While some family offices mull opening a second location abroad, other wealthy families are scouting international locations to either establish new family offices or move their existing operations.
A new white paper from Citi Private Bank, “Asset location & global mobility: Challenges and strategies for global families,” offers a look at several trends that are affecting wealthy families’ decisions about where to locate:
- Increase in global families. Many families have members who go to school, live or do business in other countries.
- Government transparency and cooperation. Governments are increasingly exchanging tax and other financial information.
- Global instability. The COVID-19 pandemic was just the most far-reaching example of an unpredictable event.
The number of family offices is also on the rise, and the report looks at where families choose to locate their offices. It evaluates four popular locations — the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, and the United States — on four criteria:
- Economic and political stability
- Convenience, such as where family members and businesses are located
- Financial and legal infrastructure
- Administrative considerations, including costs and access to talent
The report also looks at popular locations for housing assets, as well as the value of contingency plans, residency and visa options, and tax considerations.
