A lot of founders believe the paperwork is the hard part. It really isn't. Paperwork is boring, sure, but you can hire someone to fight through it. What you can't outsource is deciding who you are as a business. MAS wants to know that. Before it cares about your forms, it cares about your story: what you invest in, who your investors are, who runs the show, and why any of it deserves to hold other people's money.
Pick your lane early Alder Compliance
The Singapore route largely splits by who you serve. Stick to accredited and institutional investors and you apply for a Capital Markets Services licence in the lighter category. Let retail investors in and the bar climbs fast, with higher capital and tighter rules. Most new managers take the accredited route, and honestly that's usually the sane call for a first fund.
Some families managing only their own wealth don't need a licence at all, which surprises people. That path has its own tax-incentive angle, so don't assume it fits you either way.
Who's on the team
Your team is the application. A resident director, a compliance officer, a few individuals with real track records. If your CIO's history is patchy or hard to document, MAS will notice, and it will ask. Politely. But it will ask.
I'd collect performance evidence before touching anything else: old audited statements, reference letters, employment records. Not exciting stuff. Also the stuff that tends to be stuck in a drawer at a former employer.
Capital and timing
Base capital has a minimum, and you should check the current figure with MAS directly, since thresholds get revised. After that, the cost of running a compliant shop: office, auditors, a compliance framework that exists outside a PDF. Set aside a full year of that before your first fee lands.
Applications often drag on for several months, and rounds of questions from the regulator can stretch that further. Build your runway around the slow version, not the brochure version.
Where Alder helps
The sensible moment to talk to Alder is before you file anything. A short chat can show whether your structure holds up, which licence category fits, and what's missing from your pack. Fixing a gap in week one is nearly free. Fixing it after MAS flags it costs you months.
Bring your strategy, a draft team list, and a rough first-year budget. Even scrappy notes are fine. Nobody expects you to show up polished.