Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families are putting greater focus on legacy planning to create sustainable impact for future generations amid growing uncertainty and vast fortunes shifting to younger heirs, according to participants in a Standard Chartered event in Dubai focused on family offices.
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The emphasis among such families was changing from wealth preservation towards a strategic repositioning of family-office locations, governance structures, succession planning and decision-making, according to the London-headquartered bank. The Global Families Network Forum, which ended Thursday, was attended by 90 global UHNW families from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The event’s host city in the United Arab Emirates – following the inaugural event in Hong Kong last year – is one of Standard Chartered’s international wealth hubs and is known for its strategic location, open economy, progressive regulations and diverse population, the bank said in a press release.
“Managing family wealth is becoming increasingly complex amid today’s shifting paradigms,” said Raymond Ang, global head of private banking and affluent clients. He added that the forum was a “trusted space” for UHNW families to connect, share and learn.
The event’s headline session was a fireside chat between John Kerry, former US secretary of state, and the bank’s group CEO Bill Winters.
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Other speakers included Sabrina Fung, group managing director of Hong Kong tycoon Victor Fung Kwok-king’s Fung Retailing Group, and Mary Ann Tsao, chairwoman of Tsao Foundation, which mainly provides services for the elderly in Singapore.
“Any businessman cannot say that now that he has done it, he’s leaving a business [as] the [only] legacy,” Narendra Raval, group chairman of Devki Group of Companies, said on the sidelines of the forum. “Once you reach a certain level, you also think about giving back to society.”