A recent analysis of figures on the number of wealth management entities in Singapore suggests the actual figure could be higher.

Singapore has become the wealth management leader for Asia and figures may understate the number of firms in this sector, with possibly 330 such organisations working in the jurisdiction, 10 per cent above the actual number, a report argues.

Aite Group, in a survey of Asian wealth management, with a focus on the city state, says that there are 304 wealth management organisations in Singapore, of which 52 are banks, 131 are capital markets intermediaries, 68 are financial advisors, and 53 are trust companies.

But that figure figure may be an underestimate, because of the lack of clarity of whether some entities are wealth managers; the figure could be 10 per cent higher, at up to 330, the report said. The study is called The Singapore Wealth Management Sector: A Structural Introduction.

Aite Group sifted through details on more than 9,000 organisations in the jurisdiction to arrive at a list of those focused specifically on wealth management; it excluded, for example, hedge fund and asset management operations.

"Certainly other firms are active in the market that we have not uncovered. Many firms have multiple licences, which might capture some of that extra market. In addition, there are undoubtedly family offices, principally single-family offices that will not want to be captured in this type of analysis due to the nature of their businesses," the report said.

"These entities may also not yet be licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, making any form of assessment next to impossible without close or ongoing interaction," it continued.

Among other data points from its Singapore profile, Aite Group said that at the end of 2014, total private wealth assets under management in the jurisdiction were $1.8 trillion; some 44 per cent of those assets originated onshore in Singapore, and 56 per cent originated offshore.

"Although a significant sum, it might appear at first sight that Singapore has so far underpenetrated the offshore community...Singapore's wealth holders...are responsible for just 3 per cent of both Asia-Pacific HNW assets and UHNW assets. With 97 per cent of the region's asset opportunities overseas, Singapore's wealth management opportunity is by far an offshore one," the report said.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to 18 per cent of total global household wealth - equating to $46 billion - with dramatic increases in the high net worth and ultra HNW elements; it is home to 32 per cent of all the world's HNW persons, pushing it in the same bracket as the US, rising from having 23 per cent of such persons in 2000. Singapore has a small populace, with only 2 per cent of HNW individuals.

Among the figures provided, it shows that North America banks have 11 per cent of licences to operate in the Asian jurisdiction; Middle East banks have 5 per cent, Australasia banks have 4 per cent; Africa banks have 0.5 per cent; Asia banks have 41 per cent and European banks have 39 per cent.