The Rise of Single Family Offices (SFO): Next Frontier for Real Estate
In today’s evolving wealth landscape, Single Family Offices (SFOs) set ups have become more common in this region. According to FIAM (Family Inheritance Association of Malaysia) the global family office sector is managing approximately $3.1 trillion assets in 2024, with projection to increase to $5.4 trillion by 2030.
What are these Single Family Offices and why is there a demand for them in this region now? SFO’s are private entities established by affluent families to manage their wealth, investments, and long-term legacy planning under one roof. The primary objective of a Single Family Office (SFO) is to protect wealth for future generations through trusts.
These SFO’s wealth basket includes a mix of businesses, properties, stocks, and cash. Nevertheless, real estate still remains one of the top preferred asset classes among many others.
Malaysia Government initiatives and policies
In 2025, the Malaysia Government introduced the Family Office Incentive Scheme and announced that the Forest City Special Financial Zone (SFZ) will be the leading hub for SFO’s, signaling a strong commitment to positioning Malaysia as a competitive family office hub in Southeast Asia.
With this new government policies and tax free settings, Malaysia is now being seen and will become an attractive base for SFO’s in the coming years.
Globally, and even in Asia the number of SFOs has surged as families seek greater control, privacy, and flexibility in managing their assets. TheEdge reported that the number of family offices in Asia Pacific had grown 515% at 1,224 comparatively to only 199 back in 2019.
With this rise, Malaysia is naturally stepping onto the radar — especially with the recent tax initiatives announced. Forest City Special Financial Zone (FCSFZ) will be the first location in Malaysia, which offers a 0% tax rate for up to 20 years for family offices with the requirement of minimum Asset Under Management (AUM) of RM 30million. With the criteria of 10% of the AUM or approximately RM10 million invested locally.
The plans for future ready infrastructure is also set in place. This move shall position Malaysia as an emerging hub for wealth management and cross-border investment in Asia.
Inside Family Offices
What does it mean, then? Malaysia is now actively welcoming high-net-worth families and global investors to set up wealth management hubs and to consider Malaysia as one of their preferred locations for Single Family Offices (SFOs). Singapore and Hong Kong have always been leading the region, accounting for close to half of the family offices established here, Singapore at 27.3%, Hong Kong at 21.1% whereas Malaysia is currently only taking 2.5% of the pie. Malaysia now seeks to compete and secure a share of this growing market. - mentioned by TheEdge.
Some of the notable mentioned of High Net-Worth Individuals now located in Singapore are Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google with a net-worth of $143 billion, James Dyson, Founder of Dyson at $15.1 billion and in Hong Kong are Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group at $27.2 billion, Joseph Tsai, co founder of Alibaba Group at $12.1 billion and many more. (Source: FIAM)
When these family offices move in, they bring along capital, business networks, and investment activity — especially into sectors like property, finance, and technology.
Should this prove successful, it will benefit Malaysia in terms of more job opportunities in finance, legal, property, and professional services. Indirectly am increased demand for premium properties, especially in Johor Bahru and surrounding city states. Nevertheless, the local economies will receive a major boost, as international families invest and live here long-term.
In short, this is about positioning Malaysia as a serious global wealth and investment player, with ripple effects set to lift the real estate market. Malaysia is stepping onto the global wealth stage—Forest City is just the beginning.
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