Attitudes toward private wealth planning and where families consider structuring their wealth are changing.

There has been a step change in families wanting to preserve and protect their wealth, not only considering the benefits of offshore structures but also looking to onshore their assets, whether this is due to ethical considerations around transparency and reputation or for more practical reasons. Families are increasingly wanting to make a real contribution to their country of residence through tax or other commitments.

Another factor in this trend is that many UK residents that were previously claiming the remittance basis of taxation due to being deemed non-UK domiciled may see some of the benefits of their offshore structures fall away from the 5 April. If their structure is transferred to being managed and controlled in the UK, they maintain the asset protection and succession planning advantages of their structure, whilst significantly lowering the annual costs.

Bringing wealth back onshore can be cumbersome in some circumstances, however, Imperium’s presence in both the UK and the Channel Islands allows for a seamless transition. We have worked on numerous opportunities whereby a Guernsey or Jersey company is required to be managed and controlled from the UK, which we can facilitate through our UK team providing corporate directors. Having experience in both jurisdictions means we are cognisant of both options’ requirements, advantages and disadvantages.

Our Senior Management team here in the UK have a wealth of experience administering complex trust structures, having held senior positions within the private wealth industry in the Channel Islands previously. We are supported by our in-house tax compliance team, who ensure that all the relevant filing requirements are completed efficiently.

We can offer a hybrid approach in which families’ assets are split between jurisdictions, and a proportion of the family wealth is taken onshore to meet certain family members’ requirements. Having the family relationship all looked after by Imperium despite the jurisdictional split is an attractive proposition.

It is not mandatory to onshore and the decision is firmly based on a client’s individual circumstances, usually having obtained appropriate advice. However, what we are seeing are families considering the option, where they perhaps wouldn’t have in the past.

As a society, there is greater discussion around tax, impact investing, and philanthropic contributions, which is leading to clients discussing the onshore opportunity.