Private Wealth Services

 Because it creates peace of mind. It’s about making sure your assets are protected. That they are shared with those of your choosing and that assets are passed on according to your wishes across international boundaries.

What does the realm of assets encompass? Real estate, for instance, but also cash, stocks and bonds. Yachts, cars and aircraft. It can encompass art and jewellery, one’s businesses of course, as well as business property.

A lawyer. An accountant. All working in concert. This is a typical family-office team. The concept of the family office is to care for virtually every aspect of the family business. And to report to the designated head of that family, providing a corporate governance framework.

Creating family offices is a familiar responsibility for us at Intertrust. Some of our clients have relied on us for generations. Because we treat clients’ values as our own.

Imagine the range: the wish to secure funds for a costly education. The desire to keep a significant collection of art and antiques intact. Or the need to ensure a family’s stake in a corporation – over the long-term.

Some people perceive creating a foundation as relinquishing control. What they do not realise is the gain in this context. Indeed, personal control of assets may disappear – but it is replaced by an even greater benefit: an entity – the foundation – that secures the assets for generations to come. Once decided upon, what are the steps in establishing a foundation? Reaching agreement on the deed (terms) of formation. Selecting board members and other officers. Specifying which assets are to be preserved in this way. Registering the foundation. And, as important, securing the day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year administration. At Intertrust we have evolved foundation services over the course of generations. Trust, reliability – these are the characteristics to which our clients respond. And well they should. Because the control of a foundation must remain in safe and reliable hands

Making sure that the family business is transferred intact to the next generation. A trust may also be the logical next step in tax and estate planning. There are also difficult situations that suggest trust arrangements. One may need to secure assets in response to a matrimonial dispute. One may need reassurance that assets will be managed in the event of illness, disability or death.

Establishing a trust is a way of yielding control of assets for the benefit of protecting those assets. It is a form of rearranging wealth – according to one’s beliefs. One retains the right to decide whether to buy, sell, or give away assets. But one has chosen a third party – the trustee – to ensure that the assets are preserved. This is at the heart of why the trustee is so important: because the institution that creates and maintains the trust must be reputable. It is up to the trust officer to act with care and diligence. The trustee is obliged – professionally, legally, and personally – to comply strictly with the terms of the trust deed. Receiving sound advice is crucial. Intertrust has a heritage of arranging every single kind of trust one could require. That in-house expertise helps ensure that one is making the best possible arrangements.

The fiduciary must manage those assets for the benefit of the other person – not for his or her own profit, although the fiduciary is normally empowered to be paid from fiduciary family assets. A trust company is this fiduciary. What is the trust company’s commitment to the client? It is to manage and administer assets and set up the ‘structures’ in which to protect assets using trusts, foundations and other corporate entities.

All this must be done correctly and with care using the right expertise. The measure of a trust company? Their trustworthiness, reliability and the skills of professional staff. Consider the trust officers at Intertrust. Each of us is qualified in our chosen fields: Law. Accounting. Tax. Administration. We have hands-on experience in the trust business. Ongoing training. Ever-evolving knowledge. What is the benefit of this to you? Finding the fiduciary that sets the standard in trust. Receiving proactive service. Knowing that your interests are looked after by the best in class.