Last year UK entrepreneurs made £11.8bn by selling their businesses, and that was despite economic challenges, compared with previous years where it’s been more than 60% higher, releasing £29.1bn. Once a typical entrepreneur has built a successful business, they may sell part or all of the company to focus on other opportunities and this realised cash is in the bank – how then do they manage their wealth?

Often, the issue is approached as a family household, with two parents usually in their 50s or early 60s and children perhaps in their 20s. The two most common objectives for them are to protect capital while ensuring multi-generational legacy, and for the entrepreneur to retain control over how that objective is achieved.

Seven-year gift as a last resort?

Despite these clear objectives, many families are under the impression that gifting a sum at this stage – when they feel likely to live out the requisite seven years for the financial gift to be Inheritance Tax-free – is the smartest option.

This could be riddled with potential drawbacks though; from inflation risk to loss of control over the ‘gift’ sum when a child marries or divorces, to sibling squabbles when an older child invests in property and reaps asset appreciation, but a younger sibling feels disadvantaged when property prices have moved ahead of their ‘gift’ sum.

In fact, gifting a lump sum may not achieve either key objective of retaining control or creating legacy wealth. Sometimes, it can mean the entrepreneur has diminished the capital sum through gifting to an extent that, calculating for the rest of their life, they don’t have enough money left to live as they wish.

Family Investment Companies (FICs)

There are alternatives for those with, say, £2m or above to invest: Family Investment Companies (FICs). These are a company wrapper, which entrepreneurs are familiar and comfortable with, they provide a flexible and tax-efficient vehicle whereby different share classes can be allocated to different beneficiaries, and control retained by one share class (held by the entrepreneur). Put simply, it sets the ground rules for a shared understanding of how the wealth will be managed.

Within an FIC structure, corporation tax is payable on its income and capital gains, however:

• Dividends received by the company are tax-free in most cases.
• Through careful structuring, there is the potential that an increase in asset values can be outside the individuals’ estates for IHT purposes.
• Funds can be released from the FIC through dividend and salary payments to shareholders to make use of their available personal allowances and basic rate bands.
• FIC loans are a good way of freeing capital to shareholders without requiring the seven-year IHT rule. investment management fees – paid based on a percentage of assets basis – are tax-deductible for FICs, which they are not for individuals.

FICs have become increasingly popular since 2006 regulations made trusts less attractive. HMRC, having stress tested FICs, and confirmed they have not been used for widespread tax avoidance, effectively giving these structures the all-clear for mitigation of IHT through multi-generational wealth planning.

In terms of multi-generational wealth, it’s notable that trusts have a ‘lifespan’ of 125 years whereas the FIC structure can last in perpetuity. Indeed, we have come across FICs that have been multigenerational since the early 1900’s.

Capital preservation beats risk appetite

While entrepreneurs are renowned for a higher risk appetite, in our experience once the business is sold this appetite is satiated; the focus switches to capital preservation and income-generation. Entrepreneurs tend to keep higher-risk private equity investments separate. All FICs we manage are invested in a diversified array of asset classes and geographies in line with the clients’ objectives.

Money can be a great enabler, but, if carelessly handled, can have a detrimental effect on relationships. We advocate bringing the whole family – or main beneficiaries – together prior to formalising an FIC. The process can be a valuable tool for preparing younger generations of beneficiaries in the psychology of wealth.

As the first generation of beneficiaries matures, multiple FICs can be created for different family households. This allows for each household to reflect their own investment values, risk appetite and for us to manage their portfolios in line with this, all within an investment structure constructed by tax experts, that they are familiar with.

Edd Hollier is senior director & investment manager at EFG Harris Allday and Phil Pellegrini is taxation partner, private clients at Dains Accountants

The bank has appointed Jane Niles as chief executive.

She is taking over the role from Brendan Stewart, who is stepping down after five years.

Niles joined Investec in 2016, initially leading the corporate and family office segment, and more recently, acting as head of offshore real estate and head of lending.

Irwin Mitchell

The law firm and advice group has named Craig Marshall as group chief executive.

This is following the death of the firm’s former chief executive Andrew Tucker.

Marshall joined Irwin Mitchell in 2007 when the firm merged with Scottish law firm Golds before being appointed chief executive of Irwin Mitchell’s personal legal services division from 2014 to April 2021.

He then became group chief operating officer in 2021.

Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM)

The asset manager has named Pauline Plunkett as chief executive of its European operation and managing director of Ireland, subject to regulatory and board approvals.

She was previously head of insurance clients, having joined LGIM in March 2014.

Brown Shipley

The Quintet Private Bank subsidiary has hired Andrew Kyle as chief financial officer, subject to regulatory approval.

Kyle, who served as chief financial officer of Coutts for the previous five years, will join Brown Shipley in October 2023 as chief financial officer designate, working alongside the firm’s outgoing chief financial officer Andrew Curran, who will retire in March 2024 after serving at the UK private bank for over 20 years.

Standard Chartered

Mike Tan has joined the bank as global head of wealth planning and family advisory.

He was most recently part of the wealth advisory team at JP Morgan NA, Singapore.

Lombard Odier

The wealth manager has appointed Alexandre Meyer as managing partner.

Meyer joined Lombard Odier 25 years ago.

Annika Falkengren, who joined the group in 2017, has decided to step down as managing partner at the end of 2023.

MKC Wealth

The independent wealth management firm has appointed Rick Eling as managing director of its authorised investment management business MKC Investment Management.

He joins from Quilter, where he was latterly head of adviser propositions and spent four years as investment director of its advice network Quilter Financial Planning.

Alexander Peter Wealth Management

Claire Taylor has joined the advice firm as a transatlantic financial planner.

She was previously at Forth Capital, where she was an international planner.

Indosuez Wealth Management

The global wealth management arm of Crédit Agricole Group has named Emile Salawi as head of the Middle East.

He joined Indosuez Wealth Management in 2020 as head of key clients and family offices of CA Indosuez (Switzerland) SA.

EFG

The company has named Francesca Speroni as team leader and deputy head of private banking of EFG Private Bank, the UK private banking arm of EFG International.

Speroni has joined EFG from Credit Suisse, where she was a managing director and served as team leader UK for more than five years.

Earlier this year, EFG also hired Inbal Shiloach as client relationship officer focusing on Israeli ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI).

She joined the bank from Julius Baer, where she spent 12 years and most recently served as head of Israel out of London.

Vivian Yuen also joined EFG in London earlier this year as client relationship officer with responsibility for UHNWIs based in Hong Kong and Greater China.

She previously worked for Julius Baer Hong Kong, where she was most recently an associate manager serving private clients booked in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland.

HSBC

The UK private banking arm has recruited a team of relationship managers in its London office.

Phil Aleppo will lead the team and joins from Credit Suisse where he led a team of ultra-high net worth and high net worth bankers in the UK domestic team.

Joining the team are Henri Etchegoyen, Brad Werner, Usmaan Aziz and Oliver Beasant.

Elsewhere, Lok Yim has been named as regional head of global private banking, Asia Pacific.

Yim joins HSBC on a designate basis on 1 November and commences formally on 1 January 2024, subject to regulatory approval.

Yim succeeds Siew Meng Tan, who is retiring after an almost forty-year career in banking.

He joins HSBC from Deutsche Bank where he spent 16 years, most recently as chief executive for Hong Kong SAR.

Belasko

The financial services provider has appointed Alex Le Prevost as associate director.

Le Prevost was previously at Suntera Global, where he was a senior trust manager.

UBS

Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi will join the firm’s chief investment office as head chief investment officer for equities, effective 23 October 2023.

Hoffmann-Burchardi joins from Tudor Investment Corporation, where she has been a partner and senior portfolio manager since 2009.

Holborn Assets

The Dubai-based firm is launching a major expansion of its residency and citizenship investment (RCBI) division.

It has appointed Pablo Ostrick to be the managing director of its RCBI unit, known as Holborn Pass.

In his new role, Ostrick will hire 25 advisers this year to work alongside the firm’s 250 wealth managers.

He was previously general manager of Holborn Pass.

Macquarie Asset Management

Henry Middleton has joined the firm as managing director and head of wealth distribution for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

He was previously at Barings, where he most recently led its US institutional and global wealth distribution activities.

Christian Berchem has been recruited as head of the UK region and chief executive of EFG Private Bank, effective 4 December 2023, subject to regulatory approval.

Berchem will succeed Richard Thomas, who has decided to step down from his role at EFG after more than four years in post to pursue other opportunities.

He is joining EFG from Credit Suisse, where he served as chief executive of Credit Suisse (UK).

Old Mill

The wealth manager has appointed Adil Taha as chief operating officer.

Previously, he was chief operating officer at law firm Child & Child.

Omnis Investments

The Openwork Partnership subsidiary has named Simon Harris as chief operating officer.

He joins from Embark, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, where he was head of investment operations.

The Openwork Partnership

The UK financial services networks has appointed Helen Longland as business school principal director.

She joins from her current role as divisional director learning and development at St James’s Place.

Azimut Middle East

Vijay Sekhar joins the firm as head of wholesale distribution Middle East.

Prior to joining Azimut, Sekhar worked in the UAE with Natixis Investment Managers, Columbia Threadneedle and Citi Bank.

UBS Global Wealth Management

Andrew Carroll has joined the wealth firm in Manchester as a senior financial planner.

He was previously a financial planner at Evelyn Partners.

Evelyn Partners

The wealth management and professional services group has appointed Will Thompson as a financial planning director in its Bristol office.

Thompson joins Evelyn Partners from Rathbones, where he spent the past three and a half years as a senior financial planner.

Elsewhere, Evelyn Partners has named Callum Ogden as a financial planner in its Birmingham office.

Odgen has worked in the financial planning profession since 2017 and most recently was a personal wealth adviser at Schroders Personal Wealth. He has also worked at Simpson Financial Services and Oak Wealth Planning. Prior to that, he was in the British Army.

2Plan Wealth Management

Simon Daniels has been named as a IFA at the advice firm.

He was previously a financial adviser at St James’s Place.

Personal Finance Society (PFS)

The trade body has named Carla Brown and Daniel Williams as member directors.

Both will serve on an interim basis until the PFS AGM on 20 September, when their terms will be formally ratified.

They joined their first PFS board meeting on 3 July, where Anthony Ward was also made interim PFS president. At the same meeting Elizabeth Bastin, an existing Member Director, was re-appointed as a lay director of the board and Don MacIntyre was retained as interim chief executive of the PFS for a further six months.

Brown is managing director of Oakmere Wealth Management and director of CL Wills and Estate Planning. Williams is an IFA with Morgan Williams & Co.

Elsewhere, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) appointed two institute directors to the PFS board.

Andy Briscoe; Neil Buckley; Christine Elliott; Edward Grant; and, Catharine Seddon will join the PFS Board for an initial period of one year.

SYS Group

The Nenagh-headquartered financial services group has appointed Kevin McCarthy as a senior financial planner with the firm.

He joins SYS after more than 30 years of experience in the financial services sector.

Hargreaves Lansdown

The investment firm has appointed Michael Morley to the group board as an independent non-executive director with effect from 1 August 2023.

He is currently a non-executive director of Deutsche Bank SAEU in Spain and Deutsche Bank in Switzerland.

Previously he has held a number of executive roles including as chief executive of UK wealth management for Deutsche Bank and chief executive of Coutts & Co.

Peter Salkeld has been promoted to joint managing director, following his approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Salkeld was associate director and financial planner at the firm, where he was working alongside Ritchie Salkeld, UK managing director.

Platform One

The adviser platform and technology company has appointed Terry Leavy as its chief operations officer.

Leavy joins from SEI, where he was operational director in its UK wealth platform business.

M&G Wealth

The advice firm has hired Matthew Ings into a newly created role as head of its adviser academy.

Ings joins from St James’s Place where he played a key role in the growth and development of its academy for seven years before taking on a role supporting advisers to develop their business strategies.

SS&C

The financial services software provider has appointed Brian Schell as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

He will join from Cboe Global Markets where he was executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.

Schell will take over from Patrick Pedonti who is retiring after 24 years.

Just Group

The specialist UK financial services group has hired Mark Godson as group chief financial officer and the board as an executive director.

He will join the board with effect from 1 January 2024, subject to regulatory approval and will succeed Andy Parsons who will retire on 31 December 2023.

Godson is currently a partner at EY, and leader of their UK actuarial practice.

Wrise Group

The wealth manager has appointed Kevin Teng as chief executive of Singapore and Joel Tan and Megan Zhang as co-chief executives of its Hong Kong arm.

Teng brings over 20 years of experience in the wealth management industry and will take over from Derrick Tan, chairman of Wrise Group, who is now focusing on the strategic initiatives, growth and leadership of the Group’s businesses.

Tan and Zhang both bring over 24 years of experience and will work under the leadership of chairman, Derrick Tan and Marcus Wong, vice chairman of Hong Kong at Wrise.

Continuum

Andreas Vazanias has joined the IFA firm.

Vazanias is based in St Albans with a client roster across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and London.

He joins from DGS Chartered Financial Planners, where he was an independent financial adviser.

Triple Point

The investment manager has appointed Neil Ebden as chief risk officer.

Ebden joins from the Bank of England, where he was senior risk specialist for the Prudential Regulatory Authority.

Integritas Wealth Partners

The wealth manager has hired Richard Gomersall as a senior wealth partner.

Previous roles include head of client development at Rathbones Group and head of international clients at Brooks Macdonald.

Nucleus

The financial platform group has appointed Laura Green into the newly created role of commercial delivery director.

She will report to chief commercial officer Alex Kovach.

She joins Nucleus after seven years at NatWest Group as managing director of strategy for Coutts.

Ignition Advice

The digital advice technology firm has hired Enda Mahoney to the newly created role of chief platform and technology officer.

Most recently, Mahoney was chief technology officer at Mason Stevens.

He will be based in Sydney and report to Ignition Group chief executive Terry Donohoe.

EFG Bank

The Swiss lender has promoted Oliver Balmelli, Yu Jin Tay, Timothy Lo and Jessica Ng as market group heads in Asia Pacific with immediate effect.

Balmelli, was head of EFG’s private banking team in southeast Asia and will take on the new role of market group head for independent asset managers (IAM) and international private banking.

Tay will assume the role of market group head of southeast Asia. He previously served as deputy head of private banking for southeast Asia and team head.

They will both report to Tho Gea Hong, EFG’s Singapore chief executive.

Meanwhile, Lo, who has served as vice chairman for north Asia, will become market group head , Hong Kong, for ultra high net worth clients. He will report to David Louie, the bank’s Hong Kong chief executive.

Also reporting to Louie is Ng, who will be market group head, Hong Kong. Prior to this, she was head of private banking for north Asia.

Serious Fraud Office

Nick Ephgrave has been named as director of the SFO.

He will take up the appointment at the end of September for a five year term and will replace Lisa Osofsky.

Most recently, Ephgrave was chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Criminal Justice Co-ordination Committee.

Quilter Investors

The multi-asset investment business has appointed Malachi Ferguson as a manager research analyst.

He joins from Liontrust Asset Management, where he worked as an analyst in the multi-asset team covering equities, fixed income, sustainable and alternative investments.

The wealth management giant has appointed Sergio Ermotti as group chief executive to oversee the integration of Credit Suisse, less than two weeks after the regulator-orchestrated rescue deal was announced.

In a statement, the Swiss bank said it took the decision in light of the new challenges facing the firm following the acquisition.

UBS also confirmed current chief executive Ralph Hamers has agreed to step down.

Ermotti served as chief executive for nine years before exiting the firm in 2020. UBS noted his experience in leading the firm after the global financial crisis leaves Ermotti “ideally placed to pursue the integration of Credit Suisse”.

He will leave his current role as chair of insurer Swiss Re following its AGM, before taking over from Hamers on 5 April. Hamers will then move to an advisory role with the firm.

Also, James McGuire has announced he is retiring as an executive director after 23-and-a-half years at the UK operation of the wealth firm.

McGuire joined UBS in 1999 as a head of investment funds IFA distribution.
During his time at UBS, McGuire established the first UBS Global Asset Management non-institutional distribution arm within the UK.

Novia Financial

The platform business has announced that its chief commercial officer, Barry Neilson, will be leaving the business in the summer.

He joined the firm in March 2022 after 11-year stint at Nucleus, where he was chief customer officer.

The firm did not announce where Neilson is going or if it intends to replace him in the role.

Isle of Man Financial Services Authority

Scott Quayle has been appointed as head of operations at the Isle of Man regulator.

Quayle brings a wealth of international knowledge to the post having worked in senior roles for KPMG in the Channel Islands, Malta and Bermuda.

Investec Wealth and Investment

Neil Greenwood has been promoted to chief operating officer at the UK firm, having taken up the role on an interim basis in January 2022.

The appointment is still subject to approval by the regulator.

Greenwood joined the firm in January 2017 as a Mifid II manager, becoming head of management support and then client asset oversight officer.

Prior to his spell at Investec, Greenwood was head of operations at Vestra Wealth until October 2016, having spent more than eight years at the firm.

Also, the wealth firm has hired Andrew Mays as associate investment director in Bournemouth and Sebastian Culpan Scott as an investment manager in Cheltenham.

Mays was fund analyst and voting member of the investment committee for Atkins Bland, which looks after advisory mandates for private clients.

Scott rejoins the firm from Sanlam Wealth, where he was an investment manager.

OpesFidelio

Max Durrant has been promoted to executive director of the financial advice network, according to his Linkedin account.

He was previously associate investment director of OpesFidelio.

Marwyn Acquisition Company II

Will Self has been named chief executive for the pensions division of the London Stock Exchange-listed acquisition vehicle.

He will lead the identification, acquisition, and integration of pensions businesses for MAC II.

Self joins MAC II from Curtis Banks Group, where he was chief executive.

EFG International

The global banking group has hired eight client relationship officers in Asia Pacific.

Five have joined in Hong Kong including Elvis Lau, who has been appointed head of the independent asset managers team in the Chinese special administrative region.

Lau was previously director of external asset management for greater China at Credit Suisse.

EFG’s Hong Kong branch has also hired Edward Chan, Alex Chang, Ryan Zhao and Flora Law.

Chan has over 35 years of financial industry experience and previously worked at Bank of Singapore, BOCI, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Coutts, UBS and Citi. He was most recently executive director and team head for the greater China/north Asia market at Bank of Singapore.

Meanwhile, Chang was most recently a senior director in international wealth management at Nomura International (Hong Kong).

Zhao previously worked at RBC Investment, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, DBS and UOB. He was most recently an investment adviser at RBC Investment Services Hong Kong.

Finally, in Hong Kong, Law was most recently a relationship manager in the external asset management greater China team at Credit Suisse.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, Nicholas Yee, Shubhra Pandey and Jolene Zhang have all joined.

Yee was a relationship manager in the greater China and north Asia team at Bank of Singapore and spent several years at Bloomberg as a sales trader and execution consultant.

Pandey was a relationship manager at Standard Chartered focused on the UAE market and previously spent several years at First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Finally, Zhang was a relationship manager in the greater China team at DBS Bank and previously also held similar positions at UOB Private Bank and Bank of Singapore.

Calastone

The global funds network has hired former HSBC managing director Brian Godins as chief commercial officer.

Godins has three decades of experience in the financial services industry. He spent 14-and-a-half years at HSBC, where he was most recently managing director, head of HSBC securities services Asia Pacific and Middle East.

He began his spell at HSBC in September 2007, as head of European securities, having moved from Morgan Stanley.