Square Associates Blends Global Reach With Boutique Impact Advisory

Since its inception, Square Associates has carved out a distinct position among boutique consultancies in Asia, combining global reach with a cost-effective, high-impact model that spans sectors and geographies. Founder Pierre shares how the Singapore-based firm has built a diversified advisory and investment platform rooted in long-term value creation. In conversation with GFM Review’s Brett Hurll, he explains how a platform structure and a “glo-cal” (global-loca) approach to client engagements, an early bet on ESG, and a disciplined mandate selection process have shaped Square into a nimble, strategic force across ASEAN, Africa, and beyond.

 

Brett: 

Since founding Square Associates, how have you shaped its evolution into one of Singapore’s most dynamic boutique consultancies?

Pierre: 

I think a few things clearly set us apart. From the outset, we've got our structure. Operating as a global platform of consultants with an extremely nimble cost base, we’re not weighed down by a large fixed team or expensive infrastructure. Instead, we’ve built anchor partnerships and flexible collaborations that allow us to scale and adapt depending on the transaction. My role is a bit like being a chef, I curate the team, bringing together the right ingredients: the right talent, a pinch of creativity, a bit of spice and structure, to cook up the ideal advisory team for each client. It’s an approach that gives us a lot of agility.

 

Second, we’ve diversified geographically. In addition to the advisory partnerships that we have forged globally in Dubai, London and Africa, three years ago, we put boots on the ground in Vietnam and Indonesia, arguably the two most promising economies in ASEAN. That decision gave us an early-mover advantage in those markets and has helped us secure mandates that might have gone to larger firms lacking that local presence. We’ve benefited from that strategic call several times already.

 

Third, we’ve diversified across business lines. We don’t just focus on transactional advisory or pure capital raising. We also offer strategic advisory, which is a more intellectual pursuit. It’s about helping clients shape long-term plans, not just structure a deal. On top of that, we’ve developed our own investment arm. To date, we’ve made eight principal investments and are considering a ninth this year. That blend, between advisory, strategic consulting, and direct investment, allows us to operate across the capital spectrum, which gives us perspective and flexibility many others lack.

 

Finally, we made a conscious decision to focus on impact, which we saw, and still see, as a defining long-term trend. That commitment wasn’t an afterthought; it was baked in from day one. Today, over 50% of our mandates, on average, are impact-related, which continues to shape the kind of work we do and the kind of clients we attract. That’s definitely a major differentiating factor.

Brett: 

You’re known for operating across both advisory and principal investment mandates. How do you maintain clarity of purpose while managing such a broad strategic remit?

Pierre: 

That’s something we’ve been very deliberate about. On the advisory side, our core principle is that we only take on mandates we believe in. If we can’t see long-term potential in a deal, we won’t pursue it. That clarity of belief not only guides our advice, but it also aligns with our investment thinking. Ideally, we’d love to invest in every transaction we’re advising on, because if we’re recommending it to others, we should stand behind it ourselves.

 

Now, the reality is that some of the transactions we work on are huge, hundreds of millions, sometimes even into the billions. At that scale, our current investment ticket size is meaningful for early-stage companies, but not necessarily impactful in those very large deals. So having our own investment arm focused on earlier-stage companies was a natural evolution. And while our investment capacity is growing, for now it’s more targeted.

 

Still, our broader aspiration is to get to a point where we can participate meaningfully in every transaction we advise on. Whether that eventually leads us toward a merchant banking model remains to be seen, but the direction of travel is clear.

 

Brett: 

You’ve advised on transactions across biotech, fintech, ESG, and beyond. What drives your sector-agnostic strategy, and how do you assess the right fit for new clients?

Pierre: 

We’ve built an internal framework that helps us evaluate whether we’re the right advisor for any given mandate. That’s really our guiding light. We don’t approach opportunities based on sector preference or geographic focus, instead, we look at how a company aligns with our strengths and, crucially, how well it fits with the institutional investor base we work with.

 

Part of that process is a detailed matching exercise, which is informed by both experience and data. we have recently incorporated AI into that process, while maintaining human oversight: this has allowed us to increase the accuracy and the speed of that process tremendously. Thankfully, we’ve built a large and diverse database of institutional investors across many sectors and regions. That gives us the ability to think across boundaries. We’re not confined to one vertical or geography, we can be opportunistic, as long as it aligns with what our investor base is looking for and where we believe we can add real value.

 

Brett: 

As your advisory footprint has grown, into Indonesia, Vietnam, and other emerging markets, what role have partnerships played in opening up these new geographies?

Pierre: 

A massive one. Honestly, we wouldn’t be where we are without our partners. They are a foundational part of how we work and grow. We’ve established strategic relationships in key regions, Dubai, London, Africa, and each one has brought meaningful contributions.

Often, they bring in high-priced consultants who deliver generic advice with little local understanding. What we offer is different. Our hybrid model allows us to pair global advisory insight with local knowledge, via partners who know the terrain. That combination, global reach and local relevance, is one of our strongest differentiators. We’ve been able to advise both private firms and public-sector entities thanks to this prized “glo-cal” model, outcompeting legacy consultancy brands whose structures are too heavy and entrenched to adapt to a changing world.

 

Brett: 

Can you share how collaboration with infrastructure firms like CHSS and HSS Engineering has helped you move into climate and large-scale project advisory?

Pierre: 

Absolutely. That’s been a key development. Some of it we bet on early, like the rising importance of ESG and sustainability, and some of it evolved through natural alignment. One thing I’ve always said is that the demand for capital is infinite, while supply is finite. Even publicly funded infrastructure projects increasingly want to attract private capital to reduce the burden on government budgets.

 

That created a natural bridge to our partnership with CHSS, a very well-established engineering consultancy that works on billion-dollar infrastructure projects globally. They’re a subsidiary of HSS, a listed Malaysian firm headquartered just across the border from us in Singapore. Through this partnership, we help CHSS clients when they want to raise capital or bring in third-party funding for large-scale projects. Some of our biggest transactions now are with them, just by virtue of infrastructure being such a capital-intensive space.

 

On the climate side, we were early believers in the sustainability wave. ESG was part of our thesis from the start. While the current global context may be less enthusiastic than previous ones, we view that as a temporary swing. The long-term trajectory remains intact. We’re still deeply committed to it, and clients are as well.

 

Brett: With over $2.6 billion in transactions and $380million in capital raised, what has been your most defining deal, and what did it teach you?

Pierre:

There have been several, but one particularly landmark transaction stands out. We advised on the sale of a large infrastructure asset in Germany, specifically, an Amazon warehouse that had been held by a Dubai-based private equity fund. The asset was ultimately acquired by a Korean financial institution. It wasn’t just the size that made it significant, though that was certainly notable. It was the quality of the asset, and the identity of the counterparties involved. On one side, a Middle Eastern private equity firm. On the other, a Korean institutional buyer. It truly demonstrated the kind of cross-border, cross-ecosystem bridge-building that we specialize in.

 

It was a deal that required cultural fluency, financial structuring expertise, and a high degree of trust. It showed our ability to operate at the intersection of global capital flows and deliver real outcomes across geographies. And that’s exactly what we aim to do, create those strategic bridges that allow capital to flow where it’s needed, even when the players involved are coming from very different parts of the world.

 

We’ve also worked on some fascinating strategic advisory assignments. One of them involved a multi-hospital healthcare group operating across several African countries. Another was with a government entity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, focused on optimizing the entire value chain for cobalt and other critical minerals. These are not run-of-the-mill assignments, and thanks to our local partner, Financialis ACM, we were able to contribute to a project with a national objective. They require deep sector understanding, innovative structuring, and a strong alignment with national

development priorities. The work can be transformative, both for the clients and for the countries involved.

 

These kinds of mandates are particularly rewarding because they stretch every resource we have, our expertise, our network, and our strategic thinking. They demand full intellectual engagement. And that’s exactly the kind of challenge we look for.

 

Brett: 

We’ve touched on this already, but your firm’s disciplined mandate-filtering process is quite unique. How do you balance analytical rigor with the entrepreneurial instinct needed in emerging markets?

Pierre: 

It’s a great point, and a subtle one. We’ve always believed in the need for both rigor and intuition, especially in the more unpredictable settings that come with emerging markets. That’s why we developed a process that blends both.

 

On one side, we’ve integrated AI into our mandate-matching system. From a database of more than 3,500 institutional investors, the system can filter down to a targeted shortlist of between 20 to 100 relevant investors for a specific deal. It does this based on a range of attributes: sector interest, stage, geography, prior activity, and more. It’s fast, it’s structured, and it works.

 

But that’s only half the story. We always layer human judgment on top. That’s where the real differentiator lies. The machine might suggest that Investor X fits, but the human side will say, “Actually, that partner just rotated out,” or “Their strategy shifted recently.” That’s the level of nuance clients expect, and deserve.

 

We’ve found that many of our clients come to us precisely because they’ve felt let down by the impersonal approach of bigger firms. They don’t want to be bounced around from one analyst to another. With us, the same person who opens the mandate is the one who sees it through to completion. That continuity builds trust, and it makes for better outcomes. We use technology to be faster and more precise, but we never replace the human touch that makes our work meaningful.

 

Brett: 

How does your model of post-investment involvement, board roles, compliance oversight, strategic input, create long-term value for clients? And how does it set Square apart from more traditional consultancies?

Pierre: 

This is one of the areas where we’ve been quite fortunate, but also quite intentional. In many of our advisory engagements, whether strategic or financial, the client will ask us to remain involved after the initial scope has been delivered. That might take the form of an advisory board role, oversight responsibilities, or informal strategic input. It happens quite often.

 

When we’re on the investment side, it’s even more common. The companies we invest in almost always want us to stay involved, to help guide their capital strategy, support their next raise, or advise on their go-to-market plans. That continued engagement is extremely valuable for them, and for us.

 

The way I see it, this is a form of meaningful cross-selling. But unlike some firms where cross-selling can feel like a commercial tactic, here it’s entirely natural. When you’ve already earned trust, and when you’ve invested your own capital, it makes sense to stay aligned. You’re not just providing advice anymore, you’re part of the journey.

 

It’s also a strong signal. If a client wants you to stay on after the job is done, it usually means you’ve done something right. And that’s what we aim for: relationships that outlast the original mandate, grounded in shared success.

 

Brett: 

That kind of continued involvement does seem to speak volumes about the value you bring. Finally, what does winning Best Boutique Consultancy Singapore mean to you and your team, and how does it validate your strategic journey so far?

Pierre: 

Honestly, it’s an incredibly meaningful recognition. We were genuinely proud to receive it. What makes it even more rewarding is that it comes from a respected media platform like yours, where the selection process is transparent and merit-driven. That matters a lot to us.

 

The award is a validation, not just of the work we’ve done this year, but of the vision we’ve been building since day one. To have that acknowledged twice now is very special. And it gives us confidence that the approach we’ve taken, being selective, being global, being impact-led, is resonating with others as well.

More than anything, though, it motivates us. We see the award not as a finish line, but as a milestone. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track, and a reminder to keep pushing forward.

 

Brett: Thank you for taking the time and what a great place to finish.

Brett Hurll, Executive Editor at Global Financial Market Review, draws on over 35 years of international experience across technology and finance sectors, providing readers with sharp analysis and unique perspectives on emerging trends, market shifts, and the complex interplay between global business and political dynamics. His extensive background and senior leadership role position him as a trusted voice on financial markets and economic developments.  If you have an interesting editorial reach out to our team at editoral@gfmreview.com