Insights
By: Peter Rosenberg
Wealth trends: the growing importance of a Plan B – Peter Rosenberg
Our Co-Chairman of Stonehage Fleming Americas highlights generational changes in clients’ priorities
Peter Rosenberg has been practicing law for over three decades. Prior to establishing Peter Rosenberg & Partners LLC and Stonehage Fleming US LLC, he was a partner in the Philadelphia law firms, Cozen O’Connor and Duane Morris, LLP.
Over the years, he has worked with many families and other private clients concerning their personal and investment connections to the United States and supporting them with international tax planning, compliance and administration. Recently, he has noticed a key trend emerging from one generation to the next. The modern wealthy family, he notes, has a different set of concerns than they did as recently or 20 or 30 years ago.
“While it has always made good sense to consider contingencies, families these days are more proactive about ensuring they have alternative plans in place,” he says. “Families’ arrangements have become more complex over the decades, including being more mobile, often with family members in various global locations. As travel and immigration has become more accessible, it has opened up more options but also made increasing sense to have some sort of backup plan ready.”
According to Peter, the trend has become more pressing as the geopolitical situation has become more unpredictable in the last few years. Geopolitical uncertainty and conflict in several geographies has led many to question whether the long, post-war period of relative global stability may be coming to an end.
“20 or 30 years ago, people immigrating to the United States didn’t feel that they really had to consider an exit strategy. Given the world we live in today, it makes good sense to do so. This trend exists not only among recent immigrants but also among families that have been rooted in the United States for several generations. We support clients to work out an alternative location for them, their family and their wealth, should the need arise for whatever reason.”
The plan B, however, is not limited to where you live, says Peter. “Another trend I’m seeing is the fact that people these days are more proactive about protecting the interests of their adult children and adult grandchildren from creditors, including divorcing spouses.”
This impulse often results in a tension, says Peter. “The older generation wants to allow the next generation a greater degree of flexibility – to be more involved in the management of other own affairs – while at the same time trying to build in protection of their assets. It is a delicate balance between flexibility and protection but with proper planning, it is possible to execute.”
The reason Peter and his team are seeing this trend towards increasing protection for when things don’t go to plan? It’s simple, says Peter. “The wealthy these days are wealthier than they were a few decades ago. There's more money at stake. In addition, our digital connectivity makes us more exposed than before.”
Peter Rosenberg is key adviser to a number of ultra-high net worth families in North America and internationally, bringing together and coordinating the full range of the Group’s advisory services to clients. He serves as a trustee for many clients and is a practicing attorney, focusing on United States and international tax planning, compliance and administration.
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