Singapore’s net assets under management (AUM) inflows fell to $193 billion in 2023, from $435 billion in 2022, according to the latest edition of an annual report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the asset management industry, released on July 18.
However, the country’s AUM rebounded by 10% in 2023 to reach $5.4 trillion, up from the $4.9 trillion recorded in 2022. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says this 10% growth figure is faster than the AUM growth in Asia, which averaged 8%.
This means that while the overall AUM of the country grew, the pace of growth slowed.
The central bank says that this decline in net AUM inflows is reflected in the challenges faced by asset managers in raising funds and managing monies, amid continued market volatility in public markets and investors’ caution.
AUM growth was driven by asset value recovery and net inflows, with a broad-based recovery seen in most alternative asset classes.
The MAS says that 77% of Singapore’s AUM was sourced from outside of Singapore and 89% was invested outside of the country, a figure roughly unchanged from 2022. Singapore also extended another year of net inflows, albeit lower compared to 2021 and 2022.
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The country’s alternative AUM, which includes private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC), hedge funds, real estate investment trusts and real estate, rebounded on a broad-based recovery across most of the asset classes.
PE and VC AUM grew by 12% in 2023 to $657 billion, while hedge funds grew 5% to $239 billion. Real estate investment trusts grew 14% to $136 billion, and only real estates dropped 4% to $168 billion.
MAS says that the AUM growth was driven by both asset value recovery and net inflows, while real estate experienced a slight dip as higher cost of financing dampened investment activity.
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Among asset managers in Singapore, monies managed with environmental, social and governance (ESG) overlay contributed to about 51% of total AUM, with 284 asset managers reporting that they offer ESG strategies in 2023.
Meanwhile, the number of licensed and registered fund management companies in Singapore increased from 1,194 as at Dec 2022 to 1,250 as at Dec 2023.
As at Dec 31, 2023, a total of 1,029 VCCs were incorporated or re-domiciled in Singapore for various use cases and fund strategies. These umbrella or standalone VCCs, representing 2,158 sub-funds, were managed by 565 regulated fund management companies.
The MAS notes that global ETF markets have seen strong growth in recent years, increasing in AUM by 25.6% from end-2022 to end-2023 to reach US$11.6 trillion. In addition, private credit is poised to reach US$2.8 trillion by end 2023 globally.
On the back of ETF and private credit growth, MAS believes that global AUM growth in 2024 will likely remain resilient, even as geopolitical contests and a challenging business environment remain ahead.
Read more about MAS's annual report for FY2023/24:
- MAS swings back from two years of losses with $3.8 bil net profit in FY2023/24
- MAS announces additional $100 mil funding for FIs pursuing AI, quantum projects
- Total debt issued in S’pore grows 10.5% y-o-y to $556 bil in 2023 from multinationals’ financing needs
- Wait time for tax incentive applications to be shortened, banks’ AML rules to be standardised: MAS
- S’pore growth ‘should strengthen this year’: MAS
