Supporting a European family’s transition to full‑time UK residency

The Millwoods, a well‑established first and second‑generation European family,  were in the process of relocating to the UK on a full‑time basis. They were introduced to Stonehage Fleming through an intermediary, with early contact and relationship‑building facilitated by our Family Office team in the UK as part of their relocation support.

Client’s Goals

• Establish a deep and long-lasting relationship with Stonehage Fleming Investment Management (SFIM) and use this as a platform for family investment education
• Rationalise investment assets and establish new portfolios, under one overarching strategy
• Outsource current investment responsibilities, from strategic guidance to day-to-day management. Remove administration and be disintermediated from counterparties (i.e. introduce a true Gatekeeper)
• Gain comfort that investments were being considered on a ‘family balance sheet aware’ basis, by professionals.

Our Recommendations

• OFIO team assistance with the formulation of an Investment Policy Statement to cover key investment, governance and structuring considerations
• The team provide teach-ins on various potential investment routes
• Execute a roadshow of potential third-party managers, with a clear subsequent recommendation for a portfolio of these managers
• Following execution of the deployment plan, ongoing dialogue and report-back.

Outcomes (To Date)

• Original client objectives and subsequent recommendations have been delivered upon
• SFIM provide streamlined access to external managers through a single trusted relationship, supported by a customised consolidated reporting process
• A deep relationship between the family and our Investment Team has been built, with SFIM able to provide input into various areas of importance to the family (e.g. interest rate expectation for property, bespoke direct investments adhering to very specific tax and domicile requirements)
• In Year 2, the family elected to replace one third party manager (that was unable to articulate their investment strategy in a consistent manner) with a SFIM multi-asset Balanced portfolio
• Following execution of the deployment plan, ongoing dialogue and report-back, coordinated closely with the Family Office team
• SF Dealing and Treasury team now provide a range of liquidity and custody solutions for the family.

Disclaimer: Please note, all case studies have been carefully anonymised. Although scenarios are based on real life events they have been fictionalised and are an amalgamation of client experiences. All names, locations and occupations have been replaced with pseudonyms.

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