The MAS asset management survey 2025: what the figures show, and what they ask of fund managers

he Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published its Singapore Asset Management Survey 2025 on 28 July 2026, covering the year to 31 December 2025. Assets under management grew 10 per cent to S$6.7 trillion, supported by market performance and by net inflows of S$376 billion, 29 per cent higher than the year before.

The headline figures are not the most useful part of the report. Two of the numbers most likely to be quoted are qualified by footnotes that change what they mean, and a third says something about what the growth will ask of the firms carrying it.

What the alternatives figures actually show

Alternative AUM grew 0.4 per cent in 2025, and within it private equity and venture capital grew 1 per cent. Read on their own, both figures suggest a sector that stalled.

MAS footnotes each of them. In both cases the entry of several new managers more than offset the downsizing of a single large manager, and MAS sets out what the figures look like once that downsizing is excluded: alternatives growth of 9 per cent, the same rate it reports for traditional strategies, and 18 per cent in private equity and venture capital. The headline is accurate, but it describes the arithmetic of one firm's contraction more than the direction of the sector.

The breakdown beneath is more informative. Real estate AUM fell 16 per cent, from S$158 billion to S$133 billion, amid compressed valuations and weaker investor sentiment. REITs rose 8 per cent and hedge funds 5 per cent, and between them accounted for most of the growth in alternatives.

Growth in assets, not in firms

The figure that has drawn less comment is the number of managers. Singapore ended 2025 with 1,320 licensed fund management companies, a net increase of 22 over the year. The firm count rose by under 2 per cent while assets rose by 10 per cent, so the average manager finished the year running considerably more than it began with. The survey does not divide that growth between new arrivals and established firms, so the composition is not something to assume.

The variable capital company figures show where the additional work sits. VCCs rose from 1,200 to 1,406 over the year, while the sub-funds they hold rose more steeply, from 2,695 to 3,443, and MAS reports those 1,406 vehicles are managed by more than half of all regulated fund management companies.

Adding a strategy inside an established umbrella is an efficient way to launch, and it is also where administrative burden accumulates without being noticed. Each sub-fund is ring-fenced, and each brings records to maintain, reporting to file and AML obligations to discharge. A manager that has moved from four sub-funds to nine has not just multiplied the number of structures it operates, but it has multiplied its filing calendar.

What MAS has already said about VCC governance

With 76 per cent of AUM sourced from outside Singapore and 88 per cent invested outside it, what is located here is the management and the oversight of it. That is why substance is a recurring supervisory theme. Thirteen months before the survey, following a thematic review of VCCs and their managers, MAS issued a circular setting out its supervisory expectations for VCC governance and management. Four of its observations are worth revisiting alongside the survey.

• VCCs incorporated for over a year while holding no assets or having no investors. MAS expects managers to review these periodically and wind them down.

• Managers acting as a conduit, with little substantive input into investment decisions and attention directed at marketing. MAS expects involvement in portfolio construction, due diligence and risk management.

• Directors carrying out regulated activities, such as deal sourcing, research, portfolio management or trade execution, must be appointed as licensed representatives of the manager.

• Assets requiring independent custody where none was reported. The carve-out is narrow, covering private equity and venture capital offered only to accredited and institutional investors.

MAS noted that the same expectations apply to other fund structures.

What this means in practice

Five checks are worth making before the year ends.

• List every sub-fund and identify any that have held no assets or had no investors for more than a year.

• Confirm that every director carrying out regulated activity is a licensed representative of the manager.

• Confirm independent custody for every asset that requires it, and document anything relying on the carve-out.

• Read the investment committee minutes and consider whether they show the manager exercising judgement.

• Confirm that oversight of any delegate's AML framework is documented and reviewed rather than assumed.

How Alpadis can help

Alpadis does not manage money or advise on investments. We support the firms that do. Our Singapore Regulatory Services division, established through the acquisition of Ingenia Consultants in August 2025, works with boutique and mid-sized financial institutions on MAS licensing applications, AML and CFT frameworks, KYC and customer onboarding, governance frameworks and independent internal audit. Our corporate services team handles the accounting, tax and secretarial obligations underneath.

A strong year is worth marking. It is also a reasonable moment to check that the substance behind a firm's own share would stand up to a question.

This article is general information and does not constitute legal, tax or regulatory advice. Managers should take independent advice on their own circumstances.