Accredited investor in Singapore: the thresholds, and what changes when you opt in
In Singapore you can be treated as an accredited investor if you meet any one of three tests: net personal assets above S$2 million, with your primary residence counting for at most S$1 million; net financial assets above S$1 million; or income of at least S$300,000 in the preceding 12 months (each or its equivalent in a foreign currency). Meeting a test is not enough on its own: since 8 April 2019 each financial institution must also get your written consent, so accredited-investor status is something you opt into, firm by firm.
Checked against the Securities and Futures Act 2001, the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018 and MAS's FAQs on 19 October 2026. General information, not financial or legal advice.
- TL;DR — short answer
- Accredited investor (AI) is a legal status under section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act 2001. Individuals qualify on any one of: net personal assets over S$2 million (home capped at S$1 million), net financial assets over S$1 million, or income of S$300,000 or more in the last 12 months. Companies qualify with net assets over S$10 million. You must then opt in, in writing, with each institution. In exchange you give up some protections, such as a registered prospectus and some adviser conduct rules. You can withdraw at any time.
What are the accredited investor thresholds for individuals?
You need to meet any one of the three tests below. Each figure is in Singapore dollars, or its equivalent in a foreign currency.
Source: Securities and Futures Act 2001, section 4A (current version as at 19 October 2026); digital payment tokens: MAS FAQs Q1, updated 8 October 2024.
How does the primary residence cap work?
Under section 4A(1A), your primary residence is valued at its estimated fair market value less any outstanding amount on a credit facility secured by the residence. The lower of that figure and S$1 million is what counts towards net personal assets. MAS describes the primary residence as the home where the investor lives most of the time, in Singapore or overseas.
So a home alone can never carry you over the S$2 million line: at least S$1 million of your net personal assets has to come from something other than the home. Property does not count at all under the net financial assets test, which takes only deposits (as defined in the Banking Act) and investment products (as defined in the Financial Advisers Act).
How are crypto and digital tokens counted?
From 4 October 2024, MAS expects an institution computing your net personal assets to apply a haircut of at least 50% to the market value of your digital payment tokens, and to count no more than S$200,000 of them. In practice that means a crypto holding cannot add more than S$200,000 towards the S$2 million test.
An institution may use a bigger haircut or a lower cap, as long as it discloses its method and applies it fairly to all its customers. MAS-regulated stablecoins are excluded from this treatment. Clients assessed before 4 October 2024 using token holdings had to be re-assessed, which MAS asked institutions to finish by 4 July 2025.
Source: MAS FAQs on the Definition of Accredited Investor and Opt-in Process, Q1–Q2.
Can a joint account or a spouse qualify?
The Regulations add one rule for shared accounts: a person who holds a joint account with an accredited investor is an accredited investor in respect of dealings through that joint account (reg 2(2)(d) of the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018). The status covers that joint account only, and each joint holder still goes through the opt-in.
Neither section 4A nor the Regulations has a separate rule for adding a spouse's assets to yours. Each individual test is applied to "an individual". If you are relying on joint or family assets, ask the institution how it will assess them.
Which companies, trusts and partnerships qualify?
- A corporation with net assets exceeding S$10 million, as shown by its most recent audited balance sheet or, if it need not prepare audited accounts regularly, a balance sheet it certifies as true and fair, dated within the preceding 12 months.
- A corporation owned entirely by accredited investors: a corporation whose entire share capital is owned by one or more accredited investors (tested at the immediate or the ultimate shareholders, MAS FAQ A18).
- Another entity (not a corporation) with net assets exceeding S$10 million.
- A partnership: a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership) in which every partner is an accredited investor.
- A trustee of a trust whose subject matter exceeds S$10 million; of a trust whose beneficiaries are all accredited investors; or of a trust whose settlors are all accredited investors and have reserved all investment and asset-management powers and the power to revoke the trust.
Source: SFA s4A(1)(a)(ii); Classes of Investors Regs reg 2(1)–(2); Classes of Investors Regulations and MAS FAQs Q18–Q20. For family-office holding structures, see family offices in Singapore.
How do you opt in as an accredited investor?
There is no MAS application. The opt-in happens with each institution, under regulation 3(3) of the Classes of Investors Regulations:
- The institution assesses that you meet one of the accredited-investor tests (reg 3(3)(a)).
- It gives you, in writing: a statement that it has assessed you as eligible; a statement that you may consent to being treated as an accredited investor; a statement that you may withdraw consent at any time and the period after which it will stop treating you as one; the general warning in the Regulations; and a plain-language explanation of what changes for you (reg 3(3)(b)).
- You give it a written statement, or sign a statement it records, that you understand the consequences, consent, and know you can withdraw (reg 3(3)(c)).
- You may opt in with one institution and not with another.
- Statements may be given by email; your consent may be an electronic signature or an email, or a verbal confirmation the institution records in writing and you sign.
- A fund or securities offeror can rely on the opt-in obtained by the institution that manages your relationship, such as a private bank, rather than asking again for each product.
The general warning every institution must give you (First Schedule to the Regulations)
Accredited investors are assumed to be better informed, and better able to access resources to protect their own interests, and therefore require less regulatory protection. Investors who agree to be treated as accredited investors therefore forgo the benefit of certain regulatory safeguards. For example, issuers of securities are exempted from issuing a full prospectus registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore in respect of offers that are made only to accredited investors, and intermediaries are exempted from a number of business conduct requirements when dealing with accredited investors. Investors should consult a professional adviser if they do not understand any consequence of being treated as an accredited investor.
What protections do you give up when you opt in?
Being treated as an accredited investor switches off a set of retail safeguards with that institution. Examples written into the law:
- No registered prospectus. Securities and fund units can be offered to accredited investors under exemptions in the Securities and Futures Act (sections 275 and 305) without a prospectus registered with MAS.
- Financial Advisers Act section 34 does not apply when a financial adviser advises you. That is the duty to disclose all material information about a recommended designated investment product, including its terms, benefits, risks, fees and charges (FA Regs reg 33(1)(a)).
- Financial Advisers Act section 36 does not apply when a financial adviser advises you. That is the duty to have a reasonable basis for a recommendation, having regard to your investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs (FA Regs reg 34(1)(a)).
The adviser must tell you when it relies on these exemptions (Financial Advisers Regulations, regulations 33(2) and 34(2)). Other conduct rules are also disapplied. The Regulations list them as "consent provisions", and the institution's plain-language explanation should cover the ones that apply to your relationship.
Sources: Financial Advisers Act 2001, sections 34 and 36; Financial Advisers Regulations, regulations 33 and 34; Classes of Investors Regulations reg 3(9). Firms that serve only accredited or institutional investors need not join FIDReC. See dispute resolution.
Can you opt out later?
- You may withdraw consent at any time; the institution must stop treating you as an accredited investor after the period stated in its notice, which MAS says must be reasonable.
- Withdrawing does not undo transactions entered into before the notice period ends, and a fund manager is not expected to redeem investments made while you were an accredited investor.
How do banks verify accredited investor status?
- The institution must assess you itself (regulation 3(3)(a)). MAS says institutions are "ultimately responsible for ensuring that their client meets the statutory definition".
- Financial assets held with other institutions, in Singapore or elsewhere, can count if the institution has made reasonable checks to verify them.
- Where a review suggests a client may no longer qualify, MAS expects the institution to re-establish eligibility, including obtaining independent documentary proof, and to enter no new transactions on the basis of accredited-investor status if the client does not qualify.
MAS's FAQs refer to "independent documentary proof", but the law sets no fixed document list. Each institution decides what evidence it needs for the test you rely on.
Is a private-bank minimum the same as accredited investor status?
No. A bank's minimum relationship size is its own commercial policy. Accredited-investor status is a legal category that decides which products and exemptions apply to you. The two often overlap, because a bank's alternatives, private funds and many structured products are offered on accredited-investor exemptions. Compare published entry levels on Singapore private banking minimums.
One route stays open without opting in: restricted schemes can still be offered to any investor under section 305(2) where each transaction is at least S$200,000, and the opt-in regime does not apply to those offers (MAS FAQ Q17).
When did these rules start?
Revised individual tests in force: net financial assets limb added and the S$1 million primary-residence cap. Source
Classes of Investors Regulations in force, including the joint-account, partnership, look-through corporation and trust categories. Source
Opt-in regime in force: an eligible investor must consent before being treated as an accredited investor. Source
End of the transition in which existing individual clients who did not opt out could be treated as accredited investors without an explicit opt-in. Source
Digital payment tokens count at a 50% haircut, capped at S$200,000, in net personal assets. Source
Primary sources
- · Securities and Futures Act 2001, section 4A (as at 19 October 2026)
- · Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018 (as at 19 October 2026)
- · MAS — FAQs on the Definition of Accredited Investor and Opt-in Process (as at 8 October 2024)
- · MAS — FAQs on the Definition of Accredited Investor and Opt-in Process (4 Feb 2019 version) (as at 4 February 2019)
- · Financial Advisers Act 2001, sections 34 and 36 (as at 19 October 2026)
- · Financial Advisers Regulations, regulations 33 and 34 (as at 19 October 2026)
General information only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Whether you qualify, and whether opting in is right for your circumstances, is for you to decide with the institution and your own professional adviser. Related terms: accredited investor, institutional investor, SFA.
Accredited investor Singapore: FAQs
What are the accredited investor requirements in Singapore?
An individual must meet one of three tests in section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act 2001: net personal assets exceeding S$2 million (with the primary residence counted at no more than S$1 million), net financial assets exceeding S$1 million, or income of not less than S$300,000 in the preceding 12 months. Each figure can be met or its equivalent in a foreign currency. A corporation qualifies with net assets exceeding S$10 million. The institution must also assess you as eligible and obtain your written opt-in before treating you as an accredited investor.
How do I become an accredited investor in Singapore?
There is no MAS register or licence to apply for. Each financial institution assesses you itself against the statutory tests, gives you written statements (including a general warning and a plain-language explanation of what changes), and asks for your written consent. Status is per institution: you may opt in with one bank and not with another. The opt-in requirement has applied since 8 April 2019.
Does my home count towards accredited investor status?
Only partly, and only under the net personal assets test. Your primary residence is valued at its estimated fair market value less any outstanding loan secured on it, and counts for at most S$1 million of the S$2 million threshold. MAS describes the primary residence as the home where you live most of the time, in Singapore or overseas. Property does not count towards the net financial assets test.
Can crypto count towards accredited investor status in Singapore?
From 4 October 2024, MAS expects institutions computing net personal assets to apply a haircut of at least 50% to the market value of your digital payment tokens and to count no more than S$200,000 of them. An institution may be stricter but must disclose its method. MAS-regulated stablecoins are excluded from this treatment.
Can a joint account holder be treated as an accredited investor?
Yes, for that account only. Under regulation 2(2)(d) of the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018, a person who holds a joint account with an accredited investor is an accredited investor in respect of dealings through that joint account. Neither the Act nor the Regulations set a separate rule for combining a spouse's assets.
What protections do I give up as an accredited investor?
The statutory warning says accredited investors "forgo the benefit of certain regulatory safeguards". Offers made only to accredited investors need no prospectus registered with MAS, and intermediaries are exempt from a number of business conduct rules. For example, a financial adviser need not meet Financial Advisers Act section 34 (disclosing material product information) or section 36 (having a reasonable basis for a recommendation) when advising you, though it must tell you it is relying on the exemption.
Can I opt out of accredited investor status?
Yes, at any time. The institution's opt-in notice states how long it needs to process a withdrawal, and MAS says that period must be reasonable. Withdrawal does not undo transactions entered into before then, and a fund manager is not expected to redeem investments you made while you were an accredited investor.
Do I need to be an accredited investor to open a private bank account?
Not by law. A private bank's minimum is its own commercial policy, while accredited-investor status is a legal category that decides which products and exemptions apply to you. Many private-bank products, such as funds offered without a registered prospectus, can only be offered to investors who have opted in. Ask each bank what its minimum is and which products need accredited-investor status.
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