When you reflect on the Year of the Longtail, (I’m still Manx so can’t say R.A.T.), 2020, it could be the year that saved the HK private wealth market!

Though undoubtedly a year of disruption and upheaval, 2020 also brought about opportunities. When you look at Q3 2019, we were amid a period of political unrest that saw millions of people take to the streets and market commentators were highlighting the movement of wealth from Hong Kong to Singapore. I myself had noticed the transition of some peers attracted by the stable climate, more business opportunities and bigger apartments! Then towards the end of the year, we recorded our first case of COVID-19 and everything changed...

The wealth management landscape has been evolving over recent years, with international developments such as Brexit, political and environmental challenges, regulatory change and digital advancements all playing their part. Then in March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic plunged the world into uncharted waters.

2021 isn’t exactly starting off how we’d hoped but here we are. We remain desperate to return to this so-called ‘new normal’ but for now, we continue to adapt. The true success of our growing community is a reflection of the passion and focus of every single person involved and we continue to generate thought-provoking content that comes to their first-hand experiences.

Thank you to our authors, readers and members and our Community Partners for their continued support. We are excited to show what we have planned for later on this year so watch this space…

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Deliver Value through Virtual Visibility.

Understand what is unique about the ThoughtLeaders4 community approach and how you can add Value to our Communities and be Visible through our Virtual platform.

To find out more about our VVV packages DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE

James has been the commercial lead on many globally renowned Private Client events and forums  and has over 10 years of experience of curating communities across the full spectrum of the Private Client advisory market.

James’s arrival re-unites him with Laura Golding and along with the ThoughtLeaders4 directors, gives over 30 years’ experience within Private Client, and will add continued impetus to an already rapidly growing community.

Case study fact pattern for virtual event - 19th November 2020

Case study outine for TL4 Virtual Community X-Over on 19 November 2020 is a unique virtual event bringing together HNW Divorce, FIRE and Private Client experts.

This follows our previous piece, Divorced from reality: Pugachev, Webb, and illusory trusts in divorce proceedings, which was published in the August 2020 edition.

On 3 August 2020 the Privy Council handed down its eagerly awaited Webb v Webb ([2020] UKPC 22) judgment in the appeal from the Cook Islands. Its judgment grapples with several important issues, with perhaps the most eye-catching aspect

“I personally have felt for some time that non-contentious Private Client world in particular lacks a really thriving community aimed at the Next Generation of the wealthy and their advisors and this is very much what I hope this will become” - Chris Moorcroft, Harbottle & Lewis, Next Gen Wealth Founding Committee Member

ThoughtLeaders4 Next Gen Wealth initiative is delighted to bring you the Second Edition of the Private Client Magazine, showcasing the diverse interest, breadth and depth of the knowledge of our community.

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Event slides from Death & Divorce webinar

A couple of months ago few people in the legal world had heard of virtual mediation. Thanks to Zoom’s confidential breakout room technology, virtual mediation has been widely adopted by mediators and litigators who have adapted quickly. Once the Rubicon is crossed, there is no going back.

Now that we’re all working remotely and practising social distancing, we’re seeing our clients’ meetings with candidates moving to video platforms such as WebEx, Zoom or Skype. As this is a new experience for many of us, we thought we would share our top 10 tips for successful video interviews.

In England and Wales, we are free to leave our estates to whomever we choose. This is the principle of testamentary freedom, and it is a principle the Court is keen to uphold. Whilst we have this freedom in England and Wales, we also have the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the 1975 Act’). A statute that was implemented to protect and provide for those individuals where it would be unjust for them not to receive financial provision from the deceased’s estate.

Many protectors or their advisors will already have navigated difficult issues during the recession following the financial crisis in 2008, others will have done so even earlier. The issues which arise from the physical restrictions placed on us and our movement during the current crisis may be quite unusual, but the economic issues arising from the Covid-19 crisis are likely to be similar to previous downturns.

The profound impact which the current pandemic has had on all aspects of life cannot be understated. This, of course, includes the global economic downturn; in some quarters it has been compared to, or indeed said to be likely to eclipse, the Great Depression

It is widely publicised that economists and financial observers estimate that, over the next few decades, assets worth many trillions of dollars will pass from one generation to the next - dubbed “The Great Wealth Transfer”. This passing of wealth is likely to take many forms including the transfer of individual influence over existing wealth-holding structures and as such it is clear that the fiduciary industry will experience the effects of this intergenerational change.

Regardless of whether you previously read books on pandemics, were fully au fait with the Spanish flu of 1918, and/ or at least broadly knew that epidemics on a grand scale occur about once every 100 years, the Corona Virus has shocked the world in its speed of spread and truly terrible consequences. The death toll as of this writing is almost 29,000 for the U.K. and 250,000 worldwide.

Trusts are settled for many reasons but succession planning is usually featured at the top of this list. Many settlors like the idea of leaving a legacy, of leaving their accumulated wealth in safe hands and of doing what they can to minimise if not completely eliminate family disharmony after their passing.

Collective investment vehicles are very familiar to high net worth investors (“HNWIs”) and their connected structures (trusts/family offices etc). In fact, many such HNWIs are key investors for new fund launches. Most such funds are put together by wealth managers looking to profit from the management of the fund.

The archaic nature of England’s law on the execution of Wills has been called into question in recent years, but never more so than in the last couple of months with the outbreak of Covid-19. Embracing modern technology in Will writing has moved from being something that the industry felt it “should” do, to a more urgent plea to allow those that need to execute a Will now, to do so, safely and validly. Other countries have been more reactive introduced emergency legislation to deal with the situation, but so far, England has failed to do similarly

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the planet to grind to a halt and will have a lasting economic impact. Whilst the severity of this impact remains to be seen, we know from previous economic downturns that well-connected elites in high risk jurisdictions have often used improper methods to recoup their personal losses.

Event slides for Tax for Entertainers & Sports People 

Economic uncertainty brought by the Covid-19 pandemic will undoubtedly have a profound effect on the value of trust assets. Industry experts predict steep rises in insolvencies, affecting key industries. Many businesses may become cash-flow/balance sheet insolvent (if they are not already).

Slides from the Trusts in Divorce event on the 6th July

We are delighted to bring you our inaugural edition of the Private Clint Magazine, connecting you with the global private client community in the midst of lockdown.

Crib sheet of cases referred to in recent virtual event

The Coronavirus pandemic reminds us of Simone de Beauvoir’s “All men are mortal” Both encourage us to re-evaluate our priorities, prompting us to seize new opportunities otherwise ignored under the “business as usual” regime.

The profound impact which the current pandemic has had on all aspects of life cannot be understated. This, of course, includes the global economic downturn;  in some quarters it has been compared to, or indeed said to be likely to eclipse, the Great Depression.

Trusts are settled for many reasons but succession planning is usually featured at the top of this list. Many settlors like the idea of leaving a legacy, of leaving their accumulated wealth in safe hands and of doing what they can to minimise if not completely eliminate family disharmony after their passing.

Debt, death and divorce: often grimly cited as the estate agent’s best friends, they are also three main harbingers of trust litigation. The last of these can be particularly troublesome for trustees, who can find themselves in a difficult position when a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) of a discretionary trust divorce, especially when it is taking place in the English courts

Death and taxes may be the only certainties in this world, but exactly how tax is raised on death and on lifetime gifts is subject to tinkering and political debate. A new cross-party parliamentary report proposes radical changes to completely change, rather than just tinker around the edges, how inheritance tax would be charged in the UK and, if ever adopted, would have significant impact on your wealth and succession planning.