FocUS: In Conversation with Ed Devenport

Welcome to FocUS, our interview series centered on the US market.

In this latest feature, Philip Pirecki, our Americas Lead, speaks with Ed Devenport, Partner at Mourant and Global Practice Leader of the firm’s private wealth practice.

Read on to:

• Explore the key forces shaping private wealth for US and US-connected ultra-high net worth families, including increasing tax and geopolitical uncertainty
• Learn how Jersey’s legal framework and structuring toolkit can support families with wealth protection and succession planning
• Understand how Jersey practitioners work alongside US tax and legal advisers and hear Ed’s recommendations for families, advisers and Jersey-based service providers
• Find out why Ed believes Jersey is such an attractive place to live and work

Who are you and in which areas do you specialise?

I’m Ed Devenport and I’m a partner at Mourant. Mourant is an international professional services firm and I’m the global practice leader of our private wealth law practice. Day to day, I specialise in Jersey advisory work for ultra-high net worth (UHNW) clients in relation to trusts and estates. We also advise the service providers who work in that area, such as trustees and protectors.

Where are most of your US clients based? Is your firm’s US business concentrated on the East Coast or is the footprint broader than that?

The most frequent scenario for us is a client who has a family member in the US or a family member moving to the US. We most commonly interact with the advisors on the East and West Coasts, but the clients themselves may be resident in any part of the US. Generally, there seems to be a higher awareness of international structuring for UHNW clients amongst advisors situated in or around the major cities, especially New York.

What are the primary forces shaping private wealth today from Jersey’s perspective, for example cross-border mobility, generational transitions, wealth tax proposals, digital assets, geopolitical risk?

One of the biggest motivating factors for UHNW clients in structuring their wealth is global uncertainty around tax and geopolitics. Uncertainties in these areas have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Clients and their advisors are particularly attracted to Jersey because they can have confidence that it is a place where their long-term succession plans can be implemented in a politically stable and tax neutral environment.

I’ve worked in this area in Jersey for more than 35 years now. Although Jersey’s offering for the UHNW client has been refined over that period and the technology in the service delivery has of course been transformed,

Over the past decade, how has the profile of the US and US-connected UHNW client changed and where do you expect it to go next?

During that period, the average wealth of such clients has considerably increased, as has their sophistication and the sophistication of their advisors. As a result, we find that the trust and foundation structures established by UHNW clients these days tend to be better considered and better advised than they used to be. Often, they are more complex, but that’s by no means always the case.

This means that clients are looking further afield for solutions, outside of the domestic or traditional routes, which in turn makes US and US-connected UHNW clients more international in outlook. Our expectation is that this trend will likely continue. foundation structures established by UHNW clients these days tend to be better considered and better advised than they used to be. Often, they are more complex, but that’s by no means always the case.

This means that clients are looking further afield for solutions, outside of the domestic or traditional routes, which in turn makes US and US-connected UHNW clients more international in outlook. Our expectation is that this trend will likely continue.

What are the most pressing challenges facing US advisers, family offices and the families they serve—and how does your firm help address them?

The challenges are the same as they are for more or less any wealthy family from any part of the world; namely how to protect wealth, implement succession plans and preserve family harmony.

Jersey can help with that through its robust but flexible legal system, for example in relation to trusts. Mourant has a very experienced team with the expertise to support UHNW clients to achieve successful outcomes.

Walk us through a client scenario or two where Jersey’s structuring toolkit (trusts, foundations, private trust companies (PTCs), family investment companies) solves a problem that would be harder to solve elsewhere.

The person may belong to a family which has members and business interests around the world, and it is operationally simpler to structure the FGT and all the non-US elements in one place. Jersey is a really good location to do that.

How does a Jersey practitioner typically work alongside a US client’s existing advisors, like tax counsel, registered investment advisors and family office teams?

Typically, we will be instructed through or by a US client’s existing US tax or legal advisors, rather than directly by the end client or their family office. This is usually the most efficient approach because the advisors can filter their instructions so that it is clear they will deal with the US tax and legal issues and we will only deal with the Jersey structuring elements.

What would you recommend to US-based advisers or families considering Jersey for their wealth planning needs?

Although there is a lot of publicly available information about Jersey online, it is invariably useful for clients and their advisors to meet their Jersey advisors and, if it is possible, for them to actually to visit Jersey and see the level of infrastructure in place here.

It is also an opportunity to see the ‘Old’ Jersey, after which the state of New Jersey is named!

For Jersey-based service providers looking to develop business opportunities in the States; what have you learned?

There are more UHNW individuals in the US than in any other country and, as a consequence, there are more sophisticated advisors in the US than in any other place. Generally, those advisors are extremely open to meeting with Jersey service providers and to developing relationships with them. It’s a great place to build a network.

What’s the last book or podcast you enjoyed?

The 13 Minutes to the Moon podcast series is amazing. I’m a self-confessed space nerd and so I find the forensic detail in this account of the first landing of humans on the moon utterly compelling.

Your working life is a busy one. How do you unwind and recharge?

Running does it for me. I get some of my best thinking done while I’m running. It’s also a great way to explore a new city. I’ve got to know NYC quite well as a result.

Aside from Jersey’s award-winning international finance centre, in a few words, what else does the Island have to offer?

Jersey is a truly beautiful island to visit but, more than that, it is an excellent place to live and work. With a population of around 100,000, it’s about the right size for there to be a strong sense of community. At the same time, its location in the English Channel means that the great metropolitan centres of London and Paris are on our doorstep.

If you’re interested in taking part in our FocUS interview series, please contact us.