Middle East Wealth Management Forum 2020 - Exclusive Insights - Deepak Malhotra

Deepak Malhotra of Mayfair Private

Jan 31, 2020

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1. Which jurisdictions do GCC based clients prefer to utilise for their wealth planning / trust structures? Is there any evidence of movement from traditional centres to new locations?

Video transcript

1. Which jurisdictions do GCC based clients prefer to utilise for their wealth planning / trust structures? Is there any evidence of movement from traditional centres to new locations?

The first thing I would say in this regard is GCC-based clients are not homogenous. So one talks about GCC-based clients, I would broadly categorise, in terms of my professional experience, into three sub-segments. One would be families who moved from jurisdictions such as the UK to the UAE, looking at this as a place to live, have their families and run their businesses. The second group I would talk about would be the long-standing expat communities, been here 30, 40, 50 years plus, which often can be of Indian or Pakistani extraction. And the third community I think are relevant are GCC Arab, often GCC national clients. So let's talk about the first group, the families who've come from the UK. I would say there is a reticence to use perhaps jurisdictions that they perceive, rightly or wrongly, to be very close to the UK. And the ones that would spring to mind would be Jersey, Guernsey, and maybe the Isle of Man. And there's perhaps a shift away, if one would label those as more traditional jurisdictions, to other jurisdictions away from that. But I would still say they have a comfort with common law. So perhaps if they're moving from Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man, they may be more comfortable with Cayman, even though it's a dependent territory. But I would say there's a move away from the Channel Islands. If one talks about the long-term expat community here, I would say that they are families who've traditionally not used structures, traditionally not been comfortable with constructions, mainly because of reasons of living all their life in a civil law jurisdiction and reasons of control. But from their perspective, I think simplicity is key and are more agnostic in terms of jurisdiction. What they want is simplicity and what they want is control. If I then talk about GCC nationals, I would say that they are still, their preference would still be the traditional, longstanding, robust offshore centres, for example, Jersey, for example, Guernsey. And I wouldn't say there's been a move away from those kinds of clients, from those traditional jurisdictions.

 

 
 
 
 

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