As high net worth families increasingly live, invest and hold assets across multiple jurisdictions, international wealth planning has become significantly more nuanced. Against this backdrop, Sanlam Private Wealth this month officially opened an office in Guernsey – formalising a presence established over the past year to strengthen our cross-border wealth offering for globally connected clients.
For many private clients today, wealth no longer sits neatly within a single jurisdiction. Children study, work and settle abroad. Families hold assets in multiple countries. Dual citizenship is increasingly common. At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty continues to influence where people choose to invest, structure and preserve capital.
To support our clients in navigating this increasingly global landscape, Sanlam Private Wealth has over the past few years focused on enhancing our international proposition to meet their evolving needs. The opening of our Guernsey office – our second international office after Mauritius – forms part of a broader strategy to provide our clients with access to global markets, offshore structuring capabilities and coordinated multi-jurisdictional estate planning advice.
Seamless solution
‘The establishment of our Guernsey office marks an important step in expanding our global offering,’ says Theesan Moodley, CEO of Sanlam Private Wealth. ‘It enables us to deliver a seamless, integrated onshore-offshore wealth solution to our clients, many of whom already hold a significant portion of their wealth offshore.’
The business supports cross-border families and family offices with global assets and increasingly international lifestyles, requiring bespoke portfolio management, sophisticated structuring and succession planning across jurisdictions. Our client base also includes entrepreneurs, executives and business owners seeking tailored solutions aligned to growth, liquidity and legacy objectives.
Today, Sanlam Private Wealth has a direct presence in South Africa, Mauritius and now Guernsey. The business manages and administers more than R265 billion (~US$16 billion) in client assets globally through a model that combines institutional capability with highly personalised advice. Our integrated approach brings together investment management, fiduciary structuring and tax planning within a single, cohesive framework. We service clients across 53 countries, and maintain intermediary relationships in 12 jurisdictions.
Compelling choice
The Guernsey office is an extension of this offering. Long regarded as one of the world’s leading international finance centres, Guernsey provides a stable regulatory environment, strong governance standards and deep expertise in fiduciary and fund administration.
‘When we looked at opening a second international office outside South Africa, Guernsey was a contender from the start,’ says Mark Muller, Head of International Business at Sanlam Private Wealth. ‘We assessed a number of jurisdictions across several criteria, and Guernsey consistently ranked near the top.’
Its political and economic stability, internationally recognised legal framework, together with established expertise in wealth structuring made it a compelling choice for Sanlam Private Wealth’s next phase of international growth.
Benefits for clients
For clients, the practical implications are significant. The Guernsey platform enables Sanlam Private Wealth to broaden the structuring options available for offshore wealth planning. These include trusts, companies, private investment funds (PIFs) and actively managed certificates (AMCs) – vehicles that can help our clients organise and manage international assets more efficiently according to their objectives and family circumstances.
‘The opportunity for us to be in Guernsey also provides clients with optionality for broader offshore estate-planning capabilities and helps them plan more effectively for future generations,’ says Stanley Broun, Head of Fiduciary and Tax at Sanlam Private Wealth. ‘It gives us the ability to establish structures that comply with relevant legal frameworks while remaining aligned to each client’s long-term objectives.’
The Sanlam Private Wealth Guernsey office is managed by James Easterbrook, who has more than 25 years’ experience in the wealth management industry. For more information, please contact him at JamesE@privatewealth.sanlam.com.
