Singapore Funds Industry Group
SFIG's static site couldn't represent Singapore's bid to be a global funds hub. We rebuilt it as a custom WordPress platform the team can update themselves, with a members area phase to follow.
Replaced a basic, static site with a custom WordPress build that presents Singapore's asset management ecosystem to fund managers, institutional investors and government bodies worldwide.
What we were solving
The Singapore Funds Industry Group (SFIG) is a partnership between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the private sector, set up to strengthen Singapore's position as a full-service asset management and fund domiciliation hub. It is an association of associations, coordinating industry groups across the funds ecosystem.
Its website has to speak to a demanding audience: fund managers across private equity, private credit, venture capital and hedge funds, sovereign wealth and pension funds, family offices and government bodies, plus the advisors around them. The existing site couldn't. It was static, hard to update and not search friendly. The brief carried an unusual constraint. It had to look professional and elegant, but not like MAS or other government websites, and not like a retail business with bright colours and stock imagery.
Success meant a site visitors spend time in, that drives registrations and downloads, and that stands comparison with the best fund jurisdiction sites. Irish Funds was the benchmark the client rated highest.
How we tackled it
Design strategy before pixels
We started with a design strategy session covering SFIG's purpose, audience segments and the competitive field (ALFI in Luxembourg, Irish Funds, Jersey Finance and others). It produced a negative brief as well as a positive one: no cartoonish illustration, no amateur imagery, no government-portal aesthetic, no clutter. The sitemap was mapped and approved in Flowmapp. We designed the five templates that carry the strategic weight of the site (Homepage, About, Establishment in Singapore, Singapore Fund Structures, and Industry Training & Resources), with wireframes for the rest.
A custom build the team can run
The site is a custom HTML5 child theme on the Beaver Builder Framework, so SFIG's team edits pages without a developer. The old site's biggest failing was that it was too hard to update. Custom templates for additional pages and post types keep the look consistent as content grows. Content now covers what an international fund manager needs before choosing Singapore: fund structures (VCCs, limited partnerships, unit trusts), licensing and establishment, taxation, work visas, grants and incentives, and a Media hub carrying the SFIG Journal and the gated Singapore Funds Formation Handbook.
Public site first, members area next
Launching the public site first let SFIG start promoting Singapore while the members scope was settled. The members phase is now in build: a resource library with per-item public or members-only visibility, registration through Gravity Forms, per-member download tracking and a filterable member directory, waiting on SFIG's content and assets to complete.
What we delivered
SFIG now has a platform that matches the standing of the organisation behind it: an industry body co-led by Singapore's financial regulator, presenting the country's funds ecosystem to a global professional audience. The team updates content themselves. The site is structured around the actions that matter (browsing depth, registrations, downloads) rather than acting as a static brochure, and non-brand searches for Singapore fund structures and collective investment schemes now land on SFIG's own pages.
What we learned
For organisations that sit between government and industry, the design brief is as much about what to avoid as what to achieve. SFIG needed authority without looking like a ministry, and polish without looking like a retail brand. Naming the anti-references early gave every design decision a fast test.
The other lesson is phasing. Launching the public site first, with a single gated resource as a stopgap, let SFIG start promoting while the members area was scoped with real questions (who downloads what, which firms register) rather than guesses.
Impact & outcomes
Google Search impressions and 1,710 clicks in seven months
