Top 75 Trustees 2024

Citywealth is pleased to publish its Top 75 Trustees list for 2024. Please note that any marketing of this content is not permitted at any time without a marketing license, as per our Terms & Conditions. This includes advertisement of inclusion in this list. To purchase a marketing license, please contact Karen Jones

Bank owned or independent trustee?

The theme in trust companies back in the day was bank owned or independent. A change in world thinking and AML laws meant a reconsideration of the ecosystem and, on the whole, banks sold off trust companies, particularly if they were deemed to present a geographic risk to reputation. This seismic event, once settled and back to business as usual, was then replaced by an influx of private equity money looking at the annuity business within. This brought about consolidation across much of offshore and made trust business owners wealthy in their own right. However, the general theme remained: are you private equity backed or independent? Independent was seen to be better – in that low-fee accounts or accounts that didn’t fit financial metrics would receive more ongoing care through the generations, utilising the family business model which is much more aligned with the trust industry. However, discussions with many trustees over the years have revealed that, in fact, private equity money also helped raised industry standards – perhaps not in the short term where staff might depart and offices would be bereft of senior employees, but over time the trajectory was considered good and, within a few years, cost savings could enable multiple sites and well-run businesses with steady income. However big, controlled businesses by the natural order of economics will mean some departures and new, smaller independent businesses starting up.

Now a new theme has quietly taken its grip, following the consolidation and buy outs. The trust industry has experienced a few buyout and sale cycles, so the original shock to the system in relatively small populations of being sold has gone and the offshore world is trained on this model. Now the big players want to be ever bigger, forming scaled-up companies with 5,000 to 10,000 staff globally. But the trend to be in private client is lessening as the timelines for onboarding take longer than businesses. Now ‘mega trust’ companies are getting out of private client, leaving a niche space available for smaller to mid-size trust companies to also scale up in a smaller way. This is not the case across the board but it is a development.

As increasing AML and MoneyVal pressures wash over offshore jurisdictions, the cost pressures are creating further consolidation, on the private client side as well. Geopolitical tensions, tax changes, elections and sanctions have also created sharp movements of populations. This has created opportunity to open up in new locations like Dubai to find new, wealthy customers. Do they understand the trust business though? The answer is no, often Middle Eastern families still want control of their assets. This is seen to be something that will change with time as education rises but it has also changed sharply with the Gaza tension as families see the increasing benefit of having their assets out of arm’s length from governments and politics, even if they lose control.

Whatever the developments, the trust industry is robust and regulated at levels never seen before. Governments have worked to get bad actors out of the system. This has meant ‘best of breed’ trust companies and individuals available to help with family succession whether private equity backed or independent. With that, Citywealth is delighted to release its 2024 list of the Top 75 Trustees.