While commodity market gyrations, as seen with the slump in oil prices, can grab headlines, the build-up of wealth and complex asset holdings of families in the Gulf region over recent decades means wealth structuring is now a major topic for both local and international advisors plying for business.

The conference, held at the Mina A'Salam Hotel, Dubai, kicked off with a debate around “Passing Down The Wealth: Corporate Governance And Succession”. In some ways this is a long-running topic, but as regions such as the Gulf Co-Operation Council area develop, the finer details continue to change. Speaking at this panel were Sabila Din, chief executive and founder, Din Consultants; Yann Mrazek, managing partner, M / Advocates of Law; and Naomi Rive, chief trust officer at Coutts & Co Trustees (Jersey).

The headline sponsor for the event was Jersey Finance; other sponsors were Advent Software, The Left Shoe Company, ProFundCom, Russell Investments, smartKYC and Standard & Poor’s Money Market Directories. Coutts Trustees was a panel contributor.

“We are seeing a lot of interest in the offshore world in terms of structuring,” Coutts’ Rive said, when asked about the kind of entities that clients are interested in. “We are seeing a lot of clients putting in place offshore structures to hold London properties, for instance,” Rive continued.

“We have got clients that recognise the long-term value of putting offshore structures in place. They are acutely aware of the need for structures," Rive said.

“There is a lot of interest in private trust company structures,” she added. “Some of these from outside. Often you see a reluctance to give too much power to a single individual,” Mrazek said, talking about the delicate politics of family governance in the region.

An issue can arise when a person is brought into a family, is very successful but then there is a potential conflict with the family patriarch, he said.

Outside the DIFC there appears to be reluctance in some families to delegate authority, Mrazek continued.

“The message we like to have is a dual one: macro and micro. The macro is about vision and philosophy. We like a family to pitch a document. Family constitutions, deeds and something that will be a blueprint for famiies in the future. If you don’t have such a document it is difficult to have a mechanism to delegate authority,” he said, noting that at the micro level, this term refers to consolidation of assets.

Coutts’ Rive spoke of how, with second- and third-generation families, there is a need increasingly for families to bring in external managers. Governance is an issue that needs to be seen in tandem with how wealth is structured.

Sometimes it can be difficult for families with an operating business to have a succession process in place. That is why it is important to have a way of resolving disputes early, Rive added.