Merk Investments, the California-based investment advisory firm, has announced that it now considers the Singapore dollar a hard currency. 

Merk has invested in the Singapore dollar for several years now through the Merk Asian Currency Fund and with the declaration may now invest in the currency more broadly, the company said in a statement. A "hard" classification is attributed to the currency's strong purchasing power, the associated country's political and fiscal condition and the policy positions of the issuing central bank. 

"Singapore is the new Switzerland," said Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer. 

"It has a unique approach to conducting monetary policy: rather than targeting interest rates or money supply, the Monetary Authority of Singapore conducts its policy through a managed float regime for the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies. In an era when other central banks resort to the printing press, the MAS has shown prudence and restraint," he added.

Merk Investments has some $750 million in assets under management and manages Merk Funds, a mutual fund firm that focuses primarily on currencies.