This publication is holding the inaugural Switzerland and Liechtenstein Awards for outstanding performance, both at the institutional and individual level, in wealth management. (To view the full details of these awards, see here.) A crucial part of the process of course is having a panel of judges with the experience and knowledge to assess the entries.

Here is Daniel Martineau, who is the executive chairman of Summit Trust International, the Geneva-headquartered offshore trust provider. Prior to starting the Summit Trust (formerly Close Trustees) business in Geneva, Daniel held management positions with Coutts' private banking units in Nassau, Jersey and Geneva. He is accredited as a member of the Financial Planning Institute of Canada and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Daniel is also a founder of the Swiss Association of Trust Companies.

In recent years – as stated in a number of articles – Daniel has set out very clear views about what he sees as the shape of the trusts sector. He sees four dominant drivers to consolidation (regulation, information technology, taxation and litigation).

“In my travels round the offshore world the effects are palatable and undeniable. The number of trust company players has and will continue to shrink in all jurisdictions. It is truly a time when survivors need the courage of their convictions and focus on their business (and their clients).

“We at Summit Trust are convinced that focusing on complex, compliant, high-value business will survive and thrive. The one segment of the international private business that is growing is the ultra high net worth space.  The opposite end of that spectrum, low-value structures of dubious justification under scrutiny, has been either falling away or being priced out of existence by galloping compliance costs,” he said.