Frequently asked questions

About Sequent

  • Sequent is a global, independent wealth structuring and fiduciary services provider for entrepreneurs and families.

    Sequent works with successful international families and their advisors to design, establish and administer holding structures, such as trusts, private trust companies, companies and foundations, that protect and transition wealth across generations. It provides fiduciary, structuring and administration services, and works alongside a client's existing legal, tax, investment and banking advisors rather than replacing them.

  • Yes. Sequent is exclusively management-owned, which means the people who run the firm own it, with no external shareholders holding different commercial objectives.

    For clients this matters in three ways. There are no outside owners whose interests could interfere with the trustee's duties. Sequent provides only fiduciary services, so it does not sell competing products that could compromise its duty to act in clients' best interests. And management ownership supports staff retention and continuity of service, which is critical in a business that spans generations.

  • Sequent was formerly the trust business of Rothschild & Co, and became independent through a management buyout in 2019.

    Its institutional-grade infrastructure, talent, service standards and privacy capabilities were transitioned from the Rothschild Group into private, management ownership. The firm draws on more than 60 years of cumulative expertise in wealth planning, fiduciary and administrative services built up over that period.

  • Sequent operates from offices in key private-client jurisdictions across the Americas, Europe, the UK and Channel Islands, and Asia.

    Its locations include London, Guernsey, Zurich, Geneva, Milan, Singapore, Miami, Reno, and Prince Edward Island, home to its Canadian trust company. This footprint is deliberately located close to top-tier and tax-effective private-client jurisdictions, and means the group is regulated by more than eight regulators, which reinforces consistent institutional operating standards.

  • Sequent typically works with internationally mobile entrepreneurs and families whose wealth is substantial, multi-generational and complex.

    Clients often have wealth derived from one or more family businesses, family members and assets in several countries, and a mix of asset classes including operating businesses, real estate, art and financial assets held through various structures. These families usually already work with professional advisors, and Sequent is engaged to design, hold and administer the structures that meet their succession, governance, protection and compliance objectives.

  • No. Sequent is designed to work alongside a client's existing lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, investment managers and bankers, not to replace them.

    Its modular service model means a solution and a dedicated team are built around each client and their current advisors. Where a client needs an additional specialist, Sequent can introduce providers from a network of more than 900 private-client advisory firms built up over decades.

  • Sequent designs, establishes and administers asset-holding structures, and provides the fiduciary and administrative services that support them.

    This includes trusts and companies, private trust companies, foundations and partnerships, regulatory compliance and ongoing monitoring, corporate services, and financial reporting and administration such as bookkeeping, financial statements, cashflow management, and investment monitoring and reporting. Sequent does not itself provide legal, tax or investment advice; it works alongside the client's advisors who do.

  • Sequent administers structures holding a wide range of assets, including both bankable and non-bankable assets.

    These span cash, shares and fund interests; operating businesses; real estate; art and other collectibles; intellectual property; and complex assets such as aircraft and yachts. The ability to hold non-bankable and operating assets, not only financial assets, is a defining feature of Sequent's work with entrepreneurial families.

  • Each client is served by a small, multi-disciplinary team rather than a single contact.

    This typically includes a Client Engagement Partner responsible for the overall relationship and strategy; a Wealth Planner who monitors legal, regulatory and fiscal developments and advises on changes in circumstances; a Client Services Director responsible for day-to-day administration and compliance; and a Client Reporting Officer who maintains financial records and monitors asset values and performance against agreed objectives. This structure gives clients direct access to subject-matter experts and supports continuity over the long term.

  • No. Sequent provides fiduciary, structuring and administration services, and does not provide legal, tax or other professional advice.

    It works alongside the client's own legal, tax, investment and banking advisors, can coordinate with them, and where helpful can introduce suitable specialists from its network. Sequent recommends that anyone considering a structure obtains appropriate independent legal and tax advice.

Choosing and evaluating a trustee

  • A good trustee combines genuine independence, deep technical expertise, and continuity of service over the long term.

    Because a fiduciary relationship can span decades and several generations, the qualities that matter most are:

    • Independence and alignment, ideally with no external shareholders whose commercial objectives could conflict with your interests.

    • A singular focus on fiduciary work, rather than trustee services bundled with the sale of other products.

    • Demonstrable, multi-disciplinary expertise across the jurisdictions relevant to your family and assets.

    • Institutional-grade systems, controls and privacy.

    • The ability to administer complex and non-bankable assets such as operating businesses, real estate and art, not only cash and securities.

    • A stable team, since high staff turnover is one of the most common sources of frustration in long-term structures.

    It is also worth asking how the trustee works alongside your existing legal, tax and investment advisors rather than seeking to replace them.

  • An independent trustee is owned by the people who run it, while a bank-owned trustee sits within a larger banking or financial-services group.

    The practical difference is alignment. An independent, management-owned trustee has no external shareholders with separate commercial objectives, and typically provides only fiduciary services, so there is less risk of the trustee's duties competing with the sale of in-house banking, lending or investment products. A trustee that forms part of a bank may face pressure to keep assets on the group's own platform.

    Independence does not by itself guarantee quality, but it removes a structural source of conflict and tends to support continuity, because management-owned firms often retain their people for longer.

  • Most families holding substantial or international wealth appoint a professional corporate trustee rather than an individual.

    A corporate trustee provides continuity (it does not retire, fall ill or die), institutional record-keeping and controls, multi-jurisdictional capability, and a team rather than a single point of failure. An individual trustee, such as a family member or trusted advisor, may be appropriate for simpler arrangements, but can struggle with the administrative, regulatory and reporting demands of a complex structure. In some cases families combine the two, for example through a private trust company with both professional and family involvement.

  • Ask about ownership, focus, expertise, continuity and fees.

    Useful questions include:

    • Who owns the firm, and are there external shareholders whose interests could differ from mine?

    • Do you provide only fiduciary services, or also banking, lending or investment products?

    • Which jurisdictions can you cover directly, and how do you handle structures that touch several countries?

    • Can you administer non-bankable assets such as operating businesses, property and art?

    • Who will look after my structure day to day, and how long do members of your team typically stay?

    • How are your fees calculated, and what is included?

    • How do you work alongside my existing lawyers, accountants and investment advisors?

  • Continuity matters because fiduciary structures are designed to last for decades and across generations, so the people administering them need to understand a family's history and intentions over time.

    Frequent changes of contact mean institutional knowledge is lost and relationships have to be rebuilt repeatedly. Ownership structure influences this: firms owned by their management tend to retain senior staff for longer than those subject to the turnover and reorganisation common in larger groups. When evaluating a trustee, it is reasonable to ask how long the relevant team members have been with the firm.

Trusts, structures and key concepts

  • A trust is a legal arrangement in which a person (the settlor) transfers assets to a trustee, who holds and manages them for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries) according to the terms of a trust deed.

    The trustee becomes the legal owner of the assets but must manage them solely in the beneficiaries' interests and in line with the settlor's documented wishes. Trusts are widely used for succession and estate planning, asset protection, governance, and the orderly transition of wealth between generations..

  • A private trust company, or PTC, is a company established to act as trustee of one or more trusts for a single family, rather than offering trustee services to the public.

    A PTC allows a family to retain a degree of involvement in, and oversight of, the governance of its structures, while still benefiting from professional administration and institutional controls. PTCs are often used by larger families with complex assets who want a bespoke governance framework. Sequent creates and maintains private trust companies as part of its services.

  • A foundation is a separate legal entity that holds and manages assets for a defined purpose or for named beneficiaries, established by a founder under the law of jurisdictions that recognise foundations.

    Unlike a trust, which is a relationship rather than an entity, a foundation has its own legal personality, similar to a company, and is governed by a council according to its charter and regulations. Foundations are often used by families from civil-law backgrounds who find the concept more familiar than a common-law trust. Both can achieve similar succession and governance objectives.

  • A discretionary trust is a trust in which the trustee has discretion over how and when to distribute income and capital among a class of beneficiaries, rather than fixed entitlements being set in advance.

    This flexibility allows the trustee to respond to beneficiaries' changing circumstances over time, guided by the settlor's letter of wishes. Discretionary trusts are commonly used in long-term succession and asset-protection planning.

  • A letter of wishes is a confidential, non-binding document in which the settlor of a trust sets out guidance for the trustee on how they would like the trust to be administered.

    It does not override the trust deed or remove the trustee's discretion, but it helps the trustee understand the settlor's intentions, values and expectations over time. Sequent assists clients in drafting and reviewing letters of wishes as part of setting the objectives for a structure.

Compliance and jurisdictions

  • CRS, the Common Reporting Standard, is an international framework developed by the OECD under which financial institutions report information about account holders to their local tax authority, which then exchanges it automatically with other participating jurisdictions.

    Its purpose is tax transparency and the prevention of offshore tax evasion. Trusts and the structures that hold their assets can have CRS reporting obligations, and a professional trustee manages this reporting as part of administering a structure.

  • FATCA, the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is US legislation that requires financial institutions outside the United States to identify and report accounts held by US persons to the US tax authorities.

    Like CRS, it forms part of the international move towards tax transparency, and structures with any US connection may have FATCA obligations. A professional trustee assesses and manages these obligations as part of its compliance function.

  • Economic substance refers to rules, now in force in many jurisdictions, that require certain entities to demonstrate genuine activity, management and presence in the jurisdiction where they are established, rather than existing only on paper.

    The rules are designed to ensure that profits are reported where real economic activity takes place. Structures must be designed and administered with these requirements in mind, which is one reason families use trustees with genuine substance and qualified teams in the relevant jurisdictions.

  • These jurisdictions are widely used because they combine well-developed fiduciary law, political and economic stability, experienced professionals and robust regulation.

    A well-chosen jurisdiction offers a reliable legal framework for trusts and companies, a deep pool of qualified practitioners, and a regulator that maintains high standards, all of which give families and their advisors confidence that a structure will be administered properly over the long term. The right jurisdiction depends on the family's circumstances, the assets involved and the relevant tax and legal advice, which is a matter for the client's professional advisors.

To note:

This page is provided for general information only. It does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such.

Sequent provides fiduciary, structuring and administration services. It does not provide legal, tax or investment advice. Anyone considering any of the structures or services described here should obtain appropriate independent legal and tax advice based on their own circumstances.