Asia’s UNHW Community: Choosing a Jurisdiction for Life and Wealth

Michael Olesnicky is a senior consultant based in Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office. He served as the chair of the firm's Asian Tax & Wealth Management practice from 2000 to 2014, and was a member of its Global Tax Steering Committee during that period. Michael's practice focuses on Hong Kong and Asian regional tax advisory work, tax disputes and litigation, as well as wealth management and estate planning.  He is the current chair of STEP's branch in Hong Kong and of its China sub-sub-committee. He is also the chair of the Joint Liaison Committee on Taxation in Hong Kong. He was previously a lecturer in law at Hong Kong University where he remains as an honorary lecturer. Michael has more than 25 years’ experience advising on corporate tax, wealth management, trust planning and estate succession matters.

Dominic Volek is Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners and a member of the Executive Committee. Originally from South Africa, he now spends his time between London, Dubai, and Singapore as a private client specialist in residence and citizenship planning and provides advice to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families across the globe. His work targets countries that are deemed most attractive to wealthy individuals in terms of mobility, security, privacy, personal tax, estate planning, and lifestyle. He is also a member of the firm’s Government Advisory practice, providing strategic advice to governments on the design, implementation, and promotion of successful investment migration programs. Dominic is a certified Chartered Accountant CA (SA), holding both a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with Honors and Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication. Prior to joining Henley & Partners, Dominic had a successful career as part of the Senior Management team in one of the big four accounting and advisory firms in Singapore, South Africa, and the USA. Dominic is frequently sought after as a speaker and thought leader on residence and citizenship planning, and he regularly provides commentary on the Henley Passport Index. He has been interviewed by top-tier media such as BBC, Quartz, and Bloomberg.

Mark Smallwood TEP is based in the UK from where he advises predominantly Asian UHNW families on the structuring and ongoing administration and management of their estate and succession plan, family office, investment process and governance. He sits on the Business Advisory Council of a successful privately held business spanning multiple jurisdictions. After nearly 35 years in financial services across the global, including the UK, Caribbean, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore and having held senior positions in one of the leading global private banks, Mark has unique insights and brings an independent, unconflicted view which enables UHNW families to objectively evaluate their decision making process.

Reach our to Mark: [email protected]

Howard Bilton is Chairman and founder of The Sovereign Group – one of the world’s largest privately owned consultancies specialising in the provision of offshore trusts and companies and associated international tax advice- www.SovereignGroup.com. Howard holds a joint honours BA degree in classics and law from the University of Keele and is qualified as a Barrister and called to the Bars of England/Wales and Gibraltar. He currently lives and works in Hong Kong. He is a regular contributor of articles to The Telegraph and Financial Times. He is a visiting non-resident professor at Texas A and M University where he assists with their LLM and Masters degrees in International Tax and Offshore Centres. In 2003 he formed The Sovereign Art Foundation Limited which is a charity registered in Hong Kong, Singapore, Guernsey, South Africa and the UK. SAF has raised over US$6 million which has been used to help many thousands of disadvantaged children using art as a means of rehabilitation and education. He is the principal of Hillvalley Limited which makes since 2005 has been making wine in Portugal which is sold throughout the world under the “Howard’s Folly” brand name.

Dominic Volek is Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners and a member of the Executive Committee. Originally from South Africa, he now spends his time between London, Dubai, and Singapore as a private client specialist in residence and citizenship planning and provides advice to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families across the globe. His work targets countries that are deemed most attractive to wealthy individuals in terms of mobility, security, privacy, personal tax, estate planning, and lifestyle. He is also a member of the firm’s Government Advisory practice, providing strategic advice to governments on the design, implementation, and promotion of successful investment migration programs. Dominic is a certified Chartered Accountant CA (SA), holding both a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with Honors and Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication. Prior to joining Henley & Partners, Dominic had a successful career as part of the Senior Management team in one of the big four accounting and advisory firms in Singapore, South Africa, and the USA. Dominic is frequently sought after as a speaker and thought leader on residence and citizenship planning, and he regularly provides commentary on the Henley Passport Index. He has been interviewed by top-tier media such as BBC, Quartz, and Bloomberg.

Mark Smallwood TEP is based in the UK from where he advises predominantly Asian UHNW families on the structuring and ongoing administration and management of their estate and succession plan, family office, investment process and governance. He sits on the Business Advisory Council of a successful privately held business spanning multiple jurisdictions. After nearly 35 years in financial services across the global, including the UK, Caribbean, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore and having held senior positions in one of the leading global private banks, Mark has unique insights and brings an independent, unconflicted view which enables UHNW families to objectively evaluate their decision making process.

Reach our to Mark: [email protected]

Howard Bilton is Chairman and founder of The Sovereign Group – one of the world’s largest privately owned consultancies specialising in the provision of offshore trusts and companies and associated international tax advice- www.SovereignGroup.com. Howard holds a joint honours BA degree in classics and law from the University of Keele and is qualified as a Barrister and called to the Bars of England/Wales and Gibraltar. He currently lives and works in Hong Kong. He is a regular contributor of articles to The Telegraph and Financial Times. He is a visiting non-resident professor at Texas A and M University where he assists with their LLM and Masters degrees in International Tax and Offshore Centres. In 2003 he formed The Sovereign Art Foundation Limited which is a charity registered in Hong Kong, Singapore, Guernsey, South Africa and the UK. SAF has raised over US$6 million which has been used to help many thousands of disadvantaged children using art as a means of rehabilitation and education. He is the principal of Hillvalley Limited which makes since 2005 has been making wine in Portugal which is sold throughout the world under the “Howard’s Folly” brand name.

Michael is a prominent figure in the financial services industry in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of Hubbis, a renowned provider of intelligence and connectivity for the Asian wealth management industry. With a depth of experience and expertise, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry for over 30 years, becoming a leading industry presence in the events, professional development, and publishing space in the region. Hubbis is a multi-generational family-owned and managed business.

He has been actively involved in the Asia-Pacific region since 1993. And has lived in Asia since 1995, holding positions in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Singapore. 

For over 14-years, Hubbis has established itself as the gold standard media and events brand in wealth management thought leadership in Asia. Each year providing a very large body of cutting-edge editorial and sponsored content, organizing top-flight events. During that time Hubbis has become the platform of choice for many high-profile C-suite leaders to communicate their vision of the Asian wealth management.

Before his involvement with Hubbis, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002, a financial services media company. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant success and was subsequently acquired by global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006. Michael continued to serve as the CEO of Pacific Prospect until October 2008. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael garnered 5 years of experience in financial markets publishing.

His career in this field began in 1993 when he joined Euromoney Publications as the publisher of the quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now owned by LSEG) and spearheaded the conception and launch of Finance Asia magazine. During his tenure as Managing Director of Finance Asia, he also initiated the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine, and the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, he founded FIA Limited, further expanding his contributions to the financial publishing industry.

Born in North Wales, Michael served as the head boy of St David's College Llandudno. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. Beyond his professional endeavours, Michael is a family-oriented individual and is happily married with three children: Reanna, Garett, and Tarryn.