Fifth WMI Global-Asia Family Office Summit examines portfolio resilience and next-generation readiness as WMI research identifies meaningful participation as a key marker of preparedness
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 October 2026 – Government borrowing, the artificial intelligence (AI) build-out and the overhaul of energy systems are all competing for the same pool of long-term money at a time when lenders demand more compensation to commit for long, WMI Chairman and GIC CEO Mr Lim Chow Kiat said today at the fifth WMI Global-Asia Family Office Summit.
Mr Lim said: “There is no shortage of capital in the world. What is shorter is patience, and patience is being repriced.” He added:”The advantage of long-term capital—whether it is a family’s wealth or a country’s reserves—is that we do not have to predict the outcome. We have to be prepared for it, selective in what we own, and ready to move when others cannot.”
In his opening keynote, Mr Lim encouraged investors to look beyond the level of bond yields to what is driving them: stronger growth and investment, or doubts about inflation and public finances. He noted that AI has become a credit story as well as an equity one, with more of the build-out funded by debt. As outcomes widen across AI and energy, he said granularity matters more than ever, with GIC looking at assets one at a time rather than buying a broad theme.
Family offices navigate a new era of disruption and opportunity
Held under the theme Legacy in Action: Capital for the New Horizon, the two-day Summit will welcome close to 650 participants from across the family office ecosystem to discuss investing, family office governance, leadership and social impact.
The opening-day Single Family Office Forum brings together more than 240 participants, comprising families and their family office teams from Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, at different stages of building, stewarding and carrying forward their family enterprises and legacies.
Over five years, the Summit has grown alongside Singapore’s family office ecosystem into a trusted community where families, investors and professionals connect, learn from one another and explore opportunities together.
Preparing the next generation for stewardship
Alongside discussions on the investment landscape, the Summit examined how families can prepare the next generation to assume responsibility for capital, enterprise and legacy.
In her welcome address, Ms Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI, launched Stewardship by Design: Preparing Asia’s Next Generation for Leadership and Impact, a study conducted jointly with academics from Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
The research draws on responses from about 150 family offices, primarily in Asia. It compares their responses with those of family offices worldwide, with the majority from the Americas.
According to the study, 49% of Asian respondents consider the next generation prepared, compared with 52% in the comparison group. The figures are close, but they also reveal a shared challenge: only about half of respondents see the next generation as ready.
Ms Foo said: “Our study found that when next-generation members have the opportunity to contribute alongside senior family members on consequential decisions, families are almost seven times more likely to see them as ready.”
“The next generation does not develop judgement by waiting on the sidelines for responsibility to arrive, yet many families face a practical challenge. They want to prepare the next generation, yet they are not ready to hand over major decisions. Nor do they have to.”
Ms Foo added: “But there is no single structure that every family should follow. Asian families differ in size, history and complexity. What matters is having a clear path for development that fits the family’s circumstances.”
Translating research into practical support
To put these findings into practice, Ms Foo announced two distinct new WMI programmes to help prepare the next generation.
The first is PATH: Purpose, Aspiration, Trust and Heritage, a new programme for next-generation members of business-owning and wealth-owning families.
PATH will help participants explore their values and aspirations, deepen their understanding of enterprise, ownership and governance, and consider the different roles they can play as family stewards. They will identify practical next steps towards making a meaningful contribution to their families.
Connecting family offices with innovation
Ms Foo also shared with participants that WMI is working to connect family offices with globally leading innovation ecosystems.
Through learning journeys and direct engagement with founders, investors, researchers and technology leaders, family offices and next-generation members will get firsthand exposure to emerging technologies and business models, helping them understand the latest developments and where new opportunities may lie.
Insights from global business and technology leaders
Day One also features Dr David K. Lam, Founder of Lam Research and Chairman and CEO of Multibeam Corporation; Mr Mark Lee, CEO of Singlun; and Ms Cindy Karim, Principal of the Karim Family Foundation, alongside other prominent family principals, investors and technology leaders.
Discussions span emerging technologies and investment judgement, next-generation leadership, family enterprise, governance and long-term impact.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade), and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore will attend the Summit as Guest of Honour later today.
The WMI Global-Asia Family Office Summit continues on 6 October 2026 with the Partners Forum, bringing together financial institutions, advisers and other professionals supporting families across investments, governance, succession, philanthropy and legacy.
For Mr Lim Chow Kiat’s full speech, click here.
For Ms Foo Mee Har’s full speech, click here.
To download the report, click here.
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About WMI
Established in 2003, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) is committed to building capabilities for investing in a better tomorrow. Founded by GIC and Temasek, our vision is to be Asia’s Centre of Excellence for wealth and asset management education and research.
WMI provides a comprehensive suite of practice-based certification and diploma programmes and collaborates with leading universities for master’s degrees. With over 20,000 annual enrolments, WMI serves a diverse community of professionals across Asia—including wealth and asset managers, family offices, and professionals in tax, legal, compliance, and financial regulation across more than 160 programmes. WMI is recognised as Singapore’s lead training provider for private banking and wealth management.
WMI helms the Global-Asia Family Office (GFO) Circle, a trusted network platform that builds capabilities and fosters community within the family office sector. The GFO Circle is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). WMI also leads the Asia Centre for Changemakers (ACC), supported by Temasek Trust and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA). The ACC aims to build capacity and nurture a strong pipeline of active and informed changemakers with a focus on Asia.
