Raffles Family Office Debuts Dedicated Philanthropy Foundation Amid Major Singapore Expansion

RFO formalizes its philanthropic push with the RFO Foundation and opens a new Singapore office at OUE Bayfront to serve Asia’s next-gen wealth owners.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 23, 2026, 11:49 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Business Times

Strategic Expansion at OUE Bayfront

Raffles Family Office (RFO) officially inaugurated its new Singapore office at OUE Bayfront on April 22, 2026, marking a significant increase in its physical footprint within the city-state. The new facility is set to accommodate more than 100 staff members, reflecting the firm’s rapid growth and its dual-headquarters strategy shared with Hong Kong. This expansion serves as a response to the burgeoning demand for specialized wealth management services in Southeast Asia, where the number of single-family offices has seen exponential growth. The opening ceremony, attended by Group CEO Chi Man Kwan and Singapore CEO Kendrick Lee, signaled the firm’s commitment to providing localized expertise for its ultra-high-net-worth clientele.

Institutionalizing the Philanthropic Mission

The launch of the RFO Foundation represents a pivotal shift from the firm’s previous five years of informal, ad-hoc charitable giving toward a disciplined, institutionalized approach. Funded entirely through the company’s balance sheet using portfolio dividend income, the foundation is integrated directly into RFO’s multi-family office framework. This transition is not merely cosmetic; it is designed to align the firm’s resources with specific pillars of education, talent development, and industry knowledge exchange. By creating a dedicated entity, RFO aims to provide a blueprint for its clients on how to structure their own legacies in a professional and lasting manner.

Bridging the Intergenerational Wealth Gap

A primary driver behind this formalization is the shifting mindset of the "next generation" of wealth owners in Asia. According to Kendrick Lee, younger family members are increasingly dissatisfied with traditional, passive delegation to private banks and instead seek to impose their unique identities on their family offices. This demographic places a significantly higher premium on social responsibility and purpose-driven investment compared to their predecessors. RFO views its new foundation as a vehicle to bridge this gap, helping younger heirs put their values into practice through structured philanthropy that goes beyond simple check-writing.