By Ishika Mookerjee, 21 August 2017

Kerry Goh, the former Asia head of discretionary portfolio management at Julius Baer, is launching a single family office in Singapore, Citywire Asia can reveal. The single family office, called Kamet Capital Partners, will manage the investments and wealth of a private entrepreneur from North Asia, who made his fortune in the consumer discretionary sector.

‘We will be a professionalised family office model taking care of investment and wealth management, administrative functions and philanthropy,’ Goh, who doubles up as CEO and CIO for the firm, told Citywire Asia.

Having begun its set up three months ago, the company currently has six employees, of which three are investment professionals, including Goh. It is outsourcing its legal and tax advice as well as its technology services. The firm is also planning to build an in-house investment team in order to cut down on third-party fees.

Singapore plays host to an increasing number of family offices, both single and multi, because of its attractive taxation rules and double taxation arrangements with other nations.

While Asia’s ultra-high net worth individuals are keenly setting up family offices, not many are modelled after the professional set up seen in Europe. Most are small shops with couple of employees, some are offices run by ex-chief financial officers of their businesses, while some are run by ex-private bankers that have worked with the family for a number of years, and still piggy-back on the private banks for investments.

In addition, there are ‘family offices’ that comprise a loose network of independent advisers – be they lawyers or tax consultants – who come together to advise a family on how to manage its wealth.

‘Having spent a considerable amount of time in the single family office and the private wealth area, I see a marked difference between the local set-up and my experiences in Europe. The family offices there are pretty established,’ said Goh.

Goh’s first experience with family offices was in London, where he helped manage wealth for British financier Lord Jacob

Rothschild. Subsequently he worked for Bank Julius Baer, working closely with family offices there to manage their wealth.

‘It gave me insight into how European families have handled “rich family problems”. I want to help Asia develop this kind of family office… one that has developed wealth post World War Two, especially in the past 10-15 years with the rise of the emerging markets,’ he said.

As a single family office, Kamet Capital Partners will be exempt from licensing in Singapore and does not require a compliance officer. In light of growing regulations, Goh has reorganized the asset holding structures of the principal so the business operates out of Singapore. ‘The day we start investing, the tax dependency will fall in Singapore,’ he said.

Goh doesn’t rule out the potential of turning the firm into a multi-family office or handling third-party funds in the future, if like-minded private bankers or families come along.

‘You can turn it around from managing the interests of your family to creating a new business line. Cost savings aside, once you are able to aggregate a certain amount, you could do a lot more in terms of investment opportunities.’

Mookerjee, I. (2017, August 21). Former Julius Baer DPM head to launch single family office. Retrieved from http://citywireasia.com/news/former-julius-baer-dpm-head-to-launch-single-family-office/a1042979