Malaysia opens its family office regime to multi-family offices

Malaysia’s Budget 2027, announced on 9 October 2026, introduces a multi-family office (MFO) model alongside the country’s Single Family Office (SFO) Incentive Scheme. In a statement the same day, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said the SFO scheme currently manages an indicative RM20.8bn in assets, which Asia Asset Management converts to about US$5.09bn. That figure comes from the regulator alone and is described by it as indicative.

What the budget adds

According to EY’s Budget 2027 alert, the new model will allow licensed fund managers to provide services to several families, including families that already hold an approved SFO fund. It sits within the Forest City framework, where the existing scheme gives a 0% tax rate on qualifying income for up to 20 years.

PwC Malaysia notes that the current framework was designed for one family and makes no provision for an MFO. The budget gives no effective date. PwC also says further clarity is needed on what will count as an MFO, and on whether the SFO tax incentives will be extended to MFOs and to the licensed fund managers running them. Neither firm’s reading of the budget text includes a tax rate for the new model.

The SC’s chairman, Mohammad Faiz Azmi, presented the change as part of the Capital Market Masterplan 2026–2030, as reported by The Star. The same budget extends the tax incentive for Islamic fund management.

The scheme MFOs would join

The SC’s own scheme page sets out the current terms. An SFO is treated as a “specified person” under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 and is exempt from licensing, which is why a separate, licensed route is needed for anyone serving more than one family. The 0% concessionary rate applies to the single family office vehicle’s income, including capital gains and foreign-sourced income. Qualifying assets moved into the vehicle on establishment get a one-off exemption from capital gains tax and stamp duty. A fast-track Residence Pass–Talent visa of up to ten years, renewable for ten more, covers family principals, dependants, key employees and advisers the family brings in. The vehicle must file audited accounts each year to keep its tax certification.

Malaysia’s move follows changes by its neighbours. In August, Singapore reworked the conditions on its own family office incentives to make entry lighter, and Hong Kong has had its own funds and family office tax bill before the Legislative Council this year.

What it means for family offices

For families that want Malaysia’s tax terms without staffing a dedicated office, the MFO model is the first sign of a shared route, and it would put licensed fund managers between the family and the regime. Until the government says whether the 0% rate reaches MFO structures, that route has no defined tax treatment, so families and their advisers have no basis yet for comparing it with an SFO in Forest City or with Singapore’s fund incentives. The RM20.8bn figure shows the SFO scheme has drawn assets; it is the regulator’s indicative number, and the SC has not attached a count of approved offices to it in this statement.

Sources: The Star (9 October 2026); Asia Asset Management (14 October 2026); EY Malaysia; PwC Malaysia; Securities Commission Malaysia.