Every new manager I speak to in Singapore has the same first question: which licence do I need? The answer matters more than most people think. Your licensing pathway determines how fast you can launch, how much capital you need on your balance sheet, what strategies you can run, and which investors you can accept. Get it wrong and you either overpay for infrastructure you do not need yet, or you paint yourself into a corner that forces a relicensing exercise just as your business starts growing.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore administers three main licensing categories for fund management companies: the Venture Capital Fund Manager (VCFM) licence, the Accredited/Institutional Investor Licensed Fund Management Company (A/I LFMC) licence, and the Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) status [1]. Each has different requirements, different costs, and different constraints. I will walk through the practical details of each one and explain how we advise managers at Allocator One Asia to think about the decision.
The VCFM licence: built for venture managers
The VCFM licence is the fastest, cheapest path to managing a fund in Singapore, and for pure venture capital managers it is usually the right one. MAS designed it specifically for managers focused on early-stage investing. The application uses Form 1V, costs SGD 1,000 in filing fees, and MAS typically processes it within four months [41]. Compare that to six months for a standard LFMC application, and you can see why the timeline advantage is real when you have investors ready to commit capital.
What makes VCFM different:
- No minimum base capital requirement. This is the single biggest advantage for new managers who do not have SGD 250,000 sitting in a corporate account [41].
- You must have at least two directors and two full-time staff based in Singapore [27].
- MAS takes a more flexible view of what counts as relevant experience. They recognise that venture capital managers often come from operator backgrounds rather than traditional asset management, so they weigh sector expertise and entrepreneurial experience alongside investment track records [27].
But there are real constraints. A VCFM licence only authorises you to manage venture capital funds. You cannot run a growth equity strategy, a credit book, or a real estate fund under this licence [41]. You are also limited to accredited and institutional investors, with no retail capital, which in practice is fine for most VC managers since that is where you are raising anyway [1].
The important thing I tell managers is this: VCFM works if your strategy is clearly venture capital and you do not see yourself branching into other asset classes within the next few years. If there is any ambiguity about your strategy evolving, think twice.
The A/I LFMC licence: broader flexibility, higher bar
The Accredited and Institutional Investor LFMC licence is the workhorse category for Singapore fund managers. It covers venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, real estate, any strategy, as long as you are serving accredited and institutional investors only [1][7]. For managers who want optionality, or whose strategy does not fit neatly into the VC box, A/I LFMC is the default choice.
The trade-off is a higher entry bar:
- Base capital of SGD 250,000. This must be maintained at all times, and your financial resources must continuously exceed total risk requirements under MAS methodology [41].
- Two Singapore-based full-time employees, each with at least five years of relevant experience in financial services [41]. The experience bar is stricter than VCFM; MAS expects traditional fund management or investment banking backgrounds here.
- When AUM hits SGD 1 billion, you must establish a dedicated, independent compliance function in Singapore [41]. Most managers launching a first fund will not hit this threshold, but it is worth knowing about for planning purposes.
- Application takes up to six months and requires detailed business plans, compliance frameworks, and demonstrations of the management team's qualifications [41].
The application process itself is more involved. MAS evaluates your ability to meet financial requirements, the quality of your internal risk management and compliance systems, the integrity and fitness of your directors and shareholders, and your team's track record [41]. For a new manager, that track record piece can be the hardest part: you need to demonstrate that your key people have done this before, even if the firm itself is new.
RFMC: the regime that is going away
The Registered Fund Management Company status was introduced in 2012 as a lighter-touch option for smaller operations. It allowed managers to operate with up to SGD 250 million in AUM and no more than 30 qualified investors, without a full licence [41]. For years it was popular with smaller managers who wanted to start lean.
That is changing. MAS announced in 2024 that the RFMC regime will be repealed [42]. The regulator has concluded that even smaller fund management operations should be subject to proper licensing and oversight. While existing RFMCs can continue operating during the transition period, new applicants should not be building their plans around this pathway. It is a dead end.
I have spoken with several managers over the past year who had initially planned to start as RFMCs. Every one of them has pivoted to either VCFM or A/I LFMC. The sooner you make that decision, the better; waiting for clarity on the phase-out timeline just delays your launch.
How to decide: a practical framework
This is how I think about this decision when advising managers through Allocator One Asia:
Choose VCFM if:
- Your strategy is clearly venture capital: pre-seed through Series B, primarily equity in unlisted companies.
- You do not anticipate running non-VC strategies in the next three to five years.
- Your team members do not all have five years of traditional financial services experience, but you have strong sector expertise.
- You want to launch quickly and keep initial costs low.
Choose A/I LFMC if:
- Your strategy includes growth equity, buyout, credit, or any non-VC element.
- You plan to evolve your product offering over time, for instance starting with VC but adding a growth fund later.
- You have SGD 250,000 available for base capital and team members with the right experience profiles.
- You want to avoid a relicensing exercise down the road.
The costs beyond the licence itself
Annual corporate fees for both VCFM and A/I LFMC include a fixed component of SGD 4,000 plus SGD 5 per representative from the 101st representative onward [41]. Those fees are modest. The real cost difference is in the operational infrastructure you need to maintain.
VCFM managers can operate with leaner compliance setups. A/I LFMC holders need more extensive risk management frameworks from day one, and the two-person-with-five-years-experience requirement means your salary obligations will be higher. For a first fund with SGD 10-30 million under management, these differences can meaningfully affect your fund economics.
There are also timing costs. VCFM's four-month processing window versus A/I LFMC's six months may not sound like much, but if you have investors waiting to close, those two extra months translate directly into delayed management fees and potentially missed investment opportunities.
Recent changes worth knowing about
The licensing framework keeps evolving. Effective January 2025, proposed acquirers seeking to obtain effective control of Singapore LFMCs no longer need MAS approval before signing sale and purchase agreements; they only need to ensure completion remains subject to subsequent regulatory approval [14]. This is a procedural simplification that matters if you are thinking about future strategic transactions, partnerships, or bringing in new investors at the GP level.
MAS has also been refining its supervisory expectations for fund managers operating VCC structures, issuing a specific circular on VCC governance in June 2025 [14]. If you plan to use a VCC as your fund vehicle (and most Singapore managers now do), your licensing choice needs to account for these additional governance expectations.
How Allocator One Asia and Infra One support licensing
We work with managers across the full licensing process. At Allocator One Asia, we help managers evaluate which licensing pathway fits their strategy, prepare their application materials, and build the compliance infrastructure that MAS expects to see. Infra One's fund administration platform then handles the ongoing operational requirements (investor onboarding with automated KYC/AML, capital calls, NAV calculations, and regulatory reporting) so your team can focus on investing rather than compliance administration.
We have seen what works and what causes delays. The most common mistake is underestimating the documentation MAS requires, particularly around business plans and compliance frameworks. The second most common mistake is choosing VCFM for speed when the strategy really warrants A/I LFMC, only to face a relicensing exercise two years later.
If you are planning a fund launch in Singapore, talk to us before you file your application. Getting the licensing decision right at the outset saves real time and money.
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