Fund-Technology.com

Ogier sees growth in high value trusts

Posted: 16 June 2008

Ogier, the offshore legal and fiduciary services, has seen a significant shift in new trust business towards a smaller number of higher value trust structures and away from lower value trusts.

Ogier's Private Client and Trust team has witnessed a threefold increase in the number of new trusts over the past year valued at over £50 million. These have been established by international ultra high net worth families with multi jurisdictional assets. Typically, these trusts are structured in a way which enables the family to establish their own "family office" arrangement. Several of these new trust engagements are worth in excess of £1 billion.

As a corollary, the overall number of new private trusts has declined in recent times for a number of reasons, including higher costs generally in the offshore world and the reduction in tax planning opportunities for families with a UK connection.

Steve Meiklejohn, head of the Private Client and Trust team at Ogier, said "We have seen a tremendous growth in the average value of new private trusts, particularly through our penetration into new markets such as the former Soviet Bloc countries, Russia and the Middle East. Most of our new trust clients are wealthy entrepreneurs who have accumulated significant wealth through their own efforts. They are attracted to the multiple benefits of establishing a trust, such as succession planning, philanthropic giving and tax mitigation".

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