TGV CEO: The MAS rule capped our best bets

This article summarizes an episode of Analyse Asia’s video series featuring True Global Ventures general partner Beatrice Lion

True Global Ventures / Photo credit: TGV

Venture capital firms can improve performance by limiting fund sizes instead of chasing higher management fees. Beatrice Lion, CEO of True Global Ventures, explains her firm’s recent regulatory upgrade with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and its wider implications for venture strategy.

This shift from a constrained framework to a full Capital Markets Services license is more than procedural. It represents a move toward a dynamic investment model that uses secondary markets, combines AI and blockchain, and overhauls corporate treasury management.

The regulatory ceiling for venture capital is breaking

True Global Ventures’ upgrade to a Capital Markets Services license, a regulatory approval for more diverse financial activities, is a move beyond the restrictive venture model. The change enables a more dynamic and mature investment approach within Singapore’s regulated environment, opening up strategies that were unavailable under the prior Venture Capital Fund Manager (VCFM) framework, a simplified regulatory regime introduced by the MAS in 2017 with strict limitations on fund size and investment types.

The VCFM framework imposed a constraint.
Lion states, “[the VCFM framework] had this constraint which is very limiting. It was 20% maximum of the fund that we have can be invested into secondaries or companies that are older than 10 years.”

This restriction became a strategic barrier.
She recalls, “that was a very stifling area where there was a lot of pressure like what happens if we come towards a later part of investment period and the company we invested into still hasn’t raised a round. So we are typically investors that follow on in our investments.”

The CMS license enables broader asset class investment.
Lion explains, “the real trigger was because of this 80/20% rule. um that’s why we ventured into applying for that… a lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is to get a CMS license in Singapore. I think usually these are something that is owned by maybe private banks, maybe some very established uh investment banks.”

New licensing unlocks mature asset strategies

This regulatory change alters the firm’s operational capabilities. It lets TGV pursue assets and opportunities that were previously off-limits, including tokenized assets, secondaries, and later-stage companies that need a more patient investment timeline.

The upgrade allows for direct crypto investment.
Lion notes, “now that [the restriction] is lifted we can invest in tokens should we want to… previously anytime tokens hit our balance sheet, we will kind of liquidate them just to be safe…it’s the immediate impact for us.”

It enables investment in older, established companies.
She continues, “these companies took time to find the product market fit… incorporation wise you know it could be more than 10 years old, but the business really started picking up maybe in the last two three years which is you very exciting growth story for us still.”

Secondaries are becoming a primary tool for growth

The new ability to invest in secondaries, shares sold by existing investors, lets TGV bypass traditional funding cycles. The firm can increase its stake in promising portfolio companies, providing liquidity to early stakeholders while consolidating its position before major growth events.

Secondaries offer a way to double down on winners.
Lion explains, “what we’ll do is that we’ll expand our exposure to getting more secondaries so that when they raise a round after the investment period of our fund… we can still retain a sizable percentage stake in a company.”

Founders value the cap table cleanup.
She adds, “the entrepreneurs appreciate that as well because when they’re mature, they do want to get rid, or kind of clean up, the cap table from angel investors who back them in the earliest realm, for example.”

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