Market Insights

Protecting investors and the public from scams remains a top priority for us.

In an ever-evolving financial landscape, Singapore’s economic growth is projected to slow to about 0.5% to 2.5% year-over-year in 2023, following a rate of 3.6% year-over-year in 2022. Against this backdrop, making informed decisions becomes paramount to maximising returns and protecting wealth.

Fund management involves the professional management of investment funds on behalf of clients. Fund managers are responsible for making informed investment decisions, conducting market research, and optimising portfolio performance. Effective fund management is crucial for maximising investment returns while minimising risks. It requires expertise in analysing financial markets, selecting appropriate investment strategies, and adapting to changing market conditions. Investing through a fund management company offers several advantages. It allows investors to access professional expertise, diversified portfolios, and economies of scale. Additionally, it frees investors from the burden of day-to-day investment management, enabling them to focus on other aspects of their financial goals.

For high-net-worth people navigating today’s unpredictable financial markets, having reliable financial advisory and wealth asset management services are critical. These services offer expertise knowledge, strategic planning, and tailored solutions that will help them optimise wealth generation, preserve assets, and avoid risks. Financial experts provide relevant industry insights to help clients make informed but unbiased decisions in a complex market. Overall, financial consulting and wealth asset management play critical roles in guiding clients in navigating the intricacies of financial markets and achieving their wealth management objectives.

As the global economy continues to evolve and interconnect, international trade remains a vital driver of economic growth and development. At the heart of this global trade lies trade finance, a financial sector that has experienced significant growth in recent years, fueled by the increasing demand for efficient and secure cross-border transactions. Trade finance has emerged as an attractive alternative asset class for private debt investors, who seek to capitalize on its unique risk-return profile and low correlation with traditional investments.

In Part I of this article, we have briefly discussed the need for a framework to measure, evaluate, and compare the performance of an investment portfolio or investment fund. At Rockstead Capital, we also use this framework to objectively evaluate and improve the performance of our clients’ investment portfolios and in-house funds.

Researchers have found that most active managers underperform their appropriate benchmarks most of the time after adjusting for risk and fees [1]. Despite the widespread underperformance of most actively managed funds, investors frequently receive calls from their financial advisors informing them of “attractive” or “fantastic” investment opportunities that are capable of beating the market. However, these opportunities often prove to be disappointing.

As a growing number of Asian entrepreneurs, tycoons and affluent families prepare to hand over the reins of the business to the next generation, they are turning to family offices to facilitate succession planning and wealth transfer.

The Singapore Resident Fund Scheme was introduced to encourage fund managers to base their fund vehicles in Singapore. The main advantage of using a Singapore fund over a tax haven-based fund is that the fund management company and investment team are based in the location of the fund itself (i.e., Singapore).