Hall Of Fame

Rising Stars

Firms To Watch: Investment funds: local firms

RHTLaw Asia LLP has a burgeoning investment funds practice, showcasing adeptness with VCC structures, including private funds and open-ended funds, and representing a variety of fund managers and ultra high net-worth individuals. Engagements are led by a variety of partners, with associate Saravanan Rathakrishnan demonstrating notable expertise in this arena.

Investment funds: local firms in Singapore

Allen & Gledhill LLP

Allen & Gledhill LLP has devoted considerable resources and expertise to the investment funds field. It has stood as a dominant force in collective investment schemes and REITs, and is also widely rated for the listing of exchange traded funds (ETFs). Beyond its historical fortes, the firm routinely advises clients on private equity and private real estate fund launches. Managing partner Jerry Koh leads the REITs and investment funds practices, and is a titan in the market. Jonathan Lee has a focus on private funds, REITs and business trusts, including the formation of private funds and investments by limited partners funds. Sarah Teo and Lai Shieh Lin are experienced figures in handling collective investment schemes.

Practice head(s):

Jerry Koh


Other key lawyers:

Jonathan Lee; Sarah Teo; Lai Shieh Lin


Testimonials

‘This firm is a market leader in this area and has a good understanding of market practice. Accordingly, it has the expertise and experience to deal with complex and sophisticated matters.’

‘Sarah Teo is always very responsive and engaged. She provides advice that is commercially viable, demonstrating a strong commercial awareness and understanding.’

‘A&G is solutions-orientated in new or demanding regulatory situations.’

‘Client experience is good and consistent.’

‘The firm has great technical and industry knowledge.’

Work highlights


  • Advised on the establishment of GLP China Income Partners V, a private real estate fund.
  • Advised on the establishment of Advantage Partners Fund VII, a private equity fund focusing on Japan.
  • Advised on the establishment, authorisation and listing of CSOP SG ETF SERIES I – CSOP CGS-CIMB FTSE ASIA PACIFIC LOW CARBON INDEX ETF.

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP is a leader in the formation of private funds, having focused on the area for over 25 years. It has extensive regulatory expertise, focused on licensing and ongoing regulation for fund managers. The firm’s client base represents a significant market share of licensed and registered fund managers that conduct fund management business in Singapore. It has also played a pivotal role in the development of Singapore’s variable capital company (VCC) regime. Anne Yeo is at the pinnacle of the market, with Philip Yeo and Jasmine Chew also recognised as top practitioners. Arnold Tan is a doyen of the Singapore investment funds market.

Practice head(s):

Anne Yeo; Jasmine Chew; Philip Yeo


Other key lawyers:

Arnold Tan; Zixiang Sun


Testimonials

‘Rajah & Tann’s distinctiveness stems from its fusion of expertise and innovation. The team’s strengths are rooted in its profound legal knowledge with practical problem-solving acumen, enabling it to deliver tailored legal solutions that address client’s needs.’

‘Arnold Tan remains a leader in the industry.’

‘Jasmine Chew is recognised in the industry for her regulatory experience and for her manner with clients ensuring timelines and commercial objectives are met.’

‘Philip Yeo’s deep legal insights and strategic thinking consistently lead to innovative solutions, and his collaborative approach fosters shared learning. In addition, Philip is known for meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to excellence.’

‘The key strength of the team is their regulatory expertise as they provide deep regulatory experience for Singapore investment managers and financial institutions.’

‘Arnold Ta’s expertise is recognised by all in the industry as he remains a leading individual.’

‘Anne Yeo is recognised in the industry as being extremely knowledgeable and assists clients navigate the Singapore regulatory landscape in a compliant yet commercial manner.’

‘Philip Yeo brings a strong rapport to client relationships.’

Key clients

Havenport Asset Management


Tahan Capital Management Pte Ltd


Amansa Capital Pte Ltd


New Silk Road Investment Pte Ltd


Unison Capital Management Pte Ltd


RV Capital Management Pte Ltd


Nuvest Capital Pte Ltd


Mizuho Asia Partners Pte Ltd


Griha Pte Limited


Beenext


Dentons Rodyk

Dentons Rodyk reinforced its practice with the hire of highly-rated private funds specialist Emily Low from Atlas Asia Law Corporation in July 2022. She joins a team that has an impressive legacy practice that includes private equity, venture capital and fund launches under the VCC structure. Along with assisting asset managers with fund launches the firm also represents institutional investors. I-An Lim is an immensely experienced funds specialist with extensive experience in VCC structures and new fields such as cryptocurrency-related products. S Sivanesan is another key partner, rated for venture capital funds.

Practice head(s):

I-An Lim; Emily Low


Other key lawyers:

S Sivanesan


Testimonials

‘Emily Low is an excellent lawyer; technically good, commercially savvy, detailed and great at drafting.’

‘Dentons understand the unique demands of the client. They also have good global team to work together on a project.’

Key clients

J O Hambro Capital Management Limited


UOB Venture Management Pte. Ltd


OT Management LLC


Leo Technology Fund VCC


Work highlights


  • Reviewed the offering documents and information memorandum for the J O Hambro Funds, restricted schemes domiciled in Ireland and the UK, including amending and advising the manager on the regulations application to the funds.
  • Acted for a Singapore-based fund manager in the establishment of a VCC with a focus on investing in cryptocurrency-related financial products and blockchain companies.
  • Acted for OT Management in connection with its $15m investment, through its affiliated entity, OT Asia Fintech Fund I, in Karbon United.

Drew & Napier LLC

Drew & Napier LLC has an established and well-developed investment funds practice, particularly in the open-ended funds space. It has extensive regulatory experience including interactions with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Ron Cheng heads the investment funds team, advising on a range of alternative investment funds establishments, including those under the umbrella VCC structure. He has driven further growth in cryptocurrency and private credit funds, among other burgeoning areas. Former partner Petrus Huang has retired.

Practice head(s):

Ron Cheng


Testimonials

‘The team at Drew & Napier LLC are very experienced and knowledgeable. They are also responsive and able to articulate the legal concepts clearly to clients.’

‘Ron Cheng is experienced and knowledgeable, especially on matters pertaining to investment funds. He is able to explain the legal concepts clearly and concisely to clients and to assist with their requirements.’

‘The full-suite team at Drew & Napier is able to breakdown complex problems and provide comprehensive and innovative solutions.’

‘Ron Cheng has proved to be top-tier with his professionalism, in-depth knowledge, capability to breakdown complex problems and create innovative solutions.’

Key clients

GAO Capital Pte Ltd


Harvest Fund Management Company


PT. Nikko Sekuritas Indonesia


Citicorp Trustee (Singapore) Limited


OurCrowd Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


UBS Bank AG Investment Funds (Singapore branch)


Golden Horse Fund Management Pte. Ltd.


SG Trust Asia Ltd


Work highlights


  • Advised a foreign SOE as the sponsor and lead investor of a Singapore VCC which is established by the foreign SOE to invest into Indonesian non-performing loans.
  • Acted for PT Nikko Sekuritas Indonesia in establishing a new unit trust and various sub-funds which invests into physical bullion, paper bullion, derivative bullion, fixed income and equity securities.
  • Advised a major ESR-related fund manager in the establishment of a real estate sub-fund using the umbrella VCC structure.

Shook Lin & Bok LLP

Shook Lin & Bok LLP is a major force in the Singapore investment funds market, thanks in part to the presence of Tan Woon Hum, who is highly rated by international peers and clients, and is further noted for his regulatory expertise. The wide-ranging practice covers listed REITs, retail unit trusts, and private and hedge funds. Fluent Mandarin speakers provide additional access to Chinese investors and fund managers. The broader client base includes international and boutique fund managers, large institutional investors, and family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Andrea Ng has a background in trust, asset and wealth management matters and has a fine record in REITs.

Practice head(s):

Tan Woon Hum


Other key lawyers:

Andrea Ng; Ian Chew; Alicea Tan


Testimonials

‘SLB lawyers are known to be exceptionally insightful and well-versed. We have found them to be straightforward and able to identify what the issues are, and provide sound commercial advice as to how to navigate these issues.’

‘SLB are very reliable and their advice is exceptional.’

‘Alicea Tan is very good at what she does, whether in relation to regulatory issues or other legal/commercial advice. We have been impressed with her breadth of knowledge and how quickly she can understand some of our complicated cross-border issues and provide sound advice to help us move forward.’

‘Tan Woon Hum is well-known for his regulatory expertise.’

Work highlights


  • Acted for HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, as trustee of ARA Logos Logistics Trust in its proposed merger with ESR-REIT by way of a Trust Scheme of Arrangement.
  • Acted for a Singapore fund manager in the establishment of a $250m Singapore umbrella variable capital company with one sub-fund with the objective to invest in early-stage private companies primarily in the post-seed, pre-Series A and Series A stages.
  • Advising Perpetual (Asia), as trustee of Digital Core REIT, in relation to Digital Core REIT’s proposed acquisition of two data centres in Frankfurt and Dallas.

WongPartnership LLP

WongPartnership LLP has a longstanding association with the private equity sector, including the establishment of funds. It advises some of the biggest private equity houses in the world. The firm also has a broader investment funds practice covering hedge funds, infrastructure funds, real estate funds, fund-of-funds and other collective investment schemes. It has achieved further prominence in REITs. Fully aligned with industry trends, the firm has made a further impression in social and environmental impact funds, along with data centre development funds. Low Kah Keong heads the asset management and funds practice, which includes private funds specialist Felicia Marie Ng.

Practice head(s):

Low Kah Keong


Other key lawyers:

Felicia Marie Ng


Testimonials

‘Core team of partners, who understand our business and are at the top in their respective fields.’

‘Low Kah Keong is commercial, sharp, knowledgeable and responsive.’

Key clients

TPG Capital, L.P.


KKR Asia Limited.


Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited


L Catterton


Lendlease Investment Management


B Capital Group


East Ventures


Indies Capital Partners


Morgan Stanley Real Estate


Silver Lake Partners


ABC World Asia Pte. Ltd.


CapitaLand Limited


Jungle Ventures


Tower Capital Asia


Redbadge Pacific


Work highlights


  • Acted for Tower Capital Asia, a Singapore-based private equity firm, in its maiden blind-pool private equity fund at US$379 million, surpassing its original target of US$300 million.
  • Acted as fund counsel to PATRIZIA in a strategic partnership with a major Asian institutional investor to invest up to JPY 150 billion in Japanese real estate.
  • Acted as transaction counsel to CapitaLand Investment (CLI) in the establishment of a China data centre development fund with a fund size of S$530 million.

BTPLaw

BTPLaw is a boutique law firm specialising in VCCs. Having launched in December 2020, the firm has built a significant market share of VCC fund formations, over 190 as of 31 March 2023. The young firm, headed by ‘Mr VCCBrandon Tee, has experience of other fund structures, including the formation of cryptocurrency/Web3 funds domiciled in Jersey. It has now built a sizeable client base of local, regional and international fund managers.

Practice head(s):

Brandon Tee


Testimonials

‘The team is extremely committed in understanding the needs of their clients and is also a specialist in the VCC space in terms of fund documentation. The firm is also extremely collaborative and responsive.’

‘Brandon Tee is a star of the law firm. He is dedicated to understanding the needs of the clients.’

‘BTP Law provide practical and commercial advice. They are always looking for solutions to client problems and are accessible despite having a large roster of clients. BTP are considered leaders in VCC advisory work.’

‘Brandon Tee is Mr VCC, but also provides useful advice in many other areas of law. We’ve been happy to use him to consult on share agreements, HR and company structure.’

‘BTP Law is an excellent resource for sophisticated fund formation legal services in Singapore and BVI. They are extremely knowledgeable and responsive.’

‘The practice is agile, immersed in the funds space with experience in new and innovative means of structuring funds including with respect to implementation of web3 solutions.’

‘Brandon Tee is extremely commercial and has been known to deliver quality work at reasonable timelines. He is also generous with his time and takes full ownership of the clients that he acts for.’

‘Genuine expertise in digital assets; very responsive and engaged in the digital assets community.’

Key clients

Sygnum Pte. Ltd.


Atlas Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


Pilgrim Partners (Asia) Pte. Ltd.


First Degree Global Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


Safe Harbor Capital Management Pte. Ltd.


Evolve Capital Management Private Limited


Swiss-Asia Financial Services Pte. Ltd.


AsiaLinq Investments Pte. Ltd.


Privium Fund Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Aura Group (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Kairous Capital (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Chicago Global Capital Pte. Ltd.


DeFiance Capital Pte. Ltd.


ICM Global Funds Pte. Ltd.


APAC Family Office Pte. Ltd.


Iquotient Capital Management Pte. Ltd.


Prosperitas Capital Pte. Ltd.


Verge Capital Management Pte. Ltd.


Indochine Group


Noviscient Pte. Ltd.


Luminor Capital Pte. Ltd.


Blue Altitude Capital Pte. Ltd.


Sunline Pte. Ltd.


Wealth Management Alliance Pte. Ltd.


Penco Capital Management Private Limited


First Estate Capital Management Pte. Ltd.


Finexis Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


BiFrost Capital Pte. Ltd.


AsiaWorld Assets Pte. Ltd.


AIP Investment Partners Pte. Ltd.


Aris PrimePartners Pte. Ltd.


Indea Capital Partners Pte. Ltd.


Aries Investment Management Pte. Ltd.


Covenant Capital Pte. Ltd.


Shenwan Hongyuan Singapore Private Limited


AL Capital Management Pte. Ltd.


Herman Capital Private Limited


Incred Global Wealth Pte. Ltd.


Soochow CSSD Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


R3 Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


Aravali Asset Management Pte. Ltd.


Work highlights


  • Advised Pilgrim Partners Asia, the manager of Bioeconomy Carbon Fund (a sub-fund of Thunderbolt Capital VCC), an open-ended collective investment scheme which invests in carbon credits.
  • Acted as the legal counsel to JCube Capital Partners, the manager of AMEC Fund VCC – PE , a closed-end collective investment scheme with a focus on investing in primarily in greener energy-related and/or sustainability-themed private equity opportunities.
  • Acted as the lead counsel to DeFiance Capital, the manager of DeFiance Liquid Venture Fund, a cryptocurrency fund established in Jersey to leverage on the double-tax treaty that Singapore has with Jersey.

CNPLaw LLP

CNPLaw LLP continues to inhabit the investment funds world with some considerable success. The team has a background in hedge funds, private equity funds, mutual funds, venture capital funds and commodity funds. It has continued to advise on the launch of high-value private equity funds and a large number of VCC structured funds. English lawyer Bill Jamieson is co-head of the department alongside Amit Dhume.

Practice head(s):

Bill Jamieson; Amit Dhume


Testimonials

‘The team, led by Bill Jamieson, are problem solvers and think outside the box. They are very flexible on billings as they are sensitive to the budgetary constraints of their clients. ’

‘The team that Bill Jamieson leads is amazing in every way. Attentive to budgetary constraints, and provide practical advice and industry insights. It is also a diverse team comprising of associates and partners from very diverse backgrounds.’

‘Bill Jamieson is extremely knowledgeable, perceptive and knows how to look after your wallet.’

Key clients

Shift4Good SAS


Work highlights


  • Advised Shift4Good SAS, the private equity fund manager, on establishing a $100m cross-border private equity fund.

Eng and Co. LLC

Eng and Co. LLC’s team has a background in investment funds, primarily through Colin Ong, who was previously the co-head of REITs at WongPartnership LLP. Ong and Rachel Eng have attracted an impressive number of asset managers as clients and are routinely advising on investment fund formations in Singapore under the VCC regime. The team has experience with private equity funds, hedge funds, real estate funds and climate-focused funds.

Practice head(s):

Rachel Eng; Colin Ong


Testimonials

‘The team has good business industry knowledge and are able to provide their legal services in a practical business manner.’

‘They are responsive and always provide valuable insight and assistance to us timely.’

Withers KhattarWong LLP

Withers KhattarWong LLP’s specialisation in investment funds coupled with its deep tax experience, makes it well-equipped to advise clients on open-end and closed-end funds. Clients include family offices, private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds, real estate managers and investors. It is particularly rated for funds structuring in the family office arena. More broadly, the team is well-suited to tax structuring, regulatory advice, fund formation and downstream investment. It has been especially active in the establishment of VCC structures and is also noted for technology and digital assets-related funds. Daniel Yong leads the investment funds team, splitting his time between funds formation engagements and private equity and M&A transactions. Eric Roose provides extensive tax expertise.

Practice head(s):

Daniel Yong


Other key lawyers:

Eric Roose; Si Ning Teng


Testimonials

‘Tailor-made legal advice. Very pragmatic in their approach and cost competitive.’

‘Daniel Yong is an experienced fund and corporate lawyer, who is technically strong with the ability to navigate complexity matters.’

‘What truly sets this team apart is their exceptional ability to think beyond conventional boundaries, to help us achieve our desired outcomes. The team is also extremely hands-on.’

‘Daniel Yong is one of the few funds lawyers who is able to appreciate the nuances of funds in the family office space.’

‘Daniel Yong is always patient and understanding.’

‘Si Ning Teng is efficient and concise.’

Key clients

PAG


Panthera Growth Partners Pte. Ltd.


Nuveen Singapore Private Limited and Greystar


Bentley Digital Assets Fund Limited


Alto Partners Pte. Ltd.


Altara Ventures Pte. Ltd.


Work highlights


  • Acted for PAG as Singapore counsel on various fund formation mandates including the establishment of Flow Digital Infrastructure.
  • Acted as Singapore counsel to Panthera Growth Partners in the establishment of its standalone VCC, Panthera Growth Fund II VCC, which will target growth equity and equity-related investments in commercial-stage digital technology and enterprise software and solutions companies that are primarily located in India.
  • Assisted Nuveen and Greystar on all aspects of Singapore law in connection with Nuveen and Greystar’s financing transactions for Nuveen Real Estate in the acquisition by its Asia Pacific Cities Fund of core residential properties in Osaka and Tokyo, and for Greystar in the acquisition by Greystar-managed funds of certain real estate assets in Japan.