Daniel Channing, Group Head of Private Client, sets out why a review of the effectiveness of a family’s international wealth structure should be an important consideration in 2025.

Number of Entities

Ease and speed of operation can often be hard to maintain the larger a structure becomes.

Seeking to identify any entities that no longer serve purpose can streamline operations. Importantly such an exercise should be supported by legal and tax advice and methodically implemented; often supported by a professional fiduciary.

Number of Jurisdictions

Seeking to minimise the number of jurisdictions within a structure can enable a focus on a smaller number of specific and fit-for-purpose locations. This can be achieved by re-domiciling entities into one centralised jurisdiction or by seeking to consolidate assets into entities within one location.

Legal, tax and regulatory changes across multiple jurisdictions can be more complicated to both monitor and adhere to as the number of jurisdictions utilised increases.

Governance and Information Flow

Greater efficiency can also be achieved by analysing the operational governance that overlays a family’s international wealth. Considering how important decisions are made, who has autonomous authority to make those decisions and defining what matters need to be escalated (and how and to whom) are important matters to clearly identify and define.

Inefficiency often arises where there is lack of clarity on decision making or too many decision makers involved.

Ensuring clear information flows, clarity on authority and escalation and defined roles for those who have decision making autonomy is a critical exercise.

How to Streamline

A “bottom-up” exercise is often most effective and enables an assessment of each entity, jurisdiction and the governance in place individual to each. One can then assess whether each entity continues to serve a purpose and whether each entity is performing as efficiently as it can as part of the overall structure.

The measure of success of such an exercise will be enhanced function combined with each remaining entity being operated in a more agile, efficient and effective manner.

This is always most successfully coordinated with external support. Outside expertise can maximise the effectiveness of such an exercise and reduce the time taken to implement change.

Whitmill provide administration restructuring assistance and practical governance support services to international families and family offices. To speak to Daniel to find out more please contact daniel@whitmill.com