Setting Up a Family Office in Hong Kong: A Complete Guide

Hong Kong has reasserted itself as Asia’s leading cross-border private wealth centre. Deep ties to mainland China, an absence of capital gains tax and estate duty, and a coordinated government push have drawn family capital to the city at pace. The number of single family offices in Hong Kong reached 3,384 at the end of 2025, up more than 25% in two years, according to a Deloitte study commissioned by InvestHK.

My argument is that the mechanics of establishing a family office in Hong Kong — the FIHV tax concession, the substance test, the choice of vehicle — are well documented and, with the right advisers, navigable. The more consequential question is what happens inside the structure. A family office is a wrapper; its long-term success rests on the discipline of the investment strategy it houses and on governance that outlasts the founder.

This article examines how the FIHV concession works, the substance a family office must maintain in Hong Kong, which vehicles suit which mandates, and how the governance and investment functions fit together.

What a family office is: single-family versus multi-family, and why the distinction sets the regulatory path

Hong Kong levies no tax on capital gains and no estate duty, which was abolished in 2006. Its asset and wealth management industry oversaw more than HK$35 trillion (about US$4.5 trillion) at the end of 2024, according to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. For families with interests spanning mainland China and the wider region, Hong Kong offers a deep capital market, a currency pegged to the US dollar, and direct access to the mainland through established connect schemes.

Since a March 2023 policy statement set out eight measures to court family offices — including tax concessions, the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, and the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy — InvestHK’s dedicated FamilyOfficeHK team has actively supported new arrivals. That coordinated push is a large part of why formation has accelerated.

Why Hong Kong: tax neutrality, mainland access, and a coordinated policy push

The centrepiece of Hong Kong’s offering is the profits tax concession for family-owned investment holding vehicles (FIHVs), introduced by the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions for FIHVs) Ordinance 2023 and effective for years of assessment from 1 April 2022. A qualifying FIHV may have profits from qualifying transactions taxed at a concessionary rate of 0%, against the standard profits tax rate of 16.5%. Full details are set out in the IRD guidance on FIHVs.

The concession applies where the FIHV is managed by an eligible single family office (an “ESF office”) in Hong Kong and the conditions in the table below are met.

There is no separate application or pre-approval. An FIHV elects for the concession in its annual profits tax return; the election, once made, is irrevocable and applies to later years. Families seeking certainty may apply to the Inland Revenue Department for an advance ruling.

The government has also signalled an expansion of qualifying transactions — to cover, for example, private credit, loans, precious metals, and digital assets — in successive budgets. Families should confirm the current scope with their tax advisers, as parameters are subject to change.

The FIHV concession: how Hong Kong exempts qualifying profits, and what "substance" requires

Most Hong Kong family offices combine more than one structure. The ESF office — which employs staff, incurs local expenditure, and manages the FIHV — must be a private company with central management and control in Hong Kong. The FIHV that holds the investments may be a company, a partnership, or a trust.

Private company limited by shares. Suits straightforward, single-portfolio setups and is quick to incorporate through the Companies Registry.

Open-ended Fund Company (OFC). For pooled or multi-strategy structures, an OFC can hold sub-funds under one umbrella, each with segregated assets and liabilities.

Trusts. Commonly layered in for succession and estate planning, holding the ultimate beneficial interest with the family office acting as investment manager.

Company limited by guarantee. The usual vehicle for a charitable foundation where philanthropy sits alongside the main office.

What setting up a family office in Hong Kong involves, stage by stage

The path to an operational family office follows a recognisable sequence: define objectives, mandate, and governance; appoint Hong Kong legal, tax, and administration advisers; incorporate the ESF office and FIHV; hire the required qualified employees; establish banking and custody relationships; and fund the vehicle. Because the details vary by family and by structure — and because this is a matter for your own legal and tax advisers rather than a wealth platform — treat this as a description of what each stage entails, not a fixed timetable. Families should engage qualified advisers at the outset.

Governance, not returns, determines whether family wealth survives

Experienced practitioners consistently identify governance, rather than investment selection, as the more consequential long-term challenge; wealth without structure rarely survives beyond two generations. A Family Charter codifies values, investment philosophy, and succession rules. A Family Council or advisory board — combining family members and independent professionals — provides a forum for strategic decisions and a path for the next generation to engage. Succession planning belongs in the design from the start, not as a later retrofit.

How Endowus supports the mandate — and how it differs from a private bank

Once the structure is in place, the harder work is building an investment strategy that is evidence-based, conflict-free, and durable across generations. Here the contrast with a traditional private bank is the clearest argument for Endowus. A private bank typically earns fees from distributing products and may retain trailer commissions; those incentives can sit in tension with the family’s interests. Endowus operates on a fee-only basis.

Endowus HK Limited (SFC CE No. BQR225, Types 1, 4, and 9) is part of an independent wealth advisory and investment platform managing over US$10 billion for more than 300,000 clients across the region. Its model produces three features.

• Fiduciary alignment. Endowus is paid directly by the client through a transparent access fee of 0.10% to 0.60% per annum, with 100% of trailer commissions rebated. Removing distribution incentives removes the reason to churn or to favour higher-commission products.
• Institutional access and curation. The Investment Office selects funds across cash management, fixed income, equities, and private markets, working with more than 100 global managers — giving family offices institutional share classes at lower cost than retail channels.
• One platform, human advice. Onboarding, management, and monitoring run through a single platform, with a dedicated adviser assigned to the account.

To explore how Endowus can support your family office, arrange a consultation with an Endowus HK adviser.

Investment Implications

A family office is often treated as the endpoint of wealth creation. That framing is incomplete: the structure is the beginning, not the destination, and what compounds capital across generations is the quality of the decisions made inside it.

For families weighing a Hong Kong family office, in my view the most important implication is that structuring and investing are separate disciplines that must be planned together. The FIHV concession and the substance test are well served by specialist advisers. The investment architecture is where outcomes diverge, and where a fee-only, conflict-free approach compounds its advantage year after year.

On the one hand, a single family office offers control, privacy, and a tax-efficient structure with direct access to mainland and regional markets. On the other, it carries fixed costs, a HK$240 million asset test, substance requirements, and a governance burden that families below a certain scale may find hard to justify against an advisory platform. The right answer depends on a family’s assets, complexity, and appetite for in-house control — and it is best decided with both legal and investment advisers in the room.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is needed to qualify for Hong Kong’s family office tax concession?

The FIHV profits tax concession requires aggregate specified assets of at least HK$240 million (about US$30 million) managed by an eligible single family office in Hong Kong, together with substance requirements. There is no statutory minimum simply to form a family office, but the concession is most practical above that asset test. Confirm current thresholds with a tax adviser, as parameters are subject to change.

Does a Hong Kong single family office need an SFC licence?

Whether a licence is required depends on the activities carried on and how the office is structured. A single family office managing assets solely for one family may fall outside certain licensing requirements, but this is fact-specific. Families should obtain Hong Kong legal advice on their particular arrangement rather than assume an exemption.

How is the FIHV concession claimed?

There is no pre-approval. The FIHV elects for the concession in its annual profits tax return; the election is irrevocable once made and applies to subsequent years. For certainty, an FIHV may seek an advance ruling from the Inland Revenue Department.

Can Endowus help a Hong Kong family office with its investments?

Yes. Endowus HK Limited (SFC CE No. BQR225) provides evidence-based portfolio construction across public and private markets and institutional share classes at lower cost than retail channels, on a fee-only, conflict-free basis. Endowus does not provide legal or tax advice on family office structuring; families should engage their own advisers for that.

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