Singapore will become the world's top wealth management center by 2013, overtaking Switzerland and London, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP study published in June. The city- state will leapfrog both European centers in the next two years, with Hong Kong taking third spot behind Switzerland and ahead of London, PwC said in the report.
"In the past two years, I've spoken with dozens of European and North American family offices who have set up or are seriously considering of setting up family offices here," Straus said.
Singapore's millionaire population expanded at the fastest pace last year, rising by almost 33 percent, the Boston Consulting Group said in its report. Singapore also had the highest proportion of millionaire households at 15.5 percent, followed by Switzerland and Qatar.
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Family offices that have set up units in Singapore include Tano Capital, the financial advisor of the founders of Franklin Templeton Investments, and London-based Alta Advisers Ltd., the family office of Swedish billionaire Hans Rausing.
About 62 percent of U.S.-based family offices surveyed this year said they were considering increasing allocations to Asian markets outside Japan, according to Family Office Exchange. The median family office reported 12 percent annual pretax portfolio return in 2010 and families are expecting a median return of 8 percent this year, according to the Chicago-based organization, which represents 350 families worldwide.
New York-based Citigroup was the No. 2 manager of wealth for high-net-worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Private Banker International. The private-banking unit set up its family office advisory business in Asia in late 2010, Straus said.