US family office Avestar Capital has opened a Singapore hub, positioning the city-state as its Asia-Pacific base as it expands beyond the United States. The new entity, Avestar Singapore Pte. Ltd., will be led by Zal Devitre, a wealth management executive with more than two decades of international experience, the firm said. Founder and chief executive Xerxes Mullan said Asian ultra-high-net-worth families increasingly require cross-border advice that integrates investment ma

Hong Kong investment volumes rose 12% to HKD39bn (USD5.0bn) in 2025, with momentum accelerating in the fourth quarter as pricing turned more attractive, property consultancy Colliers said. Fourth-quarter transaction volumes surged 65% from the previous quarter, supported by three US Federal Reserve rate cuts totalling 0.75 percentage points and positive wealth effects from gains in the Hang Seng Index. Large transactions dominated activity, with 85 deals above HKD100m, mainly

UBS hosted the UBS Asia Wealth Forum in Singapore, bringing together more than 2,000 clients, investors and industry leaders, underscoring the growing importance of Asia in global wealth and family office strategies. The UBS Asia Wealth Forum, which concluded on Jan 12, featured speakers including former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman, Oaktree Capital co-CEO Armen Panossian and Gavekal CEO Louis-Vincent Gave, the

Ares Management is expanding its Hong Kong office footprint in Central, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the city as global asset managers seek higher-quality space. Ares will add about 12,500 square feet in Gloucester Tower, where it has been a tenant since 2017, with the new lease taking effect in March, landlord Hongkong Land said. The Ares Hong Kong office expansion comes as financial firms upgrade premises in the core business district. Hongkong Land said banks an

Singapore has defended the performance of its sovereign wealth funds, saying Singapore sovereign wealth fund returns from GIC and Temasek are reasonable and within expectations despite criticism. Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow told parliament that comparisons with global peers should account for different mandates and risk profiles, with Singapore prioritising long-term results over short-term swings. He said GIC’s risk-moderation measures ahead of potentia

Rising costs and family disputes are driving an increase in family office closures, advisers say, even as the sector continues to expand in the United States. There were nearly 3,200 single-family offices in 2024 managing USD1.3tr, according to Deloitte estimates, but for some families the overheads are increasingly outweighing the benefits, particularly those with USD250m to USD750m in assets. Advisers point to intense competition for experienced staff pushing up compensatio

Asian household cash holdings remain unusually high, with households often keeping 50% to 55% of net worth in cash and deposits, far above the roughly 15% typical in the United States and Western Europe, business magazine CEO World reported. The conservative approach reflects memories of past crises, uneven social safety nets and limited access to trusted investment products. However, this stance is beginning to ease as incomes rise, capital markets deepen and digital investm

Singapore is seeking to streamline cross-border listings as part of plans for a Global Listing Board linking SGX and Nasdaq, with reforms that could appeal to global issuers and long-term investors. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has proposed legal and regulatory changes that would allow companies to use a single prospectus for dual listings, speed up prospectus registration to better align IPO timelines with the United States, and introduce US-style safe harbour provisi

China is moving to tighten oversight of government investment funds as it seeks to steer capital more effectively toward national priorities such as industrial upgrading, innovation and entrepreneurship. The National Development and Reform Commission has issued a trial regulation setting stricter evaluation and management requirements for government investment fund allocations. The NDRC said the framework is intended to align capital deployment more closely with industrial po

Family office expansion in Asia and the Middle East is accelerating as rising private wealth pushes families to diversify and professionalise investment, governance and operating models, recruiters say. Singapore and Hong Kong are competing aggressively for family office mandates, with Singapore’s single-family offices climbing to about 2,000 by end-2024, according to government data cited by Reuters. In the Gulf, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are attracting established regional famili

Chinese investment banks dominated APAC investment banking fees in 2025, supported by offshore bond issuance and a rebound in Hong Kong IPO activity, according to LSEG league tables. Citic Securities topped Asia Pacific ex-Japan fees with USD1.45bn, or 5.8% of the regional total. It was followed by China Securities, Bank of China, China International Capital and Guotai Haitong Securities, while Morgan Stanley ranked sixth. Chinese banks benefited from strong issuance of yuan-

Family offices boosted exposure to Singapore assets in 2025 as a weaker US dollar drove currency diversification, Bank of Singapore said. Allocations to Singapore assets through discretionary portfolio management mandates doubled year on year, accelerating from the usual single-digit growth pace. Assets under management in Singapore-focused mandates also expanded faster than the bank’s overall discretionary business, which grew nearly 20% in 2025. The mandates typically inves

Asia-Pacific dealmaking is expected to remain strong in 2026, led by mergers and acquisitions in China and India, Citigroup said. The bank said Asia-Pacific dealmaking will be supported by rising capital flows from the Middle East, increased activity by financial sponsors and multinational firms seeking growth. Financing activity is expected to be dominated by AI, healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, while companies continue to favour convertible bonds for f

Digital Assets Week Hong Kong will return on Feb 4, 2026, positioning itself as an executive forum for banks, asset managers, infrastructure providers and regulators as the city seeks to expand tokenisation and digital-asset activity. The event will be held at The Gala Muse in Victoria Dockside with Arta Global Markets as host partner. Under the theme Capital Markets Transformation, Digital Assets Week Hong Kong will focus on live and upcoming developments in issuance, tradin

Asia-Pacific real estate outlook 2026 is positive, according to German asset manager DWS, which cited a rebound in regional investment volumes, easing monetary conditions and generally firm rental growth. DWS said markets now expect policy rates in Australia and South Korea to ease a further 25–30 basis points by end-2026, while the Bank of Japan could continue normalising policy with a small hike toward 1% within six to 12 months. High construction costs are constraining new

Japan real estate fund fundraising is accelerating as Goldman Sachs seeks to raise about USD500m for a Japan-focused property vehicle, aiming to capture a rebound in the market driven by low borrowing costs and a weak yen, sources said. The value-add Japan real estate fund has been marketed to investors in recent months and plans to invest across data centres, logistics, residential and hospitality assets, targeting mid-teen returns. A first close is expected by end-March. Ja

Philippine sukuk rules proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could help deepen the capital market and attract domestic and foreign investors, RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said. A second exposure draft released in November sets issuance and disclosure standards focused on Shari’ah compliance, transparency and investor protection. Under the Philippine sukuk rules, publicly offered sukuk would require SEC registration and could be listed, traded and s

Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA) CEO appointment sees the industry body name Paula Ip, a former UBS Global Wealth Management executive, as chief executive officer with immediate effect. Ip brings more than 30 years of experience in asset management and wealth advisory and most recently served as a managing director at UBS Global Wealth Management overseeing fund advisory and distribution across North Asia. She previously held senior roles at UBS, GAM, ING and J.

Taiwan stock market performance has outpaced Japan and South Korea over the past four years as an artificial intelligence hardware boom lifted the island’s tech-heavy economy, Taiwan’s central bank said. The Taiwan stock market performance saw the TAIEX index rise about 120% from a 2022 low to 27,867 by mid-December, beating gains in Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI. Strong AI chip exports, ample global liquidity and Taiwan’s dominance in AI server assembly have sup

Family office crypto allocations increased in 2025 as global family offices expanded exposure to digital assets, with some investing in cryptocurrencies for the first time as market infrastructure, custody services and internal risk frameworks matured, advisers said. Family office crypto allocations were typically modest, but the shift marked a move away from experimental trades toward structured mandates covering bitcoin, ethereum and managed digital-asset funds, and in some