Preserving Wealth: Putting structure in a virtual family office

Client profile: A UK expat client, who had lived in Asia for 25 years.

Challenges: Our client needed support to bring order and efficiency to his extensive private equity, property and share portfolio while considering the international nature of his portfolio requirements.  

Vistra services provided: Trust structuring across multiple jurisdictions.

It isn't uncommon for us to support clients by updating and consolidating their financial position, taking a holistic view, often across borders and holdings.

As a recent example, a UK expat client, who had lived in Asia for 25 years, came to us in order to bring order and efficiency to his extensive private equity, property and share portfolio. Central to his requirements was a review of the existing structures with an alternative provider, and assistance with the winding up of a listed property fund. 

Consideration also had to be taken with regard to the client’s UK domicile position, following changes in legislation, and the need to separate certain assets from a liquid portfolio.

As in many such cases that we advise on, the client didn’t have one single view across all holdings and, indeed, hadn’t taken advice over certain elements, including his tax position, for a number of years.

Having reviewed his overall situation, we took a number of steps to bring everything up to date, ensuring that he was in line with the latest regulation, not least by co-ordinating his tax advice to make sure his situation was optimised. 

Because of the international nature of his requirements, we assembled a team in London, BVI and Singapore to oversee the project, and to provide support going forward. We also worked with finance providers in the UK, where required.

We focused on making sure that his holdings were structured in the most efficient and beneficial way. This included implementing a BVI VISTA trust to replace the existing structure, with Vistra’s oversight. In addition, the assets and liquid portfolio were segregated, as required, through the creation of a separate trust. 

Vistra’s ability to take an independent, holistic review of the client’s needs across several international markets and provide advice resulted in a sustainable solution which has met the client’s objectives. Now firmly established as the client’s trusted advisor, Vistra now plays a leading role in the continued wealth creation and prosperity of the client.

If you would like to discuss how Vistra can help you create, preserve or transfer your wealth, please contact one of your local experts: 

Location	Name and title	Phone number
UK	Chris Marquis Global Head of Private Wealth	+44 203 872 7325
China	Sherrie Dai Managing Director, North Asia	+86 21 6085 6188
Hong Kong SAR	Yumei Zhang Executive Director, Head of Private Wealth, Greater China	+852 2848 7580
India	Navita Yadav Managing Director, India & Mauritius	+91 22 2659 3882
India	Neeraj Aggarwal Director, Private Wealth, India	+91 22 2659 3659
United Arab Emirates	Heba Al Emara Managing Director, Middle East	+971 4 278 3600
Singapore	Chris Burton Managing Director, South East Asia	+65 6854 8010
Singapore	Christine Tan Managing Director, South East Asia	+65 6854 8061
Jersey	Clive Wright Managing Director, Jersey	+44 1534 504560
Malta	Dr. Anthony Galea Managing Director, Marine & Aviation	+356 2258 6400
Switzerland	Sascha Züger Managing Director, Switzerland	+41 44 296 68 70
UK	David Rudge Managing Director, Corporate & Private Wealth UK	+44 203 872 7334
UK	Julius Bozzino Director, Private Wealth, International	+44 203 872 7384
Cyprus	Nick Terry Managing Director, Cyprus	+357 25 817 411
Luxembourg	Joost Knabben Commercial Director, Luxembourg	+352 422 229 530
Luxembourg	Farabi Zakaria Commercial Director, Luxembourg	+352 422 229 398
USA	Raúl Markos Director, Private Wealth	+1 305 978 1742

 

This article was written based on a current client of Vistra in the UK.