Co-Chairs Welcome

The state of the world: are we optimists or pessimists?

• A personal view of geopolitical and macroeconomic developments in the last couple of years.

• Positive trends for the private wealth industry that will increase client wealth, and make both clients and wealth more mobile.

• Worrying trends that may make clients poorer and suppress business opportunities with cross-border families and capital flows.

Moderator
Andrew Penney, Head of Wealth Planning, Sequent, UK

UBO registers and asset ownership transparency
An effective curb on kleptocracy or a pointless bureaucratic nuisance?

• Each EU country collects different & inconsistently targeted information about settlors, beneficiaries, protectors, owners of trust service providers.

• Now the US CTA imposes another layer of complexity and another set of requirements.

• The UK Economic Crime bill will collect info on foreign owners of UK real estate on top of UBOs of corporate entities and the UK Trust register.

• Where you have a corporate group in 80 different countries compliance with this legislation is now a full-time job and makes any structure unviable.

• The information collected is pointless and meaningless (show by case study).

Moderator
Andrew Penney, Head of Wealth Planning, Sequent, UK

Speakers
Elizabeth Bruwer, Director / Senior Wealth Planner, Sequent, UK 
Humberto Sanches, Partner, Humberto Sanches and Associates, Brazil
Matthew Sperry, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman, USA 
Inbal Faibish Wassmer, Partner, Goldfarb, Seligman & Co., Israel

New assets: crypto and NFTs 
Taxation of CC, transfer of wealth on death

Uses of blockchain by wealthy/mobile super rich at a time of great geopolitical uncertainty.
•  What is blockchain and how is it being utilized by HNW individuals?

Use of NFTs/crypto as an alternative to gold (contrast the 1930s and 2020s).
• Is crypto currency being viewed as less risky than an investment in gold?

Use of NFTs in the art world.

Moderator
Michelle Neville-Clarke, Partner, Lennox Paton, The Bahamas

Speakers
Bruno Boesch, Consultant, UK
Christine Bourron, Pi-eX Limited, UK
Matthew Gardiner, Founder, Catch London, UK
Charlie Maydon Grace, Partner, Macfarlanes, UK

What do we expect from a modern trust (or foundation) jurisdiction?

Increasingly, jurisdictions incorporate structures into to their domestic law that would previously have been thought alien. The Channel Islands and Dubai promote foundations and Switzerland proposes to introduce a new trust law. Variety is the spice of life, or so they say. But what are we really looking for when selecting the right place to organise a structure?

Moderator
Michael Fischer, Partner, Fischer Ramp Buchmann, Switzerland

Speakers
Line-Alexa Glotin, Partner, UGGC, France
Georgina James, Partner, Farrer & Co., UK
Matthew McKim, Partner, Loeb & Loeb, USA
Alexa Saunders, Partner, Carey Olsen, Jersey 

1st Roundtable Session

Art as an asset class 

•  How can an investor (who may or may not also be a very well informed collector) invest in art?

  -  Direct investments/private managed accounts
  -  Co-investment and fractional ownership
  -  Art investment funds

•  Is art failing under many “investment grade” criteria?! (e.g. High cost of: acquisition, up-keep,
   and disposal. No return, poor liquidity, problematic use as security, not to mention whims of taste,
   and even of attribution – a paradise for art advisors.)

•  The art of pricing the priceless. How is art valued/priced in the context of art investment?

•  Art as security in non-recourse lending.

•  The challenges of preserving collections, especially in succession.

•  How do export restrictions, such as those in Spain and Italy, impact the value of art and the
   assessment of such art for investment purposes?

Co-Moderators
Bruno Boesch, Lawyer, CollectionsLegal.art, UK
Giovanni Cristofaro, Partner, Chiomenti, Italy
Carlos Ferrer, Partner, Cuatrecasas, Spain
Freya Stewart, CEO & Group General Counsel, The Fine Art Group, UK

Protecting wealth against political and economic upheaval

Lessons learned from the Ukraine war.
•  The impact of sanctions on asset protection structures (trusts/foundations/bank accounts).
•  What are the options and how to deal with unlawful sanctions?
•  Is there anywhere safe anymore?
•  Opening new bank accounts no longer possible/payments via Dubai blocked/new compliance rules
   for transfers from aggressor countries and the like.

The rise of a new economic and political order.
•  How to protect wealth from geopolitics and the rise of nationalism?
•  De-globalization, protectionism and economic recession/inflation - do they matter?

Double passport / nationalities in some jurisdictions mandatory?

Timing for restructuring of assets and family restructuring - How to make clients aware that asset protection is more important than tax evasion?

Co-Moderators
Nuno Barnabe, Partner, Abreu Advogados, Portugal
Johann Espiritu, Partner, Romulo, Philippines 
Dirk Kolvenbach, Partner, Heuking Kuehn, Germany

The evolving definition of 'The Family' on Wealth Management

•  Overview of concepts relating to considerations for modern families.

•  Outline of the various issues that result in the formation of modern families and examples of non-traditional
    families seen in practice.

•  Overview of drafting with flexibility for all modern families.

Co-Moderators
Catherine Watson Coles, Partner, McInnes Cooper, Canada
Sara Hunt, Senior Counsel, Farrer & Co., UK

Tax: Navigating the draft EU Unshell Directive

The draft Unshell Directive, published by the EU in December 2021, challenges professional advisors and clients alike to put substance at the forefront of any discussion concerning holding entities.  The matter is even more urgent seeing the draft Directive proposes a ‘look back approach to structures in place as of 1 January 2022. This session will start with a brief intro about the key elements of the draft Unshell Directive and then discuss:

•  Issues and open points around the gateway criteria.

•  The various carve-outs and exemptions – how this may impact future planning (e.g. converting
    holding entities into licensed funds, etc.).

•  Practical issues with the various elements factored into the ‘substance indicator analysis’ (e.g.
   qualified director, outsourcing etc.).

•  Best practices on how to guide clients as to substance requirements in the interim, in the context of
   the ‘look back’ approach in the Directive.

Co-Moderators
Rosanne Bonnici, Partner, Fenech & Fenech Advocates, Malta
Eric Fort, Partner, Arendt, Luxembourg
Ineke Koele, Founder, Koele Tax & Legal Perspecta, The Netherlands

Selecting the right jurisdiction to organise a structure

This roundtable will discuss in greater depth some of the points raised by the panel discussion in the previous session regarding what advisors expect from a modern trust (or foundation) jurisdiction.

Co-Moderators
Michael Fischer, Partner, Fischer Ramp Buchmann, Switzerland
Line-Alexa Glotin, Partner, UGGC, France 

Closing Dinner in The Bayes Reading Room