EDGE Magazine | Q3 2011
The complexities are however increasing with the levels of regulation and tax sophistication required of today's trust practitioners. If the trust managers are not professionally trained people themselves then surely they would need ready and frequent access to people who are. The organization will need to have a well developed network of colleagues and collaborators in many jurisdictions - both onshore and offshore - in order to deal with the complex cross-border issues that an international family will likely encounter and then to be able to deliver the multi- jurisdictional aspects of structure optimization.
High levels of service and client care (they are not the same)
If clients are to be attracted to a service that would optimally be somewhere close to home, how will they be attracted to retain the services of an organization that is offshore? The main reason may still be the tax efficiency of the location of the trustee, but for serious wealth there will be little tolerance for a sleepy, "island approach". The assets and the beneficiaries will demand a degree of professional expertise and service standards that will for all intents and purposes be as good offshore as they are onshore. In fact, the services may need to be better than onshore as there may be time zone and other challenges posed by distance that the offshore trustee will need to overcome. As with onshore professionals, the offshore trust managers will need to be people with the skills, experience and the time to act as both an advisor to the family and someone who can resolve conflicts. They will need to have a breadth of talent and experience to deal with a wide range of unpredictable situations. They will need to possess a "private client attitude" of client-centric service and discretion. These are the higher standards that offshore staff needs to understand, accept and aspire to demonstrate.
Continuity - The holy grail of trusteeship
In order to provide higher levels of service, professionalism, closeness to the family and the control over assets, one aspect may be chief over all others: that of the staff continuity. How can an offshore trustee pretend to exercise such control over assets and such intimacy of relationship if the manager in charge of the trust changes annually? How can costs be held to a reasonable level and matters be managed in a consistent way without a knowledgeable person that has been at the helm of the trust management a considerable period of time? My own view is that continuity of staff is the most important aspect that many offshore trustees struggle with. Unfortunately, most offshore jurisdictions unwittingly have created an environment that makes the orderly management of sophisticated trust structures virtually impossible. The restrictive labor or housing regulations of most offshore jurisdictions both discourage experienced, talented staff from staying in the jurisdiction, or conversely encourage them to move on. One would hope that in the reassessment of the future of the offshore world, offshore governments will take a more critical look at their staff management, including expatriates, in finding the best way in delivering a high quality service to their target market.
In summary, offshore trustee and the company directors will need to look and act very much as the onshore version of those roles. Offshore service providers should look to providing their services as if they compete with onshore locations on a level playing field. They need to make clear the advantages that they can offer and give clients assurances that they will be delivered a robust, professional service. With that standard in mind, offshore service providers will continue to grow and thrive.
Daniel Martineau Switzerland
Summit Trust International SA
dsm@summittrustgroup.com
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38