Wealth Structuring Trends

Richard Grasby is an experienced trusts, funds, family office and private wealth lawyer. He has experience in multiple jurisdictions and has been admitted as a lawyer in England & Wales, the Cayman Islands and the BVI. Richard has expertise in the establishment and administration of offshore entities including trusts, companies and investment funds. He has significant experience in compliance, governance and account opening. Richard also has considerable involvement in private trust companies, family constitutions and succession planning. He has worked with clients and advisers in numerous jurisdictions. Richard lived and worked in Asia for over 12 years. Prior to that, he was based in the Cayman Islands. He has also worked in Jersey and London. Richard is the immediate past chair of the STEP Hong Kong branch, a committee member of the STEP Business Families Global Special Interest Group and a committee member of the STEP International Client Global Special Interest Group. He is a member of the Hong Kong Trustees Association and a lecturer on their Trust Training Certificate course. He is an elected member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law.

Sunita is a well-known authority and legal adviser in the private wealth community. Her trusted relationships with UAE Regulatory authorities, financial advisors, corporate services providers, family offices and banks enable her to provide expert legal advice to her private wealth clients, especially in the GCC, Southwest Asia and Africa. She is a full member of STEP (Africa and Arabia) and often acts as moderator at international forums and conferences. As a thought leader, Sunita regularly publishes in prominent publications and participated, amongst other in the ground-breaking “Women in Wealth Management” GCC roadshow. She is recognised by various legal directories such as Chambers & Partners, Global Stars Report, and was peer-selected for the Private Client Global Elite Directory (2022 – 2023). Sunita has actively promoted women’s empowerment for young professionals in India and the Middle East and is a professional mentor for young female executives in the Middle East.

Lee Wong is Head of Family Services, Asia at Lombard Odier. Lee is responsible for leading Lombard Odier’s wealth planning and family services proposition, which is a key component of the Bank’s growth strategy in the region. Before joining Lombard Odier, Lee amassed over 22 years of experience in the wealth management industry. She joined from Union Bancaire Privée in Singapore, where she was Head of Wealth Planning for South Asia and was responsible for leading a team advising high net worth clients on their family wealth transition, family governance, as well as philanthropic aspirations. Lee is a member of the MAS-EDB Family Office workgroup as well as the Wealth Management Institute’s expert panel on Family Offices. She is a regular trainer for Singapore Management University for IBF certification courses on wealth planning and family office. She is also a trainer for Wealth Management Institute’s family office advisor program. Lee holds a Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Singapore. She is a Chartered Trustee appointed by the Singapore Trustee Association.

Mr. On Wai LAU is Head of Wealth Planning covering North Asia markets in Banque Pictet & Cie SA HK Branch. On Wai (ACG, TEP, MBA) has been working for different European private banking groups and trust companies for over 30 years. As North Asia Head of Wealth Planning in Pictet, he specializes in advising Greater China HNW families for their wealth succession, cross border investments, immigration planning, risk management and family governance planning by setting up different fiduciary and legal structures, including family offices and private trust companies etc.

Zac has experience in all areas of international private client law including cross border tax, trust, estate, family, divorce and succession laws. Zac also has extensive experience advising in relation business family and family office governance and succession planning, and international private client regulatory laws, including the Common Reporting Standard, Mandatory Disclosure Rules, Economic Substance Rules and Beneficial Ownership Registers.

Hengka focuses on international tax and transaction tax and advises on a variety of cutting-edge tax matters, including as they relate to tax planning and compliance, tax-efficient structuring, and tax dispute resolution. Hengka is also a trusted adviser in relation to wealth planning and he serves numerous Chinese Ultra HNWI, leading private banks and family offices for global asset protection scheme and handle their offshore trust, ESOP, CRS, immigration, and succession matters. Beyond that, Hengka contributes substantial efforts on non-profit and philanthropy legal practice. He is a pioneer lawyer in the NGO sector and has advised more than 50 international NGOs, United Nations Agency and charitable foundations and philanthropist on a full range of legal issues, advising the legal implications under INGO Law, handling transactions and day-to-day operation for these entities and representing them in structuring, entity formation, fundraising, donation, due diligence, tax incentives application, governance, litigation and internal compliance investigation. He has been appointed to serve as the China representative of CEPI and authorized representative of one famous international educational NGO. Henry is also selected as the Global Fellow of Salzburg Global Seminar, and Asia Fellow of AVPN for Impact Investment (funded by Ford Foundation).