How can Jenga Anderson help me with family-office planning and administration?
How We Help Families Connect Structure with Ongoing Operations
At Jenga Anderson Global Singapore, we help families translate wealth, governance and reporting objectives into a practical Singapore family-office structure and administration plan. Our support connects ownership planning, establishment of relevant entities, accounting, tax, reporting and operational coordination within an agreed scope.
Our experience includes supporting 150+ family offices and 210+ funds and asset managers. We work with families and their existing advisers, coordinating appropriately qualified specialists where formal advice or regulated services are required.
A successful setup plan should explain more than which entities will exist. It should identify who makes decisions, who holds the assets, who maintains the records and who reviews recurring obligations.
Start with the Family’s Objectives, Not a New Entity
A family office is an operating model for organising family wealth and related responsibilities. It is not defined solely by incorporation or a tax-incentive application.
We begin with three questions:
- What does the family want to achieve? This may include consolidated reporting, investment oversight, succession coordination, philanthropy or clearer administration.
- What already exists? We map companies, trusts, investment vehicles, banking relationships and professional mandates.
- What must the Singapore operation actually do? We identify the people, information, decisions and recurring work it needs to support.
For example, a family retaining an existing investment manager may need better accounting and reporting rather than another investment team. A family seeking a dedicated investment-management function needs a different assessment of authority, resources and regulatory requirements.
We use these distinctions to define the work before recommending additional entities or appointments.
What Should a Family-Office Setup and Administration Plan Include?
Our service scope can connect initial planning with implementation and continuing operations. The precise deliverables depend on the family’s circumstances and existing arrangements.
| Workstream | Support we can provide within scope | Practical output to agree |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership and structure | Coordinate proposed holding entities, investment vehicles and management arrangements | A structure chart showing ownership, purpose and unresolved questions |
| Governance | Help organise decision-making, approvals and professional responsibilities | A responsibility matrix and documented approval arrangements |
| Establishment | Coordinate relevant entity setup and corporate administration | An implementation plan with dependencies and named owners |
| Accounting and reporting | Provide agreed bookkeeping, financial reporting and management information | Defined reports, source records, reporting periods and review procedures |
| Tax and regulatory coordination | Organise relevant facts and specialist input | A scoped review, supporting evidence and applicable obligations calendar |
| Banking and continuing operations | Coordinate onboarding preparation, information requests and recurring administration | Clear handovers, secure information flows and escalation contacts |
This is a scoping framework, not a statement that every engagement includes every service.
We distinguish work performed by our team from work undertaken by separately appointed professionals. Our engagement should also identify exclusions, fees and additional work that requires approval.
Separate Ownership, Investment Decisions and Administrative Authority
An ownership chart does not establish every decision-making right.
The family may own an investment vehicle, its directors may approve particular transactions, and an appointed manager may exercise investment discretion under a separate mandate. An administrator may prepare records without having authority to trade or transfer assets.
We recommend documenting these boundaries explicitly.
| Responsibility | What needs to be clear |
|---|---|
| Family objectives | Who sets priorities and resolves differences among stakeholders |
| Entity governance | Who holds director, trustee or other relevant governing responsibilities |
| Investment management | Who may recommend, approve or execute investment decisions |
| Payments and asset movements | Who has signing authority and what approvals are required |
| Accounting and reporting | Who supplies information, prepares reports and reviews exceptions |
| Professional advice | Which adviser is responsible for each jurisdiction and subject |
Requesting consolidated reporting does not, by itself, authorise us to make investment decisions or move assets.
Clear mandates allow us to coordinate execution while preserving the responsibilities of the family, governing bodies and appointed professionals.
Keep Regulatory Status, Tax Incentives and Administration Separate
The family office’s regulatory position
Singapore’s revised licensing-exemption framework for qualifying single family offices took effect on 15 June 2026. The conditional exemption includes notification, banking and annual-return requirements.
The transition ending 15 June 2027 concerns SFOs already operating before the commencement date under the specified former related-corporation or case-by-case exemption routes. It is not a general extension available to every established family-office structure.
We help organise the facts needed to assess the relevant position and coordinate specialist input where necessary.
The investment vehicle’s tax treatment
Sections 13O and 13U are conditional fund-tax incentive schemes. Establishing a family office does not automatically create a tax exemption for the family, its businesses or every entity in the structure.
We assess incentive-related work separately from ordinary administration, taking account of the fund category, applicable conditions and any existing award terms.
The office’s operational resources
Outsourced administration does not automatically satisfy qualifying investment-professional requirements. Roles primarily involving operations, administration, finance or accounting are distinct from qualifying investment roles.
Our accounting support can improve operational capacity, but it should not be presented as a substitute for an investment team where one is required.
Make Ongoing Reporting Useful and Traceable
Reporting should answer a defined question, not simply combine available documents.
We first clarify whether the family needs entity-level financial statements, management accounts, a consolidated investment overview or another agreed output. These deliverables have different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable.
A reporting plan should specify:
- Entities, accounts and assets included.
- Reporting dates, currencies and valuation sources.
- Information providers and delivery deadlines.
- Treatment of intercompany balances and missing records.
- Review, correction and approval responsibilities.
- Who may access the completed reports.
For example, if an overseas account statement is unavailable, the report should identify the coverage gap rather than present an incomplete total as complete.
We also recommend a change-review process. New entities, ownership changes, different adviser mandates or revised investment activities may affect reporting, banking or tax obligations. The applicable requirements should be checked rather than assuming every change follows the same notification rule.
How We Work with Lawyers, Bankers and Existing Advisers
We can work alongside existing professional advisers without requiring the family to replace functioning relationships.
A useful referral identifies the administrative or execution gap: fragmented records, unclear responsibilities, inconsistent reporting or a proposed Singapore structure that still needs implementation planning.
We agree how information and decisions will move between the parties, including:
- Who acts as the principal contact.
- Which adviser is responsible for each specialist conclusion.
- What information can be shared and with whom.
- Which decisions require family or governing-body approval.
- How unresolved questions and conflicting instructions are escalated.
Coordination supports execution. It does not replace a specialist’s authority, a bank’s acceptance process or the family’s decisions.
Prepare a Proportionate and Confidential Handover
We recommend beginning with a non-sensitive summary of:
- The family’s objectives and proposed Singapore activities.
- Existing ownership and investment arrangements.
- Broad asset categories, separating investments from operating businesses.
- Current professional mandates and banking relationships.
- Administrative gaps and whether any incentive awards already exist.
Detailed personal, financial and account records should follow only after authority to share, confidentiality arrangements and secure transfer methods have been confirmed.
Where an award letter or other document contains sharing restrictions, those restrictions should be checked before circulation. Missing information should remain visible as an open item, not be replaced with an assumption.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can you work with our existing lawyer, private banker or tax adviser?
Yes. We can coordinate with existing advisers within a documented engagement. We begin by identifying their mandates and the planning, implementation or administration work the family wants us to undertake.
2. Does a Singapore family office have to pursue 13O or 13U?
No. These are conditional tax-incentive schemes, not the definition of a family office. We assess whether incentive planning is relevant to the proposed investment vehicle and objectives, separately from the office’s regulatory and operating requirements.
3. Does your administration support include investment management?
Not automatically. Accounting, reporting and operational coordination do not confer investment discretion. Any investment-management role requires a separately defined mandate and an appropriately authorised provider.
4. Can you help improve an existing family office without creating new entities?
Yes. We can assess the existing administration, reporting and coordination arrangements before considering structural changes. Additional entities should address an identified need rather than become the default response to an operational problem.
5. Can you guarantee bank-account acceptance or a tax-incentive award?
No. We can support preparation, evidence gathering and coordination, but banks and the relevant authorities make their own assessments. Outcomes depend on the facts, applicable requirements and supporting information.