Trust companies in Singapore: what they do for family wealth

What is a trust, and who are the parties to it?

A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property gives it to another person to manage for the benefit of a designated person (Wikipedia, 2026). The settlor creates the trust, the trustee receives the property and the beneficiaries enjoy the benefit. The trust deed sets out the parties and the terms. A family reading its own plan can label each person with one of these 3 roles.

The trustee holds legal title and control of the property, while the beneficiaries hold the beneficial ownership and receive the benefits. This split lets a family name who manages the wealth and who enjoys it, and it keeps the 2 roles apart on paper.

Which duties does a trust company take on as trustee for a family?

A trust company is a company that acts as trustee. It receives the assets the settlor places in the trust, follows the trust deed and reports to the beneficiaries. The trustee can be a person, a company or a public body, and a company gives the family a trustee that continues across generations.

Wikipedia lists the primary duties of a trustee as loyalty, prudence and impartiality, with supporting duties of transparency, recordkeeping and accounting. A family can use this list as a checklist when it meets a candidate trust company, and ask how each duty works in daily practice. Ask for examples from past cases, so the duties become concrete behaviour.

How does Singapore regulate a trust company?

The Trust Companies Act governs the licensing and regulation of trust companies in Singapore. MAS publishes Form 1, the application for a trust business licence, and the Act recognises licensed trust companies, exempt trust companies and exempt persons that provide trust services (MAS, 2026). The status of a provider therefore starts the due diligence of the family.

Banks, merchant banks and other exempt persons that provide trust services notify MAS of the commencement of trust business within 1 month. A family can check the licence or the exempt status of a provider on the MAS pages before it signs a trust deed, which gives the file a clear regulatory anchor.

Which tasks stay with the family office when a trust company holds title?

The 2 roles differ. The trust company serves as trustee and holds the legal title for the beneficiaries, while the family office runs the daily work: reporting, payments, investments under a mandate and coordination of advisers. A family can use both, with the trustee at the top of the structure and the office beneath it. This division of labour keeps the legal ownership and the daily management on separate pages of the plan.

MAS supports this shape in its exemption framework. The office can be held via a trust, a foundation or any other legal structure, so long as the funding originates exclusively from family members and from key employees, who may own a non-controlling stake of up to 10% (MAS FAQ, 2026).

What does a trust deed settle for a family?

The trust deed is a legal document that defines the trust. It names the trustee, the beneficiaries and the settlor and states the terms and conditions (Wikipedia, 2026). A family can read it as a decision record: who benefits, from when, in what proportion and under which powers of the trustee. Plain definitions in the deed help later generations understand the intention behind each clause.

Bring family questions to the drafting table: how distributions work, what happens when a beneficiary has a child, and how the trustee reports to the family. A deed that answers these questions in plain terms reduces later debate. Your lawyer drafts the deed, and the family reviews it at each generation change.

Which 5 criteria help a Singapore family select a trust company?

Use 5 criteria: regulatory status on the MAS pages, the duties the company accepts in writing, the reporting it gives to the family, the way it communicates with beneficiaries and the fit with the family office. Score each candidate from 1 to 5 on each criterion and compare the totals.

Meet at least 2 candidates, ask each to explain the trust deed in plain words and request the same information from both. Differences in answers show differences in service. Record the scoring with the date, so the choice stays explainable years later. A second opinion from your lawyer on the shortlist adds a useful check.

When does a trust company fit a family office plan?

A trust company fits when the family wants assets held for named people over time, with a trustee as a separate party. A private limited company fits better when the family needs an operating entity with staff. Many plans use a trust and a company together. The family writes down which function each structure performs before it signs.

EQOS Asia scores a family decision and ranks the options (EQOS Asia private page, 2026). A pre-diagnostic applies that method to your trust question, and your lawyer and chosen trustee handle the formal documents.

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About the author

Stéphane Jambu

President, EQOS Forecast Asia

Stéphane Jambu leads EQOS Forecast Asia and works as a consultant in e-commerce, search visibility, and AI. LinkedIn profile