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Trust administration
Day-to-day running of a trust: records, distributions, reporting and reviews, with us as holder of record.
Open Trust administrationWealth structuring
Wealth structuring with an offshore asset protection trust
An offshore asset protection trust holds the shares of a family holding company, often under another country's law. The company holds the accounts and property. The deed can reserve investment decisions to you or an appointee; we hold, check and record. Protection depends on the law and the facts.
Who it is for
Families with assets in several countries use this structure
- Families who want one structure to hold assets spread across countries
- Business owners who want to separate personal holdings from operating risk
- Settlors who want to keep investment control while a trustee holds legal title
- Private banks and external asset managers whose clients need a trustee of record
How it works
How a trust and a holding company fit together, step by step
Map the assets and the people
Which assets, in which countries, held by whom, and who should benefit. Your advisers lead; we explain what a trustee can and cannot hold.
Choose the structure
Trust law, trust type, holding company jurisdiction and the roles: settlor, protector, investment appointee. Your lawyers draft; we review from the trustee side.
Set up the holding company
The trust owns the company. The company opens the accounts and takes title to the assets. Banks run their own onboarding, which we support.
Reserve the powers
The deed sets out which powers the settlor or an appointee keeps and which decisions need the trustee.
Administer and review
We hold the shares, check instructions, approve distributions, keep the record and review the structure each year.
In detail
What an offshore protection trust can and cannot do
A trust separates who owns the assets from who benefits and who decides. Whether that stops a creditor depends on the governing law, when and why the assets were settled, and the claim itself.
A transfer made to defeat an existing creditor can be challenged.
We do not promise protection. Your lawyers assess your position before any assets move.
In detail
Reserved powers: control versus protection
A reserved powers trust lets the settlor, or a person the settlor names, keep defined powers, usually over investments. The trustee still holds the assets.
The more control a settlor keeps, the more a court may treat the assets as still the settlor’s. The balance is a legal choice that you make with your lawyers; the deed then records it.
Our role
What we do, and what we do not do
We do not give legal, tax or investment advice. Your own advisers do that; we administer the trust.
What we do
- Act as trustee and hold the shares of the holding company
- Act as director or company secretary of the holding company where the structure needs it
- Check that each investment instruction comes from the person the deed authorises and stays within the deed
- Approve distributions and keep the trust and company records
- Work with your private bank, external manager and insurer as the owner of record
- Review the structure yearly with you and your advisers
What we do not do
- Choose investments or run a portfolio. The settlor, the appointee or a licensed manager does that.
- Promise that any structure protects assets from any claim. Protection depends on the law, the facts and timing.
- Promise a tax outcome.
- Set up a structure whose purpose is to hide assets from a lawful claim or a tax authority.
Documents and timeline
Documents and timeline
- Draft trust deed and the lawyer’s structure memo
- Identity and proof of address for each settlor, beneficiary with a vested interest, protector and controlling person
- Source of wealth and source of funds for the assets going into the trust
- Tax residence self-certification for each account holder and controlling person
- Corporate documents of the holding company, or our instruction to incorporate it
- Bank and custodian account details and the authorised signatory list
Company formation and bank onboarding run on the bank’s and the registry’s timetable.
We give you a checklist and tell you where each step stands.
FAQ
Questions families ask about protection and control
What is an asset protection trust?
A trust set up so that the assets are held by a trustee for named beneficiaries instead of by the settlor personally. Some countries add rules that make it harder to reach the assets. Whether the structure helps in your case depends on the governing law, and many places set a time limit for a creditor to challenge a transfer.
Does a trust protect assets from creditors?
It can in some cases, but not in all. A court usually looks first at whether the settlor was solvent when the assets moved and whether a claim was already known. Your lawyers test both before anything is settled, and the limits are set out on this page.
What is a reserved powers trust?
A trust whose deed keeps defined powers with the settlor or a person the settlor appoints. Typical examples are choosing the investment manager or approving a sale of the holding company. The trustee must still check that each use of a power is within the deed before it acts.
Which jurisdictions are used for asset protection?
Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands can be used for the trust or the holding company; others are possible. Your advisers choose on law, cost and where the assets and banks are. Our jurisdiction pages set out the facts we hold for each place.
Can I keep control of the investments?
Yes, if the deed reserves those powers to you or to a person you appoint, such as a licensed manager. In practice that person signs the instructions to the bank, and we check that the signatory is authorised and that each instruction fits the deed before we act on it. We keep a record of every instruction.
Where we work
Related jurisdictions
Singapore
Asia Pacific. We work alongside a local partner who takes a defined role in the trust.
See SingaporeBVI
Americas and Caribbean. We work alongside a local partner who takes a defined role in the trust.
See BVISwitzerland
Europe. We work alongside a local partner who takes a defined role in the trust.
See SwitzerlandDiscuss a structure with us
Bring your advisers. We explain what a trustee holds and how the reserved powers work in practice.