Russia’s War On Ukraine Marks The End Of An Era Of Easy Growth For IFCs

Jurisdiction In Focus

Guernsey Report 2022

Guernsey

For more than 50 years, Guernsey has been one of the world’s best-regarded and most successful international finance centres. In this special focus, we look at how Guernsey continues to provide stability, security and substance in the wealth management arena.

Interview

AAMIL: Celebrating 25 Years

Mauritius

Switzerland

Wealth Management

Dr Ludovic C. Verbist

AAMIL Group

IFC Media interviews Dr Ludovic C. Verbist, Managing Director and Founder of AAMIL Group.

IFC: 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of AAMIL as a leading international financial services provider. What have been the biggest achievements of AAMIL since its establishment?

LV: One thing which comes immediately to mind is that with our offices both in Port-Louis (Mauritius) and in Geneva (Switzerland), we have worked as a link between Europe and Mauritius. Back in 1997, it was a kind of missionary work to promote Mauritius as a Financial Centre; not many people were aware of it, even among professionals. We are glad to have been one of the first to promote Mauritius and contribute to its success.

Also, throughout this period, we have maintained our independence, being privately owned and therefore not subject to potential conflicts of interest.

Interview

Transforming The Investment Landscape In Africa

Rwanda

Africa

IFC Media interviews Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC).

IFC: September 2021 saw the addition of Kigali to the Global Financial Centres Index, which measures the competitiveness of financial centres globally. To what do you attribute Kigali’s successful performance and ranking?

KIFC: Yes, that’s correct, Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) recently debuted on the GFCI. We were among the top five IFCs in Sub-Saharan Africa and have been identified as one of the most promising financial centres in the coming decade. We are pleased the GFCI recognised us as a promising jurisdiction for investors to consider when domiciling investments on the continent.

Jurisdiction In Focus

Cayman Report 2022

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands’ continued commitment to a legislative and regulatory framework focused on stability, transparency and innovation is positioning the jurisdiction as an industry leader. In this special report, we consider the challenges and opportunities ahead for the jurisdiction in 2022 and beyond.

Interview

Liechtenstein Continues To Prosper Post-Pandemic

Liechtenstein

Roger Frick

Allgemeines Treuunternehmen (ATU)

Interview with Roger Frick, Member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee Member, Allgemeines Treuunternehmen (ATU), Liechtenstein

IFC: It would seem that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the progress of “The Great Wealth Transfer” as HNW families plan to transfer their wealth to the next generation. How has this impacted on the Family Office service offered by ATU?

RF: The Coronavirus pandemic indeed changed our lives almost overnight. Being forced to slow down by various lockdowns and restrictions has shifted our focus away from our hectic routine to very important, but sometimes neglected values and ideals. Wealthy families, for example, have started to consider questions of whether their wealth is adequately protected; and also whether the succession of their wealth from one generation to the next has been adequately prepared for and managed in order to face unstable situations such as these. That is why we have seen an increase in demand for the family office services offered by ATU.

Crypto And Trusts

The Tortoises In The Race

Trusts And Foundations

Fintech

James Brockhurst

Forsters LLP, London

Blockchain technology has opened up huge entrepreneurial opportunities that a great number of industries have been quick to exploit. The trust industry, on the other hand, is naturally (and with good reason) circumspect about all things blockchain. But perceptions within the industry are rapidly changing.

The trust industry, and the private client industry generally, have always lagged behind the corporate and funds industry in adoption of cryptoassets. Now trustees and trust companies, or at least the majority of them, have accepted the inevitability of cryptoassets and that they will be asked by settlors or investment advisors to hold such assets.

Trustees are therefore now grappling, in some cases urgently, with the challenges of holding cryptoassets in trust. The three core challenges that every trustee is considering are custody, investment risk and compliance.

Global Regulation

Could I Speak To The Owner?

Guernsey

Jersey

Richard Grasby

Partner, Appleby, Hong Kong, Shanghai

Imagine the scenario. You are having a meal in a fine restaurant and over the evening, a few things are not up to standard. You decide enough is enough and ask to speak to “the owner”. But who exactly do you really wish to speak to?

You really want to speak to someone with responsibility for the provision of your meal – the person in charge of delivery – most likely the head waiter; possibly the chef.  This is unlikely to be the “owner”.

The ownership and operation of a restaurant – particularly those in a global five-star hotel chain – is most likely a complex array of investors – many of which will themselves be collective investment vehicles with a matrix of terms – together with franchise agreements and the like. All may have some consequence over how the restaurant is run but none of which would have any direct influence on the enjoyment of your meal.

In a similar way, the concept of beneficial ownership (particularly in the private wealth context) has evolved to something far wider than ownership. Today the notion of beneficial ownership encompasses control and influence as well as traditional ownership.