MAS assets under management grew 7% to $2.7t in 2016

Thanks to deeper expertise in portfolio management.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) total assets under management (AUM) grew 7% YoY to $2.7t in 2016.

According to its annual survey, AUM grew from $2.6t in 2015. Over the last five years, they expanded with a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

The asset management industry continued to maintain high discretionary AUM, which rose from 52% to 53%.

"This reflected the industry’s depth of expertise in higher value-added activities such as portfolio management," MAS said.

Last year also saw the increase of 32 registered and licensed fund managers, bring the total to 660.

However, the net inflow of funds was slower after they hit $116b last year, lower than $203b in 2015.

The inflow of funds to traditional managers was generally lower. Private market managers contributed to the bulk of net fund inflows.

Traditional AUM grew by just 3%, whilst alternative AUM rose 17% to $478b.

In 2016, 78% of total AUM came from outside Singapore, lower from 80% in 2015. Around 55% came from the AsiaPacific, 19% from North America, and 17% from Europe,

MAS said this demonstrated Singapore’s role in serving regional and international investors.