Key Takeaways
- • Chi Man Kwan, who leads Raffles Family Office (RFO), says the firm was founded to act on the client's side of the table, separate from bank product-sales incentives, and that it now serves more than 200 families.
- • RFO declined to disclose its fee model or current assets under management; the South China Morning Post reported in 2020 that the firm managed more than US$2 billion.
- • RFO says it offers research access from roughly 50 banks, products from more than 50 institutions, and portfolio teams across eight asset classes including digital assets.
- • Deloitte's 2024 survey of 89 single-family offices found 48% in Asia-Pacific planned to rely more on outsourcing, versus a 34% global average.
- • UBS found only 53% of surveyed family offices globally had a formal succession plan, a gap RFO is addressing by drafting a corporate constitution.
Summary
Raffles Family Office (RFO) was shaped by Chi Man Kwan's experience in private banking around 2012, when he watched newly wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs realise paper gains from Hong Kong and US IPOs. According to Kwan, a bank earns revenue by selling products and sets earnings targets that can conflict with long-term client interests. He says he wanted to "sit on the family's side of the table," helping clients navigate options and work with banking partners, as reported by Tatler Asia.
RFO declined to share its fee model and current assets under management. It says it serves more than 200 families. The South China Morning Post reported in 2020 that the firm managed more than US$2 billion. RFO says it provides access to research from roughly 50 banks and products from more than 50 institutions, with portfolio teams covering equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, digital assets, multi-asset solutions and structured investment solutions. Kwan described RFO's first decade as focused on raising industry awareness. Demand is now growing, with Deloitte's 2024 survey of 89 single-family offices finding 48% in Asia-Pacific planning to rely more on outsourcing, compared with a 34% global average.
Kwan contrasts first-generation wealth, which he says typically sits 80 to 90 per cent in equities, fixed income and real estate, anchored by a 60/40 equity-bond allocation, with a second generation that favours private companies and holds diversified portfolios of 100 or more independent holdings. He cites a Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) survey published earlier in 2026, in which 49% of respondents with at least US$30 million in family wealth engaged in ESG investing and 34% in impact investing. UBS data show only 53% of family offices surveyed globally have a formal succession plan. RFO is drafting a corporate constitution to preserve its values beyond its founders. Kwan says most of RFO's management are in their early to mid-40s, positioning the firm as a bridge between generations. He frames his advice to heirs around "responsibility" to family, society and the world, and says Asia "deserves its own wealth manager" built by Asians for Asia.
RFO declined to share its fee model and current assets under management. It says it serves more than 200 families. The South China Morning Post reported in 2020 that the firm managed more than US$2 billion. RFO says it provides access to research from roughly 50 banks and products from more than 50 institutions, with portfolio teams covering equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, digital assets, multi-asset solutions and structured investment solutions. Kwan described RFO's first decade as focused on raising industry awareness. Demand is now growing, with Deloitte's 2024 survey of 89 single-family offices finding 48% in Asia-Pacific planning to rely more on outsourcing, compared with a 34% global average.
Kwan contrasts first-generation wealth, which he says typically sits 80 to 90 per cent in equities, fixed income and real estate, anchored by a 60/40 equity-bond allocation, with a second generation that favours private companies and holds diversified portfolios of 100 or more independent holdings. He cites a Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) survey published earlier in 2026, in which 49% of respondents with at least US$30 million in family wealth engaged in ESG investing and 34% in impact investing. UBS data show only 53% of family offices surveyed globally have a formal succession plan. RFO is drafting a corporate constitution to preserve its values beyond its founders. Kwan says most of RFO's management are in their early to mid-40s, positioning the firm as a bridge between generations. He frames his advice to heirs around "responsibility" to family, society and the world, and says Asia "deserves its own wealth manager" built by Asians for Asia.
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