This was one of the main themes to emerge from a roundtable held to launch Global Legal Post’s ‘Wealth Report 2013’. Research in the document - which is sponsored by Boodle Hatfield - shows that over four in ten lawyers (43 per cent) are being asked for advice from clients on ‘moving assets in the light of recent changes’. Discussion among 20 leading experts at the roundtable confirmed the increasing importance of the issue.

Luxembourg and Singapore gaining

Specialists have been seeing money flows going from Jersey to Luxembourg, for instance, and away from Bermuda after the island entered into an information-sharing agreement with France. Singapore, one of the newer offshore locations, seems to be increasing the level of volume it attracts, although some concern was expressed regarding its bureaucracy. The US - despite the introduction of tougher penalties on transactions which are effected only to save tax - appears to be retaining more investment than some had expected. How the UK fares, however, is still seen as an open question.

Sara Maccallum, head of the Boodle Hatfield private client and tax department, said: ‘My concern is what the overall impact is going to be of the badly-informed debate there has been in the UK media on taxation.’ Predicting whether the UK will maintain its traditional attractiveness to foreign investors - especially after the introduction of the new GAAR (General Anti-Abuse Rule) - is difficult for experts to gauge.

Equalising of regulation

However, in a wide-ranging discussion which covered tax structures, asset protection and philanthropy as well, Simon Rylatt, a Boodle Hatfield tax partner, predicted: ‘Over time there will be an equalising of regulation. It’s just a question of how soon.’ This would mean that tax rules and approaches by governments around the globe will gradually fall into line, eroding the advantages that particular territories have now when attracting investors.

Chatham House rules prevailed at the roundtable in central London, apart from the two comments made above. Other significant themes included: the continuing commitment of many families to philanthropy but the practical difficulties they find in co-ordinating their cross-border giving and the practical need, therefore, to focus their efforts within national borders; and the growing popularity of alternatives to the trust structure wealth-holding vehicles.