STEP Journal Jersey Supplement 2022/23

 

 

28 September 2022

Distributed to 20,000 Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) members globally in 2022, read articles from our special edition magazine featuring contributors from leading private client practitioners from Jersey’s international finance centre (IFC) and the UK.

Authorities in their fields, expert contributors share their views on a range of topics and trends impacting the private client community. globally.

Themed ‘Robust and Responsible’, access insightful articles that reflect on trending topics in the private wealth management space, including:

Welcome message from Joe Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer, Jersey Finance

At the forefront of an evolving landscape

Welcome to the Jersey supplement to the STEP Journal, now in its fifth year. Since celebrating our 60th anniversary as an international finance centre (IFC) last year, we have taken the opportunity to reflect on the numerous changes and challenges we have faced and the various ways in which Jersey has risen to the occasion and made the most of new opportunities.

I have been incredibly proud to witness the efficacy with which Jersey has responded to the demands of the ever‑evolving global landscape, leveraging the expertise and experience of the island’s industry to bring about positive change. This year’s supplement is once again launched alongside our annual Private Wealth Conference in London, and many of the themes in those presentations and sessions resonate with the topics included below.

Priorities, politics and technologies

Jersey has adapted swiftly in order to tackle and overcome a number of new challenges and pressures in recent years. We have continued to employ an agile, client‑focused approach and have maintained our high standards of integrity through diligence, transparency and robust regulatory practices. Our lead feature explores the importance of building trust and maintaining reputation in the private client world, and particularly among IFCs, during this period of increased international focus on transparency and responsibility.

Over the past few years, the fallout of major global events, including the COVID‑19 pandemic, climate change and conflict in Europe, has given renewed impetus to the desire among families to enter the philanthropic space, create a long‑term legacy and address social inequalities. Our article about the evolution of philanthropy shares the insights of panellists from a session that I had the pleasure of moderating at this year’s STEP Global Congress.

We also examine the evolving needs of next‑gen investors, including their increasing attention on investment approaches that prioritise environmental, social and governance values; explore the accelerating pace of digitalisation and new developments in this space, including the mounting sophistication of cybersecurity; and review the growing concern around political risk and how it has served to highlight the value of stability provided by leading jurisdictions such as Jersey.

Rising to the occasion

As we all continue to respond to unprecedented challenges on a global scale, the expertise, infrastructure, quality standards and specialist skills found in Jersey’s IFC provide a solid foundation from which we can adapt and evolve into the future.

Acting responsibly and with integrity remains at the core of what we do as an award‑winning IFC. Jersey is proud to be a future‑focused jurisdiction, and as such will maintain a focus on emerging opportunities, ensuring that we are providing the highest‑quality service and are holding our position at the cutting edge of innovation and development.

Thank you to STEP and to all of our contributors for helping us create this insightful and interesting supplement. We hope you enjoy it.

View article summaries

Bridging the Trust Gap: Analysing the trustworthiness of IFCs

This in-depth analysis by leading experts from Jersey and the UK explores the growing media and regulatory scrutiny of international finance centres and their private wealth clients of recent years, proposing that while building trustworthiness of offshore centres may be a challenge, it is an opportunity for Jersey to showcase its strengths: trustworthiness, responsibility and accountability.

Contributors include: Clare Stirzaker, Partner at Boodle Hatfiled; Alexander Erskine, Partner at Taylor Wessing; Olga Kucherenko, Partner, Acorn Capital Advisers; and Taz Sherwani, Director, single‑family office for the Wates family. *

See page four for the full article

 

 

*Names, job titles and firms correct as of September 2022.

Wealth that Counts: Families and Philanthropy

Three experts – Penny Chapman, Partner at BDB Pitmans; Suzanne Reisman, Principal at Law Offices of Suzanne M Reisman; and Russell Waite, Founder and Group Director of Affinity Private Wealth* – consider how families are looking to make a positive social impact and leave a lasting legacy.  Read the article to discover their answers to these questions, pertinent to private client practitioners:

  • Why are sustainable and philanthropic considerations increasing in importance within the private wealth sector?
  • What are the key characteristics required to attract the next generation of client? What are they actively seeking?
  • How do trustees adapt? What do they need to consider when dealing with these changing aspirations?
  • Do sustainable and philanthropic policies affect clients’ behaviours or their decision making when choosing a jurisdiction to house their philanthropic structure?
  • Looking ahead, what are the biggest hurdles or issues facing IFCs with regard to philanthropic practices?

See page nine for the full article.

 

*Names, job titles and firms correct as of September 2022.

Fit for Purpose: Next-Gen Investors

Read this article for expert insights from private wealth practitioners at Equiom, Crestrbridge and Ogier, on how the next generation are looking to jurisdictions that can cater to their needs around sustainability and impact investment.

Family office, client services and legal experts explore the increasing complexity of client requirements, generational and geographical shifts, the impact of the global pandemic and how the intergenerational transfer of wealth adds another dimension to the evolution of clients’ investment needs, with an even greater emphasis placed on sustainability, purpose and impact as ‘next‑gen’ investors control more capital.

See page 14 for the full article.

*Contributor’s firms correct as of September 2022.

Wealth Management 2.0: Digitalisation

Read the views of Jersey Finance Deputy CEO, Amy Bryant, who joins other financial services leaders to explore how private client advisers are adapting to the digital revolution.

Opinions from Tom Rudkin, Ali Hollingshead and Bryony Cove from Farrer & Co in London include:

We are seeing everyone from cradle to grave using online meetings, banking and professional services portals, email and messaging services, and mobile tech such as phone apps on aregular if not daily basis.

Greater digitalisation and mobility can bring challenges for family businesses, but far more evident are the benefits.

There are massive discrepancies in preparedness. An attitude of “it will never happen to me” is still pretty pervasive. Preparation and risk mitigation are invariably significantly less time‑consuming, stressful and expensive than having to react to a crisis.

See page 17 for the full article.

The New Disruptors: Political Risk

Joe Moynihan, CEO of Jersey Finance, and Aynsley Vaughan, Global Head of Private Wealth and Family Office at TMF Group* share their views on how risk and uncertainty have propelled a drive toward stability for private clients, globally.

Exploring the ‘stability factor’ of IFCs, the ‘transparency dilemma’ and meeting higher standards, the opening paragraphs describe how and why disruption impacts the private wealth management space:

It is perhaps no surprise that, with such great geopolitical turmoil, market volatility and uncertainty confronting wealthy investors, the lure of a stable location should have become so powerful.

The unexpected is tending to become the normal. The COVID‑19 pandemic has been followed by a war in Europe, world economies are being impacted by supply chain problems and inflation is hitting levels not seen for a generation. This disruption, further fuelled by urgent action on climate change and a focus on how to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, has generated considerable uncertainty for private clients about how and where they should administer their wealth. With geopolitical and economic disruption on this scale, the need to find stability and predictability has been heightened.

See page 20 for the full article.

 

*Name and job title correct as of September 2022.

Topics
Private Wealth

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