Services · Private clients
Wealth structuring
Structures that hold your wealth tax-efficiently and protect it over the long term, with accounts for each entity so you always know what you own and where.
A structure is only as sound as its records
Holding companies, trusts and investment vehicles can separate business risk from family assets, simplify succession and limit the tax lost as income moves between layers of ownership. Left unattended, the same structures become opaque, hard to administer and difficult to explain when a bank or tax authority asks how they work.
We design structures with the tax modelled at every level, from the entity to the distribution to the individual, working with your legal counsel, who drafts the legal documents. Then we keep each entity's accounts, so the structure continues to do what it was built for and you can see all of it in one statement.
Protection here means sound legal separation and clear records, not concealment: a structure should be one you can explain in full to a bank, an auditor or a tax authority.
Vehicles we design and account for
Each designed with your counsel for a stated purpose, and each with its own books from the first day.
Holding companies
Companies that hold operating businesses, property or investments, located and financed so that dividends, interest and gains move through the structure with as little tax leakage as the rules allow, and with enough substance to support where they are resident.
Trusts
Trusts modelled for their treatment in the countries of the trustees, the settlor and each beneficiary. Your counsel drafts the deed; we keep the trust's accounts, record distributions and prepare statements for the trustees, along with the Form 3520 or Form 3520-A reporting that applies when a US person creates, is treated as owning, or receives distributions from a foreign trust.
Investment vehicles
Private investment companies, partnerships and fund interests, each with its own books and the reporting it creates, such as Form 5471 or Form 8865 where a US person holds a foreign company or partnership.
Property-holding entities
Real estate held in separate vehicles so that liabilities are ring-fenced, with rent, borrowing and capital spending recorded property by property.
One statement of your wealth
A single statement of everything you own across entities, banks and countries: assets, liabilities, intercompany balances and net worth, prepared on an agreed timetable. For a complete accounting function, see family office accounting.
Annual upkeep
Accounts, tax returns and filings for each entity, intercompany loans documented and reconciled, beneficial ownership disclosures where the jurisdiction requires them, and a yearly review of whether the structure still fits.
When to review your structure
Usually at a moment of change in the family or the business.
- After the sale of a business, when the proceeds need a long-term home
- When property and investments have built up in personal names over many years
- Before the next generation becomes an owner (see estate and succession planning)
- When a structure set up long ago no longer matches how the family lives
- When banks ask for source-of-wealth evidence your records cannot readily support
- Before a change of residence, since a structure that suits one country can work against you in another
From design to day-to-day running
Design, documents and accounts handled in sequence, with your counsel involved from the start.
Map what you own
Every asset, entity, account and ownership link drawn into a structure chart, showing how each is taxed today.
Agree the purpose
Income needs, protection, control and succession, written down and ranked, so the design answers to them.
Design with your counsel
Options compared on tax, control and administration; your legal counsel drafts the documents for the design you choose.
Run it as designed
Books set up for each entity, intercompany balances agreed, and consolidated reporting from the first period.
Essentials
- Legal documents
- Drafted by your legal counsel, with our tax and accounting input
- Books
- Kept for every entity, in accounting software held in your name
- Verification
- The identity of every client and beneficial owner verified before work begins, as part of our anti-money-laundering checks
- Reporting
- A consolidated statement of assets, liabilities and net worth
Where a structure holds a family business, our corporate tax service covers the group beneath it: financing, intercompany arrangements and returns.
Questions
Do you draft trust deeds or company documents?
No. Pi is an accounting firm, not a law firm. Your legal counsel drafts the trust deed, constitutional documents and agreements; we model the tax, design the accounting and review drafts for their financial effect.
Will a structure reduce my tax?
Sometimes. Often its main value lies in protection, control or succession instead. We set out the tax effect of each option alongside the extra filings and administration it brings, so you can weigh one against the other before you decide.
Can you take over the accounts of an existing structure?
Yes. We begin by reconciling each entity's records and intercompany balances, then move to a regular cycle of accounts and reporting. Onboarding takes two to four weeks.
Does a structure still work if I move country?
Not always. A company or trust that is efficient while you live in one country can be taxed quite differently after a move, and some countries treat a company as resident where it is managed. We review the structure before you move. See cross-border tax.
Speak with a partner
Every enquiry is read by a partner and answered within one business day. Meetings are held at our offices, at yours, or by video.