Private Wealth Management

A trust, which may also be referred to as a Settlement, is an arrangement whereby legal ownership of property is controlled by one party, the Trustees, to use or apply that property and the income from it, for another person or persons, the Beneficiaries or for a specific purpose.

Although the trustees own the trust assets in the sense that they have legal title to them, the trustees can take no beneficial interest from those assets, they cannot make a profit out of those assets for themselves and trust assets are not (at any rate in common law jurisdictions) open to attack by the personal creditors of a trustee.

A Private Trust Company (“PTC”) is an entity whose sole purpose is to act as a trustee in relation to a specific trust or trust structure. Generally, such entities act solely as a trustee and do not provide trust services nor do they market themselves as a Trustee to the general public. PTCs are valuable in a number of situations, including as trustees of private family trusts, as trustees of commercial trusts and to hold SPVs that are used financial or other structures.

Foundations have similarities to a company in that they have separate legal personality and a management board known as a council. A foundation may also be compared to a trust, as assets are held for the benefit of others or for a specific purpose.

The term “Family Office” has become widely used in recent years, trust companies, law firms and investment managers all use the term to describe aspects of their services. We define family office services as the provision of an international, multi-generational family’s central mind, management and control through a combination of proactive administration and strategic oversight. The family office becomes a hub that coordinates a family’s cross-border interests and helps it maintain its wealth for the long term.

Purpose trusts and special purpose vehicles are entities developed to provide a specific solution to a jurisdictional or financial need. They are designed for the benefit of an identifiable group of beneficiaries. The trust or special purpose vehicle enables an effective entity to be created in situations where other structures would not meet the requirement of the beneficiaries or the wishes of the settlor or beneficial owner.

A charitable trust or foundation is a trust which can be set up by anyone who has decided that they want to set aside some of their assets for charitable causes. Setting up a charitable trust provides a framework for planning charitable giving in a systematic and thoughtful way. It may also give the settlor a greater say in how the money he/she gives is directed to the causes they want to support.