Asian Wealth Solutions Forum 2018

Laurence was called to the UK Bar in 2006 having studied law at the University of Bristol, Warwick University and Nottingham Law School. He joined Sovereign as in-house Counsel at the beginning of 2008, and was appointed Sovereign Group Tax Counsel in 2010. Now Sovereign’s Head of Tax, Laurence has recently re-located to Asia and will be principally based from Sovereign’s Singapore office for the foreseeable future. Specialising in the UK tax treatment of overseas structures and pension schemes, Laurence typically advises high net worth individuals on tax mitigation strategies concerning future planning as well as unscrambling existing offshore structures. A large part of his practice involves advising on UK property ownership issues. Laurence advises high net worth clients directly, as well as professional clients who receive the advice on their behalf. He works closely with external tax counsel practising at the UK’s leading tax chambers; he also works closely with HMRC, particularly in the area of the UK tax treatment of overseas pension schemes. He is currently co-writing a book on UK pension taxation and is the ITPA Jurisdiction Editor for Singapore.    

Kylie has over 18 years of experience in Singapore and international tax. Prior to joining BDO in 2015, she was a tax principal with a Big Four firm. Currently, Kylie leads BDO’s Asset Management and Private Wealth Tax practice in Singapore. Kylie has worked on a broad range of tax advisory assignments involving cross-border tax planning, private wealth structuring, due diligence, post-deal restructuring, supply-chain modelling, incentive negotiation, transfer pricing, alternative investments, debt offerings, permanent establishment issues, etc. Kylie has also served a wide range of clients from different industries with particular expertise in fund and trust structuring, serving family offices and financial institutions with tax advice on their investments as well as assisting high net worth families with their tax, trust and estate planning issues on a multijurisdictional basis. Kylie holds an Honours degree in Accounting and Finance from Monash University in Australia. Kylie is also regularly involved in various international tax seminars held in the region, and has also frequently published articles on taxation in the press.

Nicolas has 12 years experience in the wealth management industry. Before establishing Global Precious Metals, he was Manager of Trading & Business Development at Swiss Precious Metals Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Nicolas began his financial career as an Assistant Private Banker with Lombard Odier & Cie. in Geneva, Switzerland, after which he worked as a relationship manager and trader at Swiss Heritage Pte Ltd, a wealth management company based in Singapore. Nicolas holds a Swiss Degree in Financial and Business Banking from Geneva.

"GD" as he is known by friends and colleagues, is Professor Emeritus of Corporate Strategy, International Business and Finance of The University of Michigan Ross School in Ann Arbor, MI where he taught from 1968 onward. Currently he serves as Chairman of the IMA Asia CFO Forum, Singapore and is on the faculty of NBS/NTU in Singapore. He continues to Executive Programs for UoM and NTU. He also maintains close relations with a number of academic institutions in Germany such as WHU Vallendar, Univ. des Saarlandes, und Weltwirtschaftliches Institut Kiel. His areas of interest comprise Multinational Corporate Strategy and Finance, International Financial Markets with focus on Asia, Risk Management and Corporate Governance.   Parallel to his academic career, he worked for extended periods with a number of multinational companies and government agencies as an advisor. He continues to serve on the Boards of Guinness/Atkinson, USA and was for many years the independent director on the board of subsidiaries of Ally Financial/GMAC Detroit, USA. He participates in managing the portfolios of several foundations. From 09/01 to 02/03 he was employed with McKinsey and Co. in Singapore, supporting the firm’s Corp. Governance practice in Asia. GD is a member of FEI Detroit has been for many years member of the Singapore Institute of Directors He is an advisor to FPAS and Securities Investors Association Singapore. Prof Dufey can always be reached at [email protected] & [email protected]

Rohit Bhuta is a senior executive with over 26 years’ experience, most of which (22 years) with the Macquarie Group. He has worked across eight key markets globally and has had extensive experience in the private banking, wealth management and asset management space. He has lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia, UK, South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. He has held senior leadership and strategic roles over the years, spanning multiple layers and levels of accountability. He is currently the CEO at Crossinvest (Asia) Pte Ltd, a family owned multi-generational independent asset management company providing (discretionary) investment management, investment advisory and family office solutions and services to investors globally. His role prior to this was working as a senior adviser to Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Financial Markets group, with a mandate to design and execute go-to-market strategies with the family offices, private banks and asset managers across Asia. His role prior to that and before a year-long sabbatical (2014), was the CEO of Religare Macquarie Private Wealth, a private wealth company domiciled in India but targeting high / ultra-high net worth investors globally. While Australia is home, he has operated out of South Africa since 2000 and Asia since 2005. Rohit has developed a deep understanding of the culture and the inherent nuances driving each economy within Africa and Asia, in particular within the wealth management / private banking industry.

Craig is the Chief Executive Officer of Charles Monat Associates. He was previously the Head of Region and Chief Executive Officer Singapore & South East Asia for Old Mutual International, Singapore. Craig is an experienced financial services executive with over 35 years’ experience in Asia, Europe and Australia. He started his career as Chartered Accountant with KPMG and then served in a succession of increasingly senior positions, including Regional CFO and Regional Manager with Allianz in Asia before his last position with Old Mutual International.

As Old Mutual International’s Head of International Technical Sales, David works with many industry practitioners such as financial advisors, relationship managers, external asset managers and clients all over the world, specialising in taxation, trusts and pensions. With several decades of practical international experience, he is an accomplished presenter, having spoken on industry matters and technical subjects for trade bodies, private banks, international IFAs and training providers.

John Shoemaker is Senior Counsel with Butler Snow in their Singapore office. John has more than 30 years’ experience in tax, legal & regulatory compliance, and is a common law lawyer with educational emphasis on taxation, trusts & estate planning. He also has extensive experience in ensuring multi-jurisdictional compliance for fiduciary product offerings (working with multijurisdictional outside counsel & adapting products for sale in relevant jurisdictions), including product management skills to direct complex products from concept to fully operational status.

Sebastien Hayoz joined Asiaciti Trust in October 2016. He has a law degree from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and worked in a Geneva Law Firm before joining the trust and fiduciary industry. In his previous positions, Sebastien was Head of Private Clients Services in Geneva for international trust companies. Sebastien is a member of STEP.

Dawn Quek advises on tax and wealth management. She assists high net worth families with their tax, trust and estate planning issues on a multijurisdictional basis, focusing on setting up family offices and using onshore and offshore trust structures and other vehicles to help clients hold and transfer wealth through generations. She advises financial institutions serving such families on issues and regulations that affect their business. She also provides and coordinates regional tax advice for multinational corporations and financial institutions on cross-border transactions and tax restructuring. She has extensive experience in advising on tax issues in respect of mergers and acquisitions, and has assisted many clients in resolving tax disputes. Dawn is also recognised as a key individual in the area of wealth management by leading legal and tax directories including Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Rohit Ganguli is the Head of Wealth Planning Asia at EFG Bank, he has two decades of experience working with clients to assist them in achieving their wealth planning objectives especially in relation to succession, legacy and asset protection needs. This often involves the use of trusts, foundations, corporate entities and other holding vehicles. Rohit is responsible for all aspects of the insurance activity in EFG in Asia. This involves supporting all insurance related discussions – including identifying life insurance referral opportunities based on clients’ wealth and liquidity planning needs, extensively interacting with external counter parties (such as insurance brokers and carriers) and also actively engaging with related stake holders within the bank. He manages all discussions around single family offices (SFO) and works closely with clients on the benefits and processes involved in the set up of SFOs. Rohit has a background in accountancy and also holds a Master’s degree in International Tax Law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is a registered trust and estate practitioner (TEP) and holds a diploma from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is also certified with the Singapore College of Insurance. He has worked across geographies and has been with Big 4 consulting firms and MNCs prior to joining the bank.

Mark Nelligan is Pershing’s senior business representative in Asia Pacific. He is based in Singapore and is responsible for relationship management and business development in the region. He is a member of BNY Mellon’s Asia Pacific Executive Committee and is chief executive officer of Pershing Securities Singapore Private Ltd, which holds a capital markets license to service Singapore financial intermediaries. He has over 20 years of financial services experience. Mark joined Pershing in October 2002 from ING Barings, Singapore, where he was the chief operating officer with responsibility for the bank’s commercial and investment banking operational support platform in South East Asia, Vietnam and India. Prior to this, he held several senior operational roles in Hong Kong, India and London. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (FCA, ICAEW) and a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge University.

Malcolm is the Resident Manager of Sovereign Straits Trust Limited, Singapore. He is also a practicing lawyer in England, Hong Kong and Singapore, advising on Trust, Estate and Succession planning. In practice he has been involved in both structuring and in litigation matters involving trust and estates. He has appeared in the Court of Appeal, Singapore, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong, and the Privy Council. He advise on various trust matters, family office, wealth protection and succession planning. His clients include both private clients and trustees in various jurisdiction. This involves the establishment of trust structures and wealth planning. Malcolm has been recognized by Citywealth as one of the leading Asian lawyers in the field of trust.

Vikna is a leading lawyer in the Tax, Trust & Private Wealth practices. He is regularly engaged to advise leading trust companies and ultra-high net worth families to create multi-generational structures that best address their succession planning needs, ensuring smooth transition of management and ownership of operating companies to preserve their value. Vikna is also known for his tax expertise which he honed during his time as legal counsel advising the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and he led Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP’s tax practice to clinch Singapore’s Tax Disputes and Litigation Firm of the Year by the International Tax Review 2017. Vikna has been named as one of the world’s Leading Experts in Private Client Practice by Who’s Who Legal since 2017 and ranked as a Band 1 Lawyer in Private Wealth law by Chambers Net Worth 2022. Most recently, he won “Lawyer of the Year” for Trusts and Estates in Singapore by The Best Lawyers in Singapore as well as “Private Client Lawyer of the Year” at The Asia Legal Awards. Further, he is recently ranked “Distinguished Practitioner” in tax by Asialaw Profiles 2022 and is also ranked “Leading Individual” in tax by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022.

Tan Woon Hum is partner with a major Singapore law firm Shook Lin & Bok. He has more than 23 years of experience as a professional lawyer. He heads the Trust, Asset & Wealth Management practice and is widely regarded as one of the rare market leaders specialising in investment funds, REITs, trusts and private wealth. He advises numerous fund managers, wealth managers and EAMs, setting up Singapore and Cayman funds, getting CMS licences, RFMC & VCFMC approvals, setting up family offices and private trusts, including Section 13X structures. He holds a law degree as well as a MBA (Finance). He has been a sought after speaker and speaks regularly at public conferences and seminars for more than 17 years in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia and also conducts professional training courses (including Euromoney, Courses & Seminars & Henley Business School hedge funds programmes). Woon Hum has been recognised as a leading funds lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2012 to 2019, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017 to 2019, and Best Lawyers Singapore 2013 to 2020. He is also recommended for his expertise in real estate in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2014, 2015, 2017 to 2019, and in private wealth in the 2019 edition. Woon Hum is also cited as a notable practitioner in IFLR1000 2018 and 2019.

Ian Kloss has been with Old Mutual International since 2014 and has been appointed as the Head of Region (SE Asia) & Chief Executive Officer Singapore in February 2017. He has over 18 years’ experience in financial services, banking and insurance in the US, UK, and Hong Kong. Ian is responsible for managing the distribution of Old Mutual International’s solutions to retail and professional investors via licensed Financial Advisers. His priority is to continue to build Old Mutual International’s growth strategy in the region, expanding the distribution opportunities and broadening the propositions to the High Net Worth market and wider audience. A specialist in insurance and investments with a Diploma in regulated financial planning and discretionary investment management, Ian also provides technical development on retirement planning and legacy planning to Financial Advisers for their Internationally mobile High Net Worth clients.

Having graduated in 1986 from Edinburgh University with an Honours Law Degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Simon started his financial career with J.P Morgan / Saudi International Bank in London, New York and the Middle East specialising in corporate finance solutions for High Net Worth, Corporate and Family Office clients. In 1994, Simon moved to Clydesdale Bank PLC (then part of the National Australia Bank group) to build the Specialised Finance Unit before being asked (in 1999) to join the board of one of Scotland’s largest privately owned companies (Strathclyde Pharmaceuticals Limited) as Business Development Director. In 2006, upon the successful growth and sale of the principal parts of that business, Simon joined UBS AG in Scotland to drive forward its Scottish wealth management business. In 2008 Simon moved to Credit Suisse in Singapore to establish and develop their UK/International private banking operation before joining Cazenove Capital Management in June 2016. The firm rebranded to Schroders Wealth Management in September 2017. Simon is a GlobalScot and co-founder of the Scottish Business Association of Singapore.

Kimmis Pun, a veteran banker for more than 30 years, is the Senior Managing Director, Head of Greater China, EFG Bank in Singapore. Prior to this appointment, she had been in senior management positions at UBS Bank, HSBC, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank Private Bank and VP Bank. She has MBA from Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, and professional qualifications CFP, ChFC, AIF, AEPP and IBFA. She is also the IBF Fellow awarded by IBF Singapore. Besides her banking career, she is the Board of Director of US-based Financial Planning Standard Board and a senior lecturer in 3 local universities for the past 15 years.

Gerard Gardner is Global Head of EFG International’s wealth structuring business, EFG Wealth Solutions. Headquartered in Jersey, Gerard has responsibility for fiduciary platforms and wealth planners in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has been a director of various EFG group companies for over 20 years and is a member of EFG’s senior management college, the International Management Forum. Gerard also serves as a Director on the boards of a number of private client structures and real estate and private equity funds.  

Peter Triggs joined DBS Private Bank in April 2012 as Managing Director and Head of International Clients and Wealth Structuring, moving to his current Regional Wealth Planning role in April 2015, a role which covers advice on trusts, insurance, family offices, philanthropy and family governance. Prior to joining DBS, Peter was Deputy CEO at Bank of China (Suisse) SA in Geneva. Before this, Peter worked for the Citibank Private Bank for nineteen years, in Jersey (Head of Cititrust (Jersey) Limited), in Zurich (Head of Trust Marketing for Europe and the Middle East) and then in Asia as Head of Trust, and as Head of Private Banking in Singapore and Malaysia. More recently, Peter worked in London and Geneva as Managing Director of The UHNW Middle East Group, and Head of the Corporate Finance Group working for a major client of the bank.
Prior to this, Peter worked for Deloitte as a Tax Principal in their London office.

Zac Lucas is the Founder of Centenal Legal Technology Group. Zac is a practicing lawyer with over 20 years legal experience, admitted to practice in England & Wales, and is a former Partner of various international law firms including, Harneys, Ogier, Lawrence Graham and Gowling WLG advising on all areas of international private client law, including cross border wills, trust and estates and business succession planning. Zac has particular expertise advising on international regulatory law and has lectured and written extensively on the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS). As a result, Zac has been retained by a number of leading private banks, trust companies, wealthy individuals and families and a governmental authority to advise on the practical implementation of the CRS. Zac has now taken the step, in founding Centenal Legal Technology Group, to leverage the power of information technology to create innovative enterprise application software solutions for use by Financial Institutions, Business Professionals and UHNW families and individuals.

Michael leads the Citi Trust and family office teams in Asia that create integrated and sophisticated wealth plans to preserve assets for generations. He has also served as Global Market Manager for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand and headed up fiduciary services for Citi Trust in Asia. Prior to joining Citi Private Bank in 2001, Michael was managing director of the Asian trust business for Jardine Matheson Trust Corporation. Michael is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and holds a diploma in trust and estate practice. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Formerly a Senior international corporate crime and regulation lawyer. He focused on domestic and international investigations, fraud, corporate and financial crime, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, disciplinary proceedings and regulation. Gerallt has advised on high profile cross-border investigations and proceedings brought by the Serious Fraud Office, DBEIS, HM Revenue & Customs , the CPS, HSE, Trading Standards departments, CMA, Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority, FRC, Lloyds of London and various professional and sporting disciplinary bodies. Gerallt also advised corporations and financial institutions in respect of regulatory and compliance issues including bespoke training and implementation of global policies and procedures. He has been an intervention agent for the Solicitors' Regulation Authority and is a member of the Disciplinary Panel of The Academy of Experts. Admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales in 1995 and in the British Virgin Islands in 2012.

Gerallt has lectured extensively in the UK and overseas including:

• APEC Conference Japan
• China Anti-Corruption Summit, (Chairman)
• Corporate Security Management Conference, SG
• Hubbis Compliance in Asia Forum 2017
• LawAsia, SG
• ACFE - Conducting internal corporate investigations - Singapore (Keynote speaker)
• The Asian Banker- Financial Crime360
• Anti-corruption compliance, Thailand
• TAPA Thailand

Gerallt has previously been listed as one of 'The Lawyer - Hot 100'. Recommended by Chambers & Partners Global for dispute resolution in both Singapore and the UK, Legal 500 UK 2016, Best Lawyers 2017, The International Who's Who Legal 2017 in three practice areas: Business Crime Defence, Asset Recovery and Investigations and in Expert Guides 2016 for white collar criminal defence.

Who's Who Legal, listed him as one of the top ten most highly regarded business crime defense lawyers in the World based outside the UK/US. Finance Monthly Business Crime Lawyer of the year 2016, and Corporate LiveWire White collar lawyer of the year 2016.

Lee Woon Shiu is Managing Director, Head of Wealth Planning, Trust & Insurance at Bank of Singapore Limited.          

He is responsible for all marketing, client development and professional training aspects of trust and estate planning services in Asia Pacific, with particular emphasis on China, Taiwan, Hong Kong & South East Asia.

Advising several high net-worth families in Singapore in planning and structuring of onshore and offshore trust structures to conform with trust and estate duty legislation in Singapore, Lee also assisted in drafting trust deeds and declarations of trust for such families and in researching on the estate duty tax implications of holding assets in their personal names in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.   

Lee also spearheaded and executed projects and training programs for training of new private bankers and client service officers/associates in the Asia Pacific offices with regard to sales strategy and trust administration.

Lee graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) 2nd Upper Division from the National University of Singapore.

Starting out as an actuary, there is very little that Walter de Oude does not know about life insurance. As the founder and CEO of Singapore Life, he has achieved what many thought to be an almost impossible task - starting a life insurance company from scratch. This is a role for which he is very well suited - having had diverse experience in the industry in a variety technical actuarial roles with reinsurers and consulting firms, product development, marketing and C-Suite roles. Prior to starting Singapore Life, Mr de Oude was CEO of HSBC Insurance (Singapore), a member of the HSBC Bank Exco, and on the Board of HSBC Asset Management. He has lived in Singapore predominantly since 2000, and considers Singapore to be his long term home.

Richard A Vargo is currently Managing Director of Bancassurance for DBS Bank based in Singapore. Working with in-country wealth management product teams, franchise and sales channel partners of DBS, Rick is responsible for the strategic development and expansion of Bancassurance in the Bank’s six primary markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and India. In his capacity he is also responsible for key insurance partner relationships throughout the region. During the past year Rick Co-led Project Blue, an open bid process to determine the bank’s new Bancassurance life partner that consummated in a 15-year exclusive regional distribution partnership with Manulife Financial Group. Immediately prior to joining DBS Rick was based in Hong Kong as Vice President of Distribution with AIA overseeing distribution channels in China, Taiwan and India. Rick began his career in financial services more than 30 years ago as an advisor with John Hancock Financial Services in the US. During the last 27 years, he has held senior management positions in Bancassurance, Distribution, Marketing and Wealth Management in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia before joining before joining DBS. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a BSc in Finance and is a CLU, ChFC and CFP. Rick is married, with two adult children and enjoys many outdoor activities including biking, triathlons, golf and snow skiing.

Daphne Chandra is a Manager and Client Advisor in the Singapore office advising key clients, high net worth individuals and families throughout South East Asia. Prior to joining Henley & Partners, Daphne was with Citibank and UBS in Singapore covering the Singapore and Indonesia markets and was the youngest private banker in UBS. Her extensive background in the financial services industry has helped establish key relationships with some of the most prominent families and key intermediaries in the region. As an Indonesian national, Daphne is fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese & Bahasa Indonesia. Daphne was educated in Waltham, Massachusetts and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Relations from Bentley University and has also attended Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

Nirbhay Handa is the Group Head of Business Development at Henley & Partners and the Managing Director and Head of the firm’s Global South Asia team. He focuses exclusively on advising high-net-worth individuals and their families on residence and citizenship by investment. Nirbhay has been on the forefront of the investment migration industry across Asia and the South Asia subcontinent, advising some of the most respectable and established private banks, family offices, and law firms. His articles, commentary, and overall thought leadership in the investment migration space is often quoted in some of Asia’s leading wealth management forums and publications. He is passionate about developing people and growing high-performance teams. Nirbhay received his formative education at the University of Nottingham and executive education at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.

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.

Edmund is a senior partner heading up the firm’s Tax practice with three decades of experience in advising multinational organisations on cross-border tax planning, transfer pricing and tax disputes. He also advises on international trade issues such as customs, WTO and free-trade agreements. Edmund also leads the firm’s Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice and advises high net worth individuals, private banks and trust companies in personal tax, as well as in trust and estate planning matters. Edmund was invited by the government to serve as a Judicial Commissioner at the Supreme Court and served from 2013 to 2016. On stepping down, he was appointed Senior Counsel in 2017, making him the first and only Tax and Trust lawyer to be given this accolade nationwide. Prior to his appointment to the Singapore judiciary in 2013, Edmund was named a Tier 1 lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Tax in 2012. His views on tax and wealth management were widely sought and publicised in the media, such as Bloomberg, BBC, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Financial Times and The Straits Times. He was also a founding partner of a Singapore law firm that was associated with an international law firm, where he headed up the Tax and Wealth Management practices in Singapore. Edmund is a former President and an honorary member of the Singapore Trustees Association (STA).

Tuck Meng Yee has over 20 years’ experience in the financial markets in Asia and Australia in derivatives, and in funds portfolio management, development, research and marketing with global investment banks (JPMorgan, UBS) and private banks (ABN Amro and Citibank) as well as funds services (Moore Management) and family office (JRT Partners) giving him a keen sense of what investments suit which types of investors, and the support they typically need. Most recently he was Investment Solutions Head for Allfunds in Asia (a leading funds platform) before returning to the family office JRT Partners. Tuck speaks English and Mandarin, and holds degrees in Accounting, Computer Science, and Finance (Masters) from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales. JRT Partners is a Singapore based Family Office that invests across multiple asset classes including real estate, Alternatives (PE, HF) and mutual funds. On occasion, the family office works with other family offices in investing, as well as advising them on family office setup, management and administration, as well as investment due diligence services. He can be reached via [email protected]

Mr Taiyabi has over 13 years of experience in the financial services industry on sales and business development across Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to joining Quantifeed, Mr Taiyabi was the Head of Business Development for eWise, a global account aggregation technology provider. Before that, he was working for Thomson Reuters, SIX Financial Information and Bloomberg.

Jen Cher has been a wealth planner since 2005, having started her career with a large European bank. She joined DBS Private Bank in 2014 as a senior wealth planner. As a wealth planner, she has advised many high net worth families on succession planning, and has dealt with diverse issues faced by such families in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa. This has given her deep insights and invaluable skills to help her clients navigate an increasingly complex environment. Jen Cher was a key member of the team that put up the winning pitch to Finance Asia in 2015 and 2016, which won DBS the accolade of Best Asian Private Bank. She was also instrumental in developing the family office services in DBS. Jen Cher is a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is conversant in English and Mandarin. Prior to being a wealth planner, she was a management consultant with global consulting firm, Accenture.

Pierre has been working in Singapore since 2009. He developed significant experience and innovative solutions in corporate, tax and immigration matters for his clients.

Pierre graduated in Business from ESSEC Business School and also holds a Master’s degree in Law. He was previously working in Paris and later managed the Corporate Service department of a Singapore-based German law firm. Prior joining Rosemont, Pierre was a legal consultant in a top-tier Singapore-based law firm where he was in charge of corporate, tax and immigration matters.

Pierre is also a Singapore Accredited Tax Practitioner.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Rohit Bhuta is a senior executive with over 26 years’ experience, most of which (22 years) with the Macquarie Group. He has worked across eight key markets globally and has had extensive experience in the private banking, wealth management and asset management space. He has lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia, UK, South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. He has held senior leadership and strategic roles over the years, spanning multiple layers and levels of accountability. He is currently the CEO at Crossinvest (Asia) Pte Ltd, a family owned multi-generational independent asset management company providing (discretionary) investment management, investment advisory and family office solutions and services to investors globally. His role prior to this was working as a senior adviser to Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Financial Markets group, with a mandate to design and execute go-to-market strategies with the family offices, private banks and asset managers across Asia. His role prior to that and before a year-long sabbatical (2014), was the CEO of Religare Macquarie Private Wealth, a private wealth company domiciled in India but targeting high / ultra-high net worth investors globally. While Australia is home, he has operated out of South Africa since 2000 and Asia since 2005. Rohit has developed a deep understanding of the culture and the inherent nuances driving each economy within Africa and Asia, in particular within the wealth management / private banking industry.

Gerard Gardner is Global Head of EFG International’s wealth structuring business, EFG Wealth Solutions. Headquartered in Jersey, Gerard has responsibility for fiduciary platforms and wealth planners in Asia, Europe and the Americas. He has been a director of various EFG group companies for over 20 years and is a member of EFG’s senior management college, the International Management Forum. Gerard also serves as a Director on the boards of a number of private client structures and real estate and private equity funds.  

Nirbhay Handa is the Group Head of Business Development at Henley & Partners and the Managing Director and Head of the firm’s Global South Asia team. He focuses exclusively on advising high-net-worth individuals and their families on residence and citizenship by investment. Nirbhay has been on the forefront of the investment migration industry across Asia and the South Asia subcontinent, advising some of the most respectable and established private banks, family offices, and law firms. His articles, commentary, and overall thought leadership in the investment migration space is often quoted in some of Asia’s leading wealth management forums and publications. He is passionate about developing people and growing high-performance teams. Nirbhay received his formative education at the University of Nottingham and executive education at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.

Nicolas has 12 years experience in the wealth management industry. Before establishing Global Precious Metals, he was Manager of Trading & Business Development at Swiss Precious Metals Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Nicolas began his financial career as an Assistant Private Banker with Lombard Odier & Cie. in Geneva, Switzerland, after which he worked as a relationship manager and trader at Swiss Heritage Pte Ltd, a wealth management company based in Singapore. Nicolas holds a Swiss Degree in Financial and Business Banking from Geneva.

Rohit Ganguli is the Head of Wealth Planning Asia at EFG Bank, he has two decades of experience working with clients to assist them in achieving their wealth planning objectives especially in relation to succession, legacy and asset protection needs. This often involves the use of trusts, foundations, corporate entities and other holding vehicles. Rohit is responsible for all aspects of the insurance activity in EFG in Asia. This involves supporting all insurance related discussions – including identifying life insurance referral opportunities based on clients’ wealth and liquidity planning needs, extensively interacting with external counter parties (such as insurance brokers and carriers) and also actively engaging with related stake holders within the bank. He manages all discussions around single family offices (SFO) and works closely with clients on the benefits and processes involved in the set up of SFOs. Rohit has a background in accountancy and also holds a Master’s degree in International Tax Law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is a registered trust and estate practitioner (TEP) and holds a diploma from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is also certified with the Singapore College of Insurance. He has worked across geographies and has been with Big 4 consulting firms and MNCs prior to joining the bank.

David Varley is Chief High Net Worth Officer at Sun Life Financial in Hong Kong. He specializes in HNW and Ultra HNW Planning and Insurance Structuring solutions for clients and families in Asia. He has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, with an Honors in Management, and a thesis in Innovation – from Melbourne University. Previously he was Head of HNW for Asia for AXA, and Head of International Business for Aviva.

Michael leads the Citi Trust and family office teams in Asia that create integrated and sophisticated wealth plans to preserve assets for generations. He has also served as Global Market Manager for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand and headed up fiduciary services for Citi Trust in Asia. Prior to joining Citi Private Bank in 2001, Michael was managing director of the Asian trust business for Jardine Matheson Trust Corporation. Michael is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and holds a diploma in trust and estate practice. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Tuck Meng Yee has over 20 years’ experience in the financial markets in Asia and Australia in derivatives, and in funds portfolio management, development, research and marketing with global investment banks (JPMorgan, UBS) and private banks (ABN Amro and Citibank) as well as funds services (Moore Management) and family office (JRT Partners) giving him a keen sense of what investments suit which types of investors, and the support they typically need. Most recently he was Investment Solutions Head for Allfunds in Asia (a leading funds platform) before returning to the family office JRT Partners. Tuck speaks English and Mandarin, and holds degrees in Accounting, Computer Science, and Finance (Masters) from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales. JRT Partners is a Singapore based Family Office that invests across multiple asset classes including real estate, Alternatives (PE, HF) and mutual funds. On occasion, the family office works with other family offices in investing, as well as advising them on family office setup, management and administration, as well as investment due diligence services. He can be reached via [email protected]

Jen Cher has been a wealth planner since 2005, having started her career with a large European bank. She joined DBS Private Bank in 2014 as a senior wealth planner. As a wealth planner, she has advised many high net worth families on succession planning, and has dealt with diverse issues faced by such families in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa. This has given her deep insights and invaluable skills to help her clients navigate an increasingly complex environment. Jen Cher was a key member of the team that put up the winning pitch to Finance Asia in 2015 and 2016, which won DBS the accolade of Best Asian Private Bank. She was also instrumental in developing the family office services in DBS. Jen Cher is a full member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is conversant in English and Mandarin. Prior to being a wealth planner, she was a management consultant with global consulting firm, Accenture.

Laurence was called to the UK Bar in 2006 having studied law at the University of Bristol, Warwick University and Nottingham Law School. He joined Sovereign as in-house Counsel at the beginning of 2008, and was appointed Sovereign Group Tax Counsel in 2010. Now Sovereign’s Head of Tax, Laurence has recently re-located to Asia and will be principally based from Sovereign’s Singapore office for the foreseeable future. Specialising in the UK tax treatment of overseas structures and pension schemes, Laurence typically advises high net worth individuals on tax mitigation strategies concerning future planning as well as unscrambling existing offshore structures. A large part of his practice involves advising on UK property ownership issues. Laurence advises high net worth clients directly, as well as professional clients who receive the advice on their behalf. He works closely with external tax counsel practising at the UK’s leading tax chambers; he also works closely with HMRC, particularly in the area of the UK tax treatment of overseas pension schemes. He is currently co-writing a book on UK pension taxation and is the ITPA Jurisdiction Editor for Singapore.    

Alexis Tan has more than 10 years of experience in the immigration industry. Before joining Henley & Partners she owned her own immigration firm based in Singapore and successfully helped clients obtain residency in Canada, Australia and the US. She also holds a real estate license in Singapore and is well versed on property investment locally. She has studied and worked in both Canada and the US where she earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University. She speaks English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese.

John Shoemaker is Senior Counsel with Butler Snow in their Singapore office. John has more than 30 years’ experience in tax, legal & regulatory compliance, and is a common law lawyer with educational emphasis on taxation, trusts & estate planning. He also has extensive experience in ensuring multi-jurisdictional compliance for fiduciary product offerings (working with multijurisdictional outside counsel & adapting products for sale in relevant jurisdictions), including product management skills to direct complex products from concept to fully operational status.

Malcolm is the Resident Manager of Sovereign Straits Trust Limited, Singapore. He is also a practicing lawyer in England, Hong Kong and Singapore, advising on Trust, Estate and Succession planning. In practice he has been involved in both structuring and in litigation matters involving trust and estates. He has appeared in the Court of Appeal, Singapore, Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong, and the Privy Council. He advise on various trust matters, family office, wealth protection and succession planning. His clients include both private clients and trustees in various jurisdiction. This involves the establishment of trust structures and wealth planning. Malcolm has been recognized by Citywealth as one of the leading Asian lawyers in the field of trust.

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.

Kylie has over 18 years of experience in Singapore and international tax. Prior to joining BDO in 2015, she was a tax principal with a Big Four firm. Currently, Kylie leads BDO’s Asset Management and Private Wealth Tax practice in Singapore. Kylie has worked on a broad range of tax advisory assignments involving cross-border tax planning, private wealth structuring, due diligence, post-deal restructuring, supply-chain modelling, incentive negotiation, transfer pricing, alternative investments, debt offerings, permanent establishment issues, etc. Kylie has also served a wide range of clients from different industries with particular expertise in fund and trust structuring, serving family offices and financial institutions with tax advice on their investments as well as assisting high net worth families with their tax, trust and estate planning issues on a multijurisdictional basis. Kylie holds an Honours degree in Accounting and Finance from Monash University in Australia. Kylie is also regularly involved in various international tax seminars held in the region, and has also frequently published articles on taxation in the press.

Dawn Quek advises on tax and wealth management. She assists high net worth families with their tax, trust and estate planning issues on a multijurisdictional basis, focusing on setting up family offices and using onshore and offshore trust structures and other vehicles to help clients hold and transfer wealth through generations. She advises financial institutions serving such families on issues and regulations that affect their business. She also provides and coordinates regional tax advice for multinational corporations and financial institutions on cross-border transactions and tax restructuring. She has extensive experience in advising on tax issues in respect of mergers and acquisitions, and has assisted many clients in resolving tax disputes. Dawn is also recognised as a key individual in the area of wealth management by leading legal and tax directories including Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Edmund is a senior partner heading up the firm’s Tax practice with three decades of experience in advising multinational organisations on cross-border tax planning, transfer pricing and tax disputes. He also advises on international trade issues such as customs, WTO and free-trade agreements. Edmund also leads the firm’s Trust, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice and advises high net worth individuals, private banks and trust companies in personal tax, as well as in trust and estate planning matters. Edmund was invited by the government to serve as a Judicial Commissioner at the Supreme Court and served from 2013 to 2016. On stepping down, he was appointed Senior Counsel in 2017, making him the first and only Tax and Trust lawyer to be given this accolade nationwide. Prior to his appointment to the Singapore judiciary in 2013, Edmund was named a Tier 1 lawyer by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Tax in 2012. His views on tax and wealth management were widely sought and publicised in the media, such as Bloomberg, BBC, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Financial Times and The Straits Times. He was also a founding partner of a Singapore law firm that was associated with an international law firm, where he headed up the Tax and Wealth Management practices in Singapore. Edmund is a former President and an honorary member of the Singapore Trustees Association (STA).

Vikna is a leading lawyer in the Tax, Trust & Private Wealth practices. He is regularly engaged to advise leading trust companies and ultra-high net worth families to create multi-generational structures that best address their succession planning needs, ensuring smooth transition of management and ownership of operating companies to preserve their value. Vikna is also known for his tax expertise which he honed during his time as legal counsel advising the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and he led Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP’s tax practice to clinch Singapore’s Tax Disputes and Litigation Firm of the Year by the International Tax Review 2017. Vikna has been named as one of the world’s Leading Experts in Private Client Practice by Who’s Who Legal since 2017 and ranked as a Band 1 Lawyer in Private Wealth law by Chambers Net Worth 2022. Most recently, he won “Lawyer of the Year” for Trusts and Estates in Singapore by The Best Lawyers in Singapore as well as “Private Client Lawyer of the Year” at The Asia Legal Awards. Further, he is recently ranked “Distinguished Practitioner” in tax by Asialaw Profiles 2022 and is also ranked “Leading Individual” in tax by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022.

Tan Woon Hum is partner with a major Singapore law firm Shook Lin & Bok. He has more than 23 years of experience as a professional lawyer. He heads the Trust, Asset & Wealth Management practice and is widely regarded as one of the rare market leaders specialising in investment funds, REITs, trusts and private wealth. He advises numerous fund managers, wealth managers and EAMs, setting up Singapore and Cayman funds, getting CMS licences, RFMC & VCFMC approvals, setting up family offices and private trusts, including Section 13X structures. He holds a law degree as well as a MBA (Finance). He has been a sought after speaker and speaks regularly at public conferences and seminars for more than 17 years in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia and also conducts professional training courses (including Euromoney, Courses & Seminars & Henley Business School hedge funds programmes). Woon Hum has been recognised as a leading funds lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2012 to 2019, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2017 to 2019, and Best Lawyers Singapore 2013 to 2020. He is also recommended for his expertise in real estate in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2014, 2015, 2017 to 2019, and in private wealth in the 2019 edition. Woon Hum is also cited as a notable practitioner in IFLR1000 2018 and 2019.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.

Michael has an extensive background in financial services in Asia, Europe and North America. He has been in Asia-Pacific since 1995 – first in Hong Kong for six years, then in Sydney and Singapore, returning to Hong Kong in 2007. Before setting up Hubbis in early 2009, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002 and sold it to global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006, continuing to serve as Chief Executive Officer until October 2008. Prior to Pacific Prospect, Michael worked for nine years in financial markets publishing. He joined Euromoney Publications in 1993 as the publisher of a quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now Thomson Reuters) to conceive and launch Finance Asia magazine. While he was Managing Director of Finance Asia, Michael also started the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine and started the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, Michael founded FIA Limited. Born in North Wales, Michael was head boy of St David’s College Llandudno. He has a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. And is married with three children - Reanna, Garett and Tarryn.