ACCORDING to Franklin Medici Family Office’s chief executive officer Augustus Xu, only about 20 per cent of family offices have a dedicated investment desk. Another 40 per cent rely on third parties such as private banks or joint family offices, and the remaining 40 per cent consult professional managers before making their own investments.

Franklin Medici is a legal, taxation and asset management consultant for family offices. Since the Singapore Exchange (SGX) approved the listing of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) last year, several family offices that Xu serves have expressed interest.

“We are looking mainly at projects in new energy, such as carbon neutral technologies or new eco materials, including building material and batteries,” he said. “We’ve had in-depth discussions with some companies with potential from Israel, China, the United States, and even Singapore, to see if they were interested in listing on SGX as a SPAC.”