminars, websites under the company’s own name which are not linked to the entity’s identity, and quarterly investment bulletins, these are normally offered by trust companies in the course of promoting offshore structures to potential clients and setting themselves apart from their competitors when these clients are making their selection.
A number of companies offer a full range of services. These usually include tax planning for family members, incorporation of companies, acting as secretary and registrar, preparation of minutes and accounts of the portfolio holdings of the companies for boards of directors and shareholders, assistance in matters related to investment holding and trading companies, and providing nominee directors and shareholders.
Client Reviews and Testimonials
In addition, the services are also noted for having transparent and cost-effective fee structures for their valued clients. The company was also chosen as being the leading provider of local Singapore company setup services by the multinational professionals, and the company’s Business Connect Programmes international business set-up services were selected by the Singapore Start-up Business awards as business solutions for the winners of the awards. The move by the local company owners to give such business accolades to Caliber has indeed helped the company to gain local business traction and improve on its trust and client confidence issues exponentially. This has resulted in double-digit growth rates annually since its incorporation. It is further interesting to note that the popularity of servicing foreign investors at the entry phase is only the beginning of the success story. Upon making a conscious effort to reach out to the local business owners through various outreach programs, the company succeeded in converting the local clients into raving fans.
The comments of clients and testimonials are among the most trusted and valuable information about the provision of various services by the companies in the trust industry, including the trust companies in Singapore. It is noted that the trust company which is found to be providing efficient, quick and comprehensive services is Caliber Corporate Advisory Services. According to the Corporate Training partner PT Knowledge Solution, Caliber Corporate Advisory Services is ranked as the leading provider of trust services in Singapore. The principal reasons given for this ranking are that Caliber is noted as a ‘One-Stop Service Provider’ specializing in areas such as incorporation, secretarial, intellectual property registration, accounting, taxation, GST and payroll, and HR consulting/corporate training. The company is also noted as having a global reach with a strong local expertise team on ground to offer an ‘all-in-one service offering’ that enable foreign investors to enter and build their business in Singapore.
