发布时间：2019-11-25
《传承宝典》29
独立的财富管理 & 受托人的作用 (下篇)
理查德是伦敦Stonehage Fleming家族办公室的投资管理公司总裁。作为一名投资分析师和基金经理，他为集团工作了25年。2000年，他被邀请创建Fleming Family & Partners的资产管理部门，并成为了该FF&P资产管理有限公司的CEO和总裁。
一. 选择外部顾问
首先，有必要界定所需咨询的范围。受托人是在就某一特定事项寻求需要非常专业知识的具体建议，还是在寻求一种更普遍宽泛、更长期的关系？如果是后者，它是覆盖整个信托资产范围的财富管理，还是仅对已上市投资和基金组合的管理?受托人还希望确保顾问有动力、有能力为客户的最佳利益行事，并了解更广泛的情况，而不是让他们的判断受到其他因素的曲解，包括他们自己的薪资、抱负或根深蒂固的专业惯例。 1.顾问的声誉和地位如何，受托人对他们的了解程度如何，以及他们是否从遇上类似情况的其他客户那里得到过正面的推荐? 2.他们是否与潜在客户“沟通”，了解他们的问题并解决他们的担忧，而不是提供标准的“销售说辞”或者泛泛的“解决方案”? 3.他们是否表现出在所有相关专业领域中的能力，而不偏向于自己的专业领域? 4.他们的商业模式是否符合客户的长期利益，而不是基于提供建议的个人短期报酬之厚薄?
二. 一个整体化的方法
许多客户和信托受益人寻求对其财富进行整体化管理的方法，这意味着确保客户的金融财务皆通过单一个人或团队进行管理，同时深入了解每个客户家庭、他们的财富和其他情况。这一个人或团队，必须具有足够的知识和经验来处理其事务的所有方面，并在需要时获得相关专家的信息和意见。人们经常使用“协调人”(coordinator)这个词，但这个词严重低估了整体化财富管理机构所扮演的角色，尤其是那些处理跨多个司法管辖区、拥有多种利益的复杂性客户的机构，它们通常会运用许多迥异的结构持有各类资产。
“整体化”理财经理的工作与其说是把客户介绍给专家，不如说是领导和管理团队，推动决策的过程。他或她所扮演的角色与流程如下： • 站在客户的立场，深入了解他们的家庭情况，他们的态度和关注，以及他们的财务和商业性事务。• 帮助客户制定和概述其财富的战略、目的和目标，确保其能对后代有所益处。• 确定需要采纳的关键要点和关键决策，以及可能需要专家建议的领域。• 确定最优秀、最合适的专家，向他们简要汇报，并与他们合作，以得出符合整体情况的结论。• 将建议整合到更广泛的决策框架中，其中可能包括来自其他各种专家的建议，其中的一些可能相互冲突。• 根据商定的战略和目标，管理日常的执行和报告。
很明显，客户的事务越复杂，对于理财经理的经验和判断力的要求就越高，他/她需要充分了解所有相关的领域，还需要拥有以往服务类似客户的大量经验，这样就可以利用所有这些实际经验，来覆盖各类家庭问题以及技术资源。这种经验不仅来自他们曾服务的客户数量，还来自于他们曾参与的广度和深度。那些提倡整体化理财方法的人会提倡：理财经理需要支持内部专家，他/她与专家们保持日常接触，来作为一个“团队”一起工作。这种更加无缝的方法对客户来说是一种更好的体验，减少了与多种不同领域顾问打交道的需要。对客户来说，最好的解决方案不是理论上独立的完全外包模式，而是在内部和外部的顾问建议之间找到正确的平衡。这将包括考虑咨询提供者的业务模型的可行性。整体化方法的另一个优点是：当需要时，咨询提供者具有专家知识和丰富经验，来识别合适的外部专家，并且有足够的业务来分配，他们可以与其希望利用的大多数专家进行定期联系。所有的这些考虑，都与受托人密切相关，无论是在选择外部顾问方面，还是在考虑他或她在自己的团队中所需的专业知识的范围方面。
三. 结论
由于受托人的特殊地位，他们有特殊的责任来维护他们的独立性和管理任何利益冲突。这将包括在内部和外包的建议和服务之间找到适当的平衡，以服务于他们的信托受益者的最大利益。毫无疑问，外包是正确的，因为外部供应商可以更好地满足信托的需要，但在许多情况下，内部解决方案是更好的选择。做出判断和做出重大决定是受托人的工作，他们应该被期望具备专业知识、经验和能力，并在不过度依赖第三方顾问的情况下履行其职责。
English Version
Independent Wealth Management and the Role of the Trustee (II)
Richard is Chairman of Stonehage Fleming Investment Management in London. Following 25 years with Flemings in London and New York as an investment analyst and fund manager, he was invited to set up the asset management arm of Fleming Family & Partners in 2000, becoming CEO and subsequently Chairman of FF&P Asset Management Limited.
3.SELECTING AN EXTERNAL ADVISER
Firstly, it is necessary to define the scope of the advice required. Are the trustees looking for specific advice on a particular matter requiring very specialist knowledge, or is it a more general, long-term relationship? If the latter, is it wealth management covering the whole spectrum of the trust assets or is it simply the management of a portfolio of quoted investments and funds?
The trustees will also wish to ensure the adviser is motivated and competent to act in the client’s best interests, and to understand the broader picture, rather than having their judgments distorted by other factors, including their own remuneration, ambition or entrenched professional practices.
1. What is the reputation and standing of the advisers, how well do the trustees know them and have they come with good recommendations from other clients in similar situations?
2. Do they ‘connect’ with the underlying clients, in terms of understanding their issues and addressing their concerns, rather than delivering a standard ‘sales pitch’ or solution?
3. Do they demonstrate competence in all the relevant areas of expertise, without bias towards their own areas of specialism?
4. Is their business model aligned to serving the long-term interests of the clients, rather than the short-term remuneration of the individuals providing the advice?
4.THE CASE FOR A HOLISTIC APPROACH
Many clients and trust beneficiaries seek a holistic approach to the management of their wealth, which means ensuring that the clients’ financial affairs are managed through a single individual or team, with a deep understanding of each client family, their wealth and other circumstances. This individual or team must have the knowledge and experience to cover all aspects of their affairs, with access to information and views from relevant specialists where required.
The word co-ordinator is often used, but this word grossly underestimates the role played by a holistic wealth manager, particularly one who handles complex clients with multiple interests across a variety of jurisdictions, often holding disparate assets through a number of different structures.
The job of the ‘holistic’ wealth manager is not so much to introduce clients to the experts, but to lead and manage the team and drive the decision making process. His or her role includes the following:
• Standing in the shoes of the clients, by developing a deep understanding of their family circumstances, their attitudes and concerns, as well as their financial and business affairs.
• To help the clients develop and outline a strategy, purpose and objectives for their wealth, ensuring it serves a useful purpose for successor generations.
• To identify key issues and key decisions which need to be taken and areas where specialist advice may be required.
• To identify the best and most appropriate specialists, brief them, and work with them to reach conclusions which fit the overall context.
• To integrate the advice into a wider decision making framework, which may include advice from a variety of other specialists, some of which may be conflicting.
• To manage day to day execution and reporting, in accordance with the agreed strategy and objectives.
It will be apparent that the more complex the clients’ affairs, the greater the demands on the experience and judgment of the wealth manager, who needs sufficient understanding of all relevant areas. He or she will also need significant experience of similar clients, so that he can draw on all those practical experiences, covering family issues as well as technical input. This experience comes not just from the number of clients they have served, but from the breadth and depth of their involvement.
Those who advocate the holistic approach would argue that the wealth manager needs supporting specialists in-house, with whom he or she has day to day contact, working together as a ‘team’.
This more seamless approach is a better experience for the client, reducing the need to engage with multiplicity of different advisers.
The best solution for the client is not the theoretical independence of a totally outsourced model, but finding the right balance between in-house and external advice. This will include consideration of the viability of the provider’s business model.
A further advantage of the holistic approach is that the provider has both the expert knowledge and experience to identify the right external specialists, when required, and sufficient business to allocate that they are in regular contact with most of the specialists they may wish to draw upon.
All these considerations are highly relevant to the trustee, both in selecting external advisers and in considering the extent of expertise he or she needs within their own team.
5.CONCLUSION
Because of their special status, trustees have a particular responsibility to preserve their independence and to manage any conflicts of interest. This will include finding the right balance between in-house and outsourced advice and services, to serve the best interests of their beneficiaries.
It is unquestionably right to outsource where external providers can clearly better meet the needs of the trust, but there are many circumstances where an in-house solution is preferable. It is the job of trustees to make judgments and take big decisions, and they should be expected to have the expertise, experience and capability to fulfil their responsibilities without excessive reliance on third party advisers. <Fin>
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