Paul Christopher, who is managing partner in Hong Kong at the offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes, talks about the wealth management organisations and individuals he works with.

Paul Christopher, who is managing partner in Hong Kong at the offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes, talks about the wealth management organisations and individuals he works with. Christopher specialises in general corporate and finance work including capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and investment funds. He has an established trust practice and acts for a number of leading trust institutions.  He qualified as a solicitor in England in 1999 - currently non-practising – an advocate (Guernsey) in 2003 and is admitted as a solicitor of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Christopher moved to Hong Kong to launch the Asia office in January 2012. He talks about his area of work and some of the trends he is seeing in the business. (To see an example of a previous commentary on matters of concern to UHNW individuals by this firm, click here.)

Typically the ultra-wealthy have the opportunity to take proper and independent advice in relation to how they structure their affairs. Not all of them do but they can avoid a mass market product and can consult and design a bespoke arrangement that satisfies all of their requirements and will still make economic sense.

Often wealth planners may be promoting a particular product which whilst cost effective in the short term and may suit their employer, may not meet all of a family's needs in the long term.

UHNW individuals are recognising that there may be conflicts of interest in those mass market products and so they need to take independent advice and look at a bespoke solution. This is particularly so if they have encountered issues in the past either with service providers or with inter-family disputes.

Increasingly, we are being asked to provide an overview and jurisdictional comparison of the offshore jurisdictions that we cover (BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey) or sometimes a selection of them, to highlight their differences in terms of approach, regulation, benefits and negatives. Often this will be considered in the context of the establishment (or even migration of) either trusts and companies or for those who require it, private trust companies and even quasi banks which may act as lenders to a family as well as charitable institutions.

There is an increasing understanding that there is a range of options and they can pick and choose to suit their requirements.

In terms of providing a more bespoke offering and like many aspects of life, a bespoke product should fit better than an off-the-peg solution. There are softer issues that may come into play as well.  It may be that we are asked to meet these clients informally to guide them on pitfalls that we may have seen as well as discuss new developments in the market - private banks can offer that type of access only to a select few.

There is an interesting dynamic that may be changing – its probably too soon to tell but there is a sense that clients now understand that the provision of services is not simply about cost, there is an increasing realisation that quality, service and experience are important.