Dear Friends and Families,
Singapore, Our New Home
We are pleased to announce that Star Magnolia Capital (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (SMCSG) was founded on 6 July 2023 in Singapore and commenced its operations as an exempt financial advisor on 10 February 2024. SMCSG is a wholly-owned entity by Star Magnolia Capital Limited. As a result, we relocated our headquarter to Singapore. An exempt financial advisor is a status defined under the Securities and Futures (Licensing and Conduct of Business) Regulations (Rg 10) and the Financial Advisers Regulations (Rg 2) and is allowed to provide financial advisory services up to 30 accredited investors. It is not a license, but status allowed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate without the financial advisory license. (link)
Singapore is now our home. Currently, CHAN Yong, Persis, and Tiffany are based in Singapore while Charlie is based in Hong Kong and Fan is based in Shanghai. Shinya spends his time in both Singapore and Shanghai.
Family Endowment Office
When we started operations in 2012, there were few single- or multi-family offices in Asia. While the industry grew, many peers disappeared as operating multi-family offices takes work. We were one of the few multi-family offices in Asia with more than ten years of operating history. At the same time, over the last several years, we started seeing many multi-family offices whose operations are quite different from ours. We decided to call ourselves a family endowment office, a financial adviser specialized in the endowment approach to distinguish ourselves.
Our investment and operating philosophy are quite distinguished, so we initiated a few projects, including a Harvard Business School case study written by Prof. Larry COHEN and Prof. Hao GAO (Becoming Experts at Finding Experts) and our own webtoon.
As a family endowment office, we are expected to support our families for decades, if not centuries. For the first time since our inception, we are actively welcoming new families to join our platform. If you know any long-term mindset family who is willing to explore the endowment approach to manage the family’s wealth, please make an introduction. The first 12 years of Star Magnolia Capital’s history are just the beginning.
Research Activity Updates
The House of Mulans had another busy period. We had 383 Due Diligence Activities throughout the year, including 334 Meetings & Calls from January to June 2024.
During the first half of the year, the research team traveled in US (New York, Boston), Europe (London, Milan, Zurich) and Asia (Bangalore, Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai).
Thematic Research
We also launched five Thematic Research, including Israeli Ventures (CHAN Yong), India Public Equity (Tiffany LIU), Carbon Credit (Tiffany LIU), Industrial Buyout (Shinya DEGUCHI), and Europe Activism (Shinya DEGUCHI). The research team was supported by three talented summer interns (Mouli RAJ, Gaius ANG, and Julian LEE). The Thematic Researches aims to analyze and develop our understanding of critical long-term trends, which will significantly impact our asset allocations and manager selections over the next ten years, and identify potential investment managers with whom we can build relationships.
Historically, we have executed 7 Thematic Researches and successfully identified several investment managers and co-investment opportunities.
Blockchain and Metaverse
China Distressed
Credit Bubble
Germany Buyout
Distributed Database
Next Generation Biotech
Protein Revolution
Southeast Asia Venture Capital
Southeast Asia Consumers
US Property Markets
Tiffany just completed her India Public Equity research; her insight was published as “India’s Womenomics, A Solution to the Growth Paradox?”. In the coming weeks, we will also hold a webinar open to the public.
Past Thematic Views
The Protein Revolution - Part 1
The Protein Revolution - Part 2
There’s Something about Mittelstand
Requiem for the American Housing Dream
Crouching Bankers, Hidden Opportunity
Conclusion
Thank you very much for your continuous support. If you have any plans to visit Singapore or Shanghai, please feel free to send us an email. We will take you to our favorite (and affordable) local cuisines to enjoy food and conversation together.