The due diligence that investors in family businesses must not skip

Minority shareholders need to understand specific risks to watch for in filings

    • A company can be operationally sound and still treat its outside shareholders as an afterthought.
    • A company can be operationally sound and still treat its outside shareholders as an afterthought. PHOTO: BT FILE
    Published Mon, Jul 20, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    [SINGAPORE] If you invest in a family-controlled company, you are buying into a structure in which the people in charge belong to a family you cannot outvote and may never meet.

    Across much of Asia and on Singapore’s own exchange, families still control a large share of listed entities.

    For a minority shareholder of such companies, the true risk is not just business performance. It is how that family chooses to exercise its control.