A look at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week…
Monday
Following regulatory approval from the Jersey Financial Services Commission, Jersey-based wealth management firm Affinity Private Wealth completed its acquisition of Pinnacle Trustees Limited - an independent provider of corporate, fiduciary and trust services. The combined business has over 50 staff, serving in excess of 350 clients globally.
International private client advisers, Mark Davies & Associates, hired a new tax partner, Roger Holman from DWF, the world’s largest listed legal business. Mr Holman’s primary focus is on capital taxes planning for UK and non-UK domiciled individuals, together with advising on all other taxes that affect the individual, including income tax, SDLT and CGT.
Tuesday
Guernsey introduced a fast-track system for migrations of investment funds and their managers into the island. The new regime will allow managers seeking the security of a jurisdiction white-listed by the European Union and OECD for economic substance, to move quickly and easily. The new fast-track system is aimed at making it simpler to apply for a Guernsey licence, enabling consent to migrate and the licensing process within a 10-day review period.
Scottish legal firm Blackadders made a series of promotions including two from its private client team. Within the firm’s private client team John Dargie has been promoted to legal director whilst Jacqueline Tainsh, a senior solicitor in Blackadders’ private client team in Glasgow has been promoted to associate solicitor.
International banking giant Standard Chartered closed its Guernsey trust business on the orders of the Royal Court of Guernsey. Standard Chartered confirmed in a statement that its Guernsey trust arm had been liquidated on 19 May 2020, after the Royal Court of Guernsey ordered that the company be wound up.
Global fiduciary services provider Vistra launched its ‘Act. Recover. Thrive.’ programme to help businesses address economic, operational and regulatory challenges arising from the current widespread market uncertainty.
Thursday
Dubai’s Arlo Wealth and international advisory firm Harrison Rowe announced plans to merge and create a private wealth manager which will serve clients globally, including expats returning to the UK. The combined venture, AHR Private Wealth will have $1 billion under management and regulatory licences to operate and provide advice in the UAE, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Mauritius, and Malaysia, as well as an FCA regulated arm for returning expatriates in the UK.
UK law firm Moore Barlow hired Naomi Wilkes as partner in the firm’s private wealth team. Based in Southampton, Ms Wilkes provides advice to individuals and families on issues such as Wills, Powers of Attorney, estate administration, estate planning, tax planning including inheritance tax advice and the use of trusts. She joined Moore Barlow from Wiltshire firm Parker Bullen, where she was partner and head of its private client department, dealing with all aspects of private client work including Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection applications.
Friday
A wealth structuring specialist warned that any changes to wealth taxes in order to pay the UK’s COVID-19 bailout bill must be “meticulous” to avoid unintended consequences. Simon Gorbutt, director of wealth structuring solutions at Lombard International Assurance said that calls for a ‘wealth tax’ reflect a sense that the rich are better equipped to isolate themselves from the impact of COVID-19 and should therefore be called upon to bear the brunt of the cost.
Sixty percent of the chief executives of smaller UK family offices earn a base salary of £100,000 or less, a new study from family office recruitment firm Agreus found. The research showed that where family offices had less than £250 million under management, 60 percent of the chief executives earned less than £100,000, with about a quarter earning less than £80,000 base.