Trustee Activities
As professional trustees, we manage assets and other properties—including shares, companies, artworks, real estate, and yachts—from an administrative, financial, and accounting perspective. Our services encompass the drafting of trust deeds, comprehensive reporting, and ongoing administration.
Originating in English law around the 14th century, trusts involve a Settlor entrusting a Trustee with the management of assets for the benefit of one or more Beneficiaries. This arrangement, known as an institutive act, establishes the Trustee’s legal duty to manage the assets in the Beneficiary’s best interest. To make this obligation legally binding, dispositive acts follow the institutive transaction, formally transferring control of the assets to the Trustee and creating a trust fund. This fund remains separate from the Trustee’s personal assets, ensuring its integrity even in cases of trustee succession due to events such as resignation or death. Originally developed in common-law jurisdictions, trusts have gained significant traction in civil-law countries due to their confidentiality, flexibility, and adaptability to various financial and personal needs.
Our practices
- Social Purpose Trusts: A streamlined alternative to foundations, trusts are often preferred for their simplicity and efficiency in fulfilling predetermined objectives.
- Family and Personal Asset Protection Trusts: Designed to safeguard minors, vulnerable individuals, and family wealth, these trusts help manage family crises or serve as substitutes for marital property arrangements for unmarried couples.
- Succession-Focused Trusts: Facilitating smooth generational transitions in business ownership, these trusts accommodate different tax regimes and are often favored over wills due to their ability to delay asset transfers until specific conditions are met.
- Holding Function Trusts: Offering greater flexibility than direct company shareholdings, these trusts provide procedural advantages, particularly in compliance with regulations on listed companies and syndicate agreements.
- Guarantee Trusts: Commonly used in debt restructuring agreements or legal disputes, these trusts allow assets to be entrusted to a trustee to secure financial obligations or safeguard contested property.
- Liquidation Trusts: Used in corporate liquidations, these trusts hold residual assets while awaiting the resolution of disputes or investigations.
