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《传承宝典》11成功企业家保持不变的那些素质 鲍比·伯内特(Bobby Burnett)，持续型创业家，现任英国领先的出租车广告公司Ubiquitous的董事长。多年来，鲍比·伯内特已经建立并管理了好几家企业，71岁的年纪也该准备退休了，可他却还没有。从70年代初开始，他的职业生涯非常多样化:从工程与纺织，到棕榈油精炼和航运，继而转行飞机管理电影动画制作。 最近，鲍比被任命为非执行董事，并在 Foyles 和 Waterstones 之间的交易（2018年英国实体书店大并购）中发挥了关键作用。他目前是Ubiquitous的董事。这是一家出租车广告公司，于1982年成立，2001年曾出售，2008年重获投资。自他创业以来，随着私募股权的大规模增长，以及众筹等在线融资平台的出现，融资策略发生了重大变化。然而，保持不变的是成为一位成功企业家所需要的那些素质。做好失败的准备——要想成为一位成功的企业家，你需要年少时的那份自信和成熟后的恢复能力，来承受挫折与打击。在我三十多岁的时候，我早期的一次冒险失败了，我失去了我的房子。我有几家公司破产了，但你还必须能够继续前进。回顾过去，也许我不应该买那些已经破产的公司，我应该做更多的市场调查，但是我那时已经准备好了去承担风险。 寻求帮助——我接受会计培训后的第一份工作，是与一位年轻的房地产商人共事。我在9个月内从他身上学到的东西，比我去往某一家大型金融咨询公司里待上3年学到的还要多。他给我的最有价值的建议是知道什么时候该寻求帮助。企业家们往往控制欲都太强，认为寻求帮助是软弱的表现。你不可能样样精通。如果你想快速行动，你就需要寻求支援，来填补你知识的空白，避免去犯那些简单的错误。 我最大的灵感来自我的父母——代表英格兰队打过网球和壁球后，我父亲总是告诉我永远不要放弃。我继承了他的雄心和决心。他取得了令人难以置信的成功，先是跻身空军高层，然后担任温布尔登网球公开赛的主席。在那里，他为历届大满贯的冠军颁奖，但他却从未发过财，我想这就是我如此雄心勃勃的原因。我从母亲那里学会了社交。与所有的人交谈是非常重要的，包括同你的竞争对手。它可以对你的事业产生巨大的积极影响。你兴许会很幸运，但只有当你建立了关系网、关系网、关系网；然后工作、工作、再工作，你才会真正得到这份幸运。 我总有许多壶罐在炖煮。我有一个像蝴蝶一样的大脑——我喜欢速度、精力和多样性。我有时会想：如果我只从事一项事业，是否会在财务上更成功，但我也可能会选择到错误的事业。 好的领导能力是可以转移的——人们希望被领导，你需要能够向员工传达你的激情和动力。做决定的能力，以及在需要的时候对人对事毫不留情的能力是非常重要的。如果你能管理好那些特立独行的人，他们会让你的企业成长，但同时，你也必须有能力认识到，一项事业何时会超越其现有的管理能力。English Version Bobby Burnett, serial entrepreneur and director of the UK’s leading taxi advertising firm Ubiquitous. Having built and managed several businesses over the years, many people of 71 years old would be looking to retire. Not Bobby Burnett. Starting in the early 1970s he has had a hugely varied career. From engineering and textiles he went on to palm oil refining, shipping, aircraft management and motion picture film production. More recently Bobby was appointed as Non-Executive Director and played a pivotal role in the transaction between Foyles and Waterstones. He is currently Director at Ubiquitous, a taxi advertising firm which he founded in 1982 before selling in 2001 and reinvesting in 2008. Since he started out, there have been significant changes to fund raising strategies with the massive growth in private equity and the advent of crowd-funding and other online financing platforms. However what remain constant are the qualities required to be a successful entrepreneur. Be prepared for failure. To be a successful entrepreneur you need the confidence of a teenager and the resilience of maturity to take the knocks. In my thirties, one of my early ventures failed and I lost my house. I have had a couple of businesses go bust but you have to be able to move on. Looking back, maybe I shouldn’t have bought the businesses that went bust, I should have done more market research, but I was prepared to take risks. Ask for help. My first job after training as an accountant was with a young property entrepreneur. I learned more from him in nine months than I would have learned at a large financial advisory firm in three years. The most valuable piece of advice he gave me was to know when to ask for help. Entrepreneurs are often too controlling and view asking for help as a sign of weakness. You can’t be good at everything. If you want to move fast you need to ask for support to fill the gaps in your knowledge to avoid simple mistakes. My greatest inspiration is my parents. Having played tennis and Squash for England, my father always told me never to give up. I inherited his ambition and determination. He was unbelievably successful, first working his way to the top of the air force and then as chairman of Wimbledon. There he transformed the Championships, yet he never made a fortune, and I think that that was what made me ambitious. From my mother I learnt to network. It is so important to talk to everyone, including your competitors. It can have a hugely positive impact on your business. You have to be lucky but you only get lucky if you network, network, network and work, work, work. I have always had many pots on the boil. I have a brain like a butterfly - I loved the speed, energy and variety. I sometimes wonder whether I would have been more financially successful if I had stuck with just one business, but I might have chosen the wrong one. Good leadership is transferable. People want to be led and you need to be able to convey your passion and drive to your workforce. The ability to make decisions and be ruthless when required is very important. If you can manage mavericks, they will grow your business but the ability to recognize when a business outgrows its managementis also essential. 该文章为搜瑞士网站原创，部分图片摘引自网络媒体的公开资源，如需转载，敬请注明出处。 Sooswiss为您提供 瑞士方向私人管家式的定制服务： 1）家族传承 2）财富管理 3）瑞士投资 4）居留计划 5）税务优化 6）家族治理 更多资讯请登录网站 www.sooswiss.com

《传承宝典》10企业家应在交易前2年聘请公司财务顾问 Stonehage Fleming 家族办公室的企业金融执行主席西蒙•博德勒(Simon Boadle)表示，在策划公司活动时，提前聘请公司财务顾问非常重要。他在本周于伦敦举行的“企业家论坛”上对嘉宾表示:“如果顾问们得到了充分的介绍，并得到了量身定制的角色，他们就能增加很多价值。”他表示:“企业财务顾问能帮助企业在交易前两年(有时多达五年)做出良好的决定。”西蒙解释说，出现这种情况的原因之一是，对于流动性事件，有很多不同的选择，比如通过债务再融资、一次IPO、通过私募以部分/全部出售的方式来达成交易。“了解这其中哪一种是切实可行的可能方式，以及在何种估值水平或对业务产生何种后果方面，尽早确立这些概念是非常重要的。然后，你就可以制定出一项实现正确目标的策略。”西蒙表示，计划是关键:“这些流动性事件，比如接受新的投资或出售，正在改变一家企业的命运。这种情况很少发生，因此，重要的是要做好准备，提前制定出好的战略。” Simon Boadle 西蒙•博德勒 资深家族办公室合伙人-企业金融执行主席 西蒙解释说，制定出一份战略，来审查董事会或重新审视如何经营企业，为未来做准备是至关重要的。他表示：“如果你想在三年内实现首次公开发行(IPO)，你可以做一些事情来塑造业务，使其对股市投资者更具吸引力。”“你兴许还想以不同的方式向潜在的投资者们展示公司。你的公司财务顾问可以帮助你实现这一战略规划。” 由一名企业金融家、一名律师、一名会计师和税务顾问所组成，西蒙解释了这一“核心”咨询团队对参与交易的企业的巨大重要性。“咨询链上的其他专家也发挥着重要作用，”他说，“但他们与企业财务顾问的不同之处在于，大多数人只有在切实的转变即将到来时才会投入工作。”公司财务顾问的工作主要以成功费为基础。很多早期的计划可以不花一分钱就能完成，也可以在以后的日子里变成一笔应付的费用。这也是吸引企业家的另一大因素。” English Version Businesses benefit from early strategic preparation It is essential to engage acorporate finance adviser well in advance when planning a corporate event,according to Simon Boadle, Executive Chairman of Stonehage Fleming’s Corporate Finance business. “Advisers add a lot of value, provided they are well briefed and given tailored roles,” he told guests at our Entrepreneurs’ Forum in London this week. “Corporate finance advisers help businesses with the decisions they need to make a good two years – sometimes upto five - before a transaction,” he said. One reason for this is the number of different options for a liquidity event, be it refinancing through debt, an IPO, a partial sale through private equity or a full sale to trade, explained Simon. “Understanding which of these is a practical possibility and at whatsort of valuation or what sort of consequence for the business is really important to establish early on. You can then map out a strategy for achieving the right one.” According to Simon, planning is key: “These liquidity events, like taking on new investment or selling, are life-changing for a business. They happen very rarely, so it is important to get it right and get a good strategy mapped out a long way in advance.” Planning a strategy for reviewing the Board or revisiting how to run the business to prepare for the future is vital, explained Simon. “If you want to achieve an IPO in three years’ time, there are certain things you can do to shape the business to make it more attractive to stock market investors,” he said. “You may also want to present the business differently to an audience of potential investors. Your corporate finance advisers can help you with this strategic planning.” Made up of a corporate financier, a lawyer, an accountant and tax adviser, Simon explained the huge importance of the ‘core’ advisory team for a business involved in a transaction. “The other specialists in the advice chain also play essential roles,” he said, “but the difference between them and the corporate finance adviser is that most are engaged only when a tangible transition is in the offing. Corporate finance advisers work predominately on a success fee basis. A lot of the early planning can be done either for effectively no cost, or be rolled up into a fee payable later on. That is another big attraction for entrepreneurs.” 该文章为搜瑞士网站原创，部分图片摘引自网络媒体的公开资源，如需转载，敬请注明出处。 Sooswiss为您提供 瑞士方向私人管家式的定制服务： 1）家族传承 2）财富管理 3）瑞士投资 4）居留计划 5）税务优化 6）家族治理 更多资讯请登录网站 www.sooswiss.com

数据解读全球竞争力指数为什么瑞士常年领先 提起瑞士，大多数人会想到精密的钟表、白雪皑皑的阿尔卑斯山、美味的巧克力和让人回味无穷的葡萄酒。风景优美、繁荣、和平中立是瑞士展示给世界的风貌。然而，瑞士凭借其独一无二的社会文化与政治体制、发达的产业与先进的教育，常年位居世界经济论坛全球竞争力排名第一，在全部12项重要的指标中除市场规模外几乎全在世界前十，堪称“隐形的冠军”。 在1980年代中期，哈佛大学客座教授 Herman Simon 先生结识了Theodor Lewitt 教授，后者在当时国际贸易迅速发展的背景下提出了“全球化”概念。他们思考了这样一个问题：为什么某些国家在出口方面表现得要比其他国家更出色？他们找到的答案是“隐形冠军”：在某个细分领域做到全球领先但并不广为人知的企业。举个例子：“我们每一天都会使用到护肤品和香水，都有机会品尝到各种美味的零食和饮品，结束一天的忙碌回到家，洗个热水澡，带着洗发水和沐浴乳的香味缓缓进入梦乡。” 这是我们每天的日常生活，大家一定对各种香水、沐浴露，薯片，软饮产品了如指掌，但真正吸引人的，无一不是产品本身散发出来的“香味”，而专为这些品牌提供香精香料产品的正是瑞士日内瓦的芬美意（Firmenich）和奇华顿（Givaudan）公司。 也许，在你的印象中奇华顿只是一个香水品牌，殊不知，在超市中见到的所有洗护用品，家居、衣物、个人护理用品，几乎都有奇华顿香精在背后支撑。奇华顿拥有180年的悠久历史，是全球日用及食用香精领域的先导，也是一家历史悠久，享有盛誉的跨国集团。业务遍布全球40个国家及地区，在世界各地设立了8个香精香料研究中心，拥有世界级调香师100多名，致力于满足不同地区的客户需求。2017年销售额达48.32亿瑞郎。 同处日内瓦的芬美意公司是一家具有100多年历史的国际化私营公司，也是全球最大的从事香精原料研究和生产的公司。无论是技术力量还是销售额（33.4亿瑞士法郎）均在世界同行业中名列前茅。Firmenich的食用香精覆盖整个食品行业所可能使用和必要使用的各类香精。公司每年投入大量资金（每年约10%的销售额）用于研究和开发, 其中一项科研成果还曾获诺贝尔化学奖。 虽然和大化妆品行业上千亿的年营收相比还有一段距离，可在香精、香料行业里，两家公司都处于世界领先地位，合计占据约38%的全球市场份额。 与刻板印象不同的是，瑞士经济最重要的引擎并不是金融业，而是发达的制造业。瑞士制造业中有很多“隐形冠军”，从瑞士出口商品构成图中可以看到，瑞士每年出口大量的零附件，这些零附件很多都是“隐形冠军”企业生产的。 “瑞士制造”代表着令全世界消费者信赖的卓越品质。制造业中，钟表行业自不必多说，代表了瑞士从业者认真严谨的“工匠精神”。一个形容瑞士“工匠精神”的故事：一个瑞士独立制表人，他的客户最多只有15个。如果出现了第16个客人，对不起，得等有客人订单交付才行—我要保证表的质量，让客户对我的作品满意，在固定时间内不能接受更多订单。 作为制造业中“隐形冠军”的代表者，瑞士精机（PRECITRAME）位于瑞士西区伯尔尼州，是一家主要致力于精密零件加工领域的技术研发公司，为世界最著名的手表品牌提供机芯加工设备。“PRECITRAME”可以拆解为两部分来看，即“Precision”和“Tramelan”，寓意为“来自Tramelan的精密制造者”。现在看来，这一由来的确名副其实，自1984年成立至今，瑞士精机在高端手表、汽车零部件、航空航天、医疗等制造领域获得了不俗的成绩，只要对质量有极致要求的地方，就总能看到瑞士精机的身影。“我们并不是一家大而全的企业，我们的产品也并非处处可用。但几十年来，我们始终专注于在特定的高精度加工领域，并试图将这种加工做到极致。”瑞士精机全球销售总监Vincenzo Bonavoglia先生说。 瑞士精机的产品—Cyberpolish抛光机是瑞士精机与世界顶级名表品牌百达翡丽合作开发的智能抛光机。“这台设备专为手表零部件的精密制造而生。目前Cyberpolish已经成功突破了中国市场，位于山东的一家手表制造企业购买了它，相信在交付使用之后，他们一定会对抛光机产品有进一步的需求。”Vincenzo Bonavoglia先生很有信心地说道。 然而，作为一个自然资源匮乏的国家，瑞士是如何塑造出顶级的全球竞争力并创造诸多商业奇迹呢？瑞士国家银行前行长让-皮埃尔说过：正因为小且贫穷，瑞士才获得了成功。其实，自然资源的匮乏和文化的多元性反而是瑞士竞争优势的先天来源。创新是瑞士的精神内核。瑞士中小企业以科技与创新管理闻名于世。有研究标明，一家“隐形冠军”一般会将营业额的6.5％用于投入创新，这个比例是一家同样大小的“普通”企业的两倍。“隐形冠军”们往往活跃于高度集中的市场，只进行全球规模的商业运作。同一领域的竞争者不多，大多数情况下都少于十几个，但是在这种寡头垄断的模式下，竞争仍然激烈且残酷，这也是为什么强调创新和研发是如此的重要。在瑞士，有着众多具有深远影响的创新案例：1931年，瑞士雀巢公司研制的速溶咖啡问世，使人们可以更轻松地喝上美味的咖啡。由此可见，瑞士的创新源自对产品的关注，源自为社会、顾客创造更大价值的动力。 1941年，一位瑞士工程师在狩猎时发现粘在衣服上的植物种子粘得很牢，就是这样一点小发现，让乔治•德•梅斯特拉尔制造出了Velcro（维可牢尼龙搭扣/魔术贴），推出了“无需拉锁的拉链”。1884年，Victorinox（维氏军刀）的创始人Karl Elsener开办了他的刀具工场，1891年，第一把维氏军刀诞生。今天的维氏，已经成为瑞士军刀的代名词，凭借其经久耐用、不断追求创新和完善等特征，成为一个享誉全球的知名品牌。隐藏在“瑞士制造”神话背后的，是瑞士永不枯竭的创新精神。 瑞士Victorinox是瑞士企业中“隐形冠军”的典型代表，这家发展历史长达120年之久的全球知名企业，并不在世界百强的名单中，但却享誉全球。正是其锋利、多用、耐用和精益求精的品质让维氏军刀成为了人类刀具史上的里程碑。一把普通的刀具制作工序在200道以上，为使每一把维氏军刀都能让人受用一生，其中一款“瑞士冠军”型号的刀具，制作工序超过了450道。维氏军刀的使用寿命长达50年之久，在使用过程中，如发生任何产品质量问题，可以寄回维氏公司，他们会将产品维修如新后再寄回给顾客。 Source：Victorinox官网 即使是面对大量的库存，企业非但不感到烦恼，反而很开心。维氏的理念是“库存越多，未来能消费他们产品的人将会越多”，而这种愿意成为“隐形冠军”、专注到极致的精神，使得维氏始终立于不败之地。“隐形冠军”企业在市场界定的“宽窄”问题上有一种微妙的对立统一—在产品、技术和客户需求的层面，选择了狭窄、专注和深入挖掘；而在商业发展的地域分布方面，则选择了宽广、分散、放眼全球。正是因为瑞士这种“宽窄”兼备的精神，使得其成为越来越有吸引力的投资目的地，吸引着无数正在走向全球、追求创新的海外企业。 该文章为搜瑞士网站原创，部分图片摘引自网络媒体的公开资源，如需转载，敬请注明出处。 Sooswiss为您提供 瑞士方向私人管家式的定制服务： 1）家族传承 2）财富管理 3）瑞士投资 4）居留计划 5）税务优化 6）家族治理 更多资讯请登录网站 www.sooswiss.com

《传承宝典》9跨境财富规划适用客户细分吗? 那人，是从一群人中挑选出来、履行其职责的。行业专家们讨论了：根据特定特征细分客户（segmentation）的优缺点。过去几年，财富管理领域的细分有所增长，加拿大皇家银行财富管理(RBC wealth management)、布朗•希普利机构(Brown Shipley)和天达财富投资(Investec wealth & Investment)等公司在使用结构化方法组织客户方面走在了前列。一些理财规划的客户，需要在财富领域进行差异化。例如，体育明星们拥有独特的收入和投资机制，这意味着他们需要一种不同于普通理财客户的咨询方法。业界一直在就这个问题进行辩论，以寻求标准的建议。但这对于跨境财富管理有用吗?《International Adviser》询问了几家顶尖咨询公司的意见。 1. London & Capital 机构 Capital的副董事长亚当•迈尔斯(Adam Myers)表示:“我们与客户坐下来，确定他们的要求是什么——是否与收入和资产的长期增长相关。然后我们看看他们的结构——我们可以用各种不同的方式管理同一个账户，并根据客户的需要来灵活管理。“在我们这样的行业，我们不想把人分成不同的类别，我们不想强迫他们走特定的道路。我的职责是了解他们的长期战略，并创造出与之相匹配的东西。他说:“从投资的角度来看，在目前市场波动的情况下，我们关注更多的是资产(assets)，而不是在客户的投资组合(portfolios)中承担太多风险。我们可以购买多种货币的资产，这可以给客户带来额外的灵活性。“对于体育界客户——我曾与来自美国、居住在欧洲各地的体育界人士共事过——拥有跨货币的多元化投资组合非常重要。深入地了解客户，然后制定出一份策略，这就是捷径(approach)，而不是把方钉放进圆孔里。” 2. Stonehage Fleming 家族办公室 纳沙泰尔的斯通哈格•弗莱明家族办公室合伙人兼负责人约翰•范尼克表示:“在考虑跨境财富规划时，某种形式的客户细分是必要的。然而，这并不像你想象的那么简单。我们有几个固定的推荐，但我们结合它们的方式是量身定制的，以满足客户的特定需求。“我们的服务有两个明确的目标：成功保障(protection)家庭财富和成功管理(management)家庭资产。”“职业运动员在职业生涯中积累财富（可能比企业家的职业生涯要短）的需求，与企业家在一生中可能经历一次或几次重大流动性事件的需求不同。“因为我们服务的家族之需求是如此多样化，分割变得具有挑战性，但并非不可能。比如，我们有一支专门照顾职业运动员的团队。” 3. Lombard International 公司 Lombard International 保险公司的财富结构解决方案主管西蒙•戈巴特(Simon Gorbutt)表示:“每个客户都是独一无二的，你可以对他们进行分类(categorise)。“例如，体育界人士往往在职业生涯的早期就能赚钱。他们可能赚了很多钱，但在这个时候，体育明星们可能缺乏如何管理这些钱的建议和指导。“关于职业运动员在退休后五年内破产的人数，有很多统计数据。“我认为其中一个原因是缺乏建议或缺乏好的建议。它们总是有被捕食的风险，当然，它们的流动性（mobile）很强。“我们确实与运动界的客户合作过，有时他们会接受一些建议，并说好将其收入的一部分安排在人寿保险的合同中作为储蓄，这毫无问题。而如果他们被一个海外的团队签下了合约，他们就可以更加放心，他们可以带着这笔投资，继续在海外与其合作。对于企业主来说，这是另一套指导方针。他们可能在投资方面更精明，他们可能希望在解决方案的每一个层面都拥有更大的控制权——对财富本身及其管理方式的控制权。“在这方面，他们往往要求很高。他们的流动性相对较强，他们可能希望将任何一种结构都能作为其整体财富计划的一部分，以便对自己经营的企业进行进一步投资。这又增加了一层复杂性。” 4. Old Mutual International 企业 Quilter集团旗下Old Mutual international的国际命题主管卡伦•布拉奇福德(Karen Blatchford)表示:“随着咨询公司在不断演变的国际咨询格局中转型，客户细分正变得至关重要。首先，这是良好的商业意识，尤其是在转向经常性收费模式时。“对客户数据库进行彻底的细分和分析，将使公司能够确定不同客户群体的盈利能力，以确保向他们提供商业上的服务是可行的。”但它也能让你确保自己正在满足特定客户的需求。这不仅从监管的角度来看很重要，而且更重要的是，它有助于确保您提供良好的客户结果(client outcomes）。“通过定义目标客户，你可以更深入地了解他们的行为和愿望，找到机会改善他们的体验，并让他们继续向你寻求更多的服务。”“它能让你找到最赚钱的群体，让你的努力更具可衡量性。” 5. Howard Kennedy 事务所 霍华德•肯尼迪律师事务所合伙人西蒙•马尔基尔补充称:“从法律角度看，国际税务和继任规划的建议，需要根据客户的个人需求量身定制。不同的职业、背景和国籍的客户可能需要不同的方法。通常情况下，最终目标都是相同的——用稳健的继任规划策略，为客户架构并安排好事务，以最大限度地保护资产和提高税收效率。但实现这一目标的方法，以及向客户传达建议的方式，可能会大不相同。“客户面临着各种各样的法律困境：税务规划、继任规划，以及法律冲突时的创造性思维。“顾问必须专注于解决方案，并积极参与创新，以服务那些资产分布在海外的客户。” English Version Industry experts discuss the pros and cons of segmenting clients accordingto particular characteristics. Over the last few years there has been a growth insegmentation within the wealth management sector, with firms such as RBC Wealth Management, Brown Shipley and Investec Wealth & Investment leading the way in organising clients using a structured methodology. Some financial planning clients need differentiation within the wealth sector. For example, sports personalities have a peculiar income and investment regime that means they need a different advisory approach compared to an everyday wealthy client. There have been debates within the industry about this topic for standard advice. But can this work for cross-border wealth management?International Adviser asked several advisory firms for their thoughts. 1. London & Capital Adam Myers, associate director at London & Capital, said: “We sit down with clients to establish what their requirements are – if its long-term growth, income, assets. Then we look at the structures that they have – and we can manage an account in a variety of different ways and be as flexible as the client needs it to be. “In an industry like ours, we don’t want to pigeonhole people into different boxes, we don’t want to force them down a certain route. My role is to understand their long-term strategy and create something that matches that. “From the investment stand point, at this moment in time with volatility, we look at assets rather than taking too many risks with client portfolios. We can buy assets in multiple currencies, which can give clients added flexibility. “For sports clients – I have worked with sports people who come from the US and have lived across Europe – it is very important to have a portfolio that is diversified across currencies. Getting a good understanding of a client then creating a strategy is a good approach, rather than putting square pegs intoround holes.”2. Stonehage Fleming Johan van Niekerk, partner – head of family office, Neuchâtel – Stonehage Fleming, said: “Some form of client segmentation is necessary when considering cross-border wealth planning. “However, it is not as simple as you would think. We have several fixed offerings, but the way we combine them is tailored to meet the specific needs of the clients. “Our services have two clear objectives: the successful protection of family wealth and the successful management of family assets. “The needs of a professional athlete, who accumulates wealth during a career (which might be shorter than that of an entrepreneur) differs from the needs of an entrepreneur who might have one or several significant liquidity events during her/his lifetime. “Because the needs of our families are so diverse, segmentation becomes challenging but not impossible. As an example, we have a dedicated team that look after professional athletes.”3. Lombard International Simon Gorbutt, director of wealth structuring solutions at Lombard International Assurance, said: “Every client is unique, and you can categorise them. “Sports people, for example, tend to make money quite early on in their careers. They might be making a lot of money at a time where there might be a lack of advice and guidance on how to manage that. “There are a lot of statistics around on the number of professional sportspeople who are bankrupt within five years of retirement. “I think one of the reasons for that is the lack of advice or the lack of good advice. There is always the risk that they will be preyed on and, of course, they are very mobile. “We do work with sportspeople and sometimes it is a question of them taking some advice and saying a portion of what is earned is set aside in a life assurance contract as a nest egg. And if they are signed by a team abroad,they can have the peace of mind that they can take that investment with them and it will continue to work with them abroad. “For business owners, it is another set of guide lines. They might be savvier when it comes to investments, they might want greater control at every level of the solution – control over the wealth itself, how it is managed. “They tend to be quite demanding in that respect. They are relatively mobile, and they might want to use whatever structure as part of their overall wealth plan in order to put further investments into businesses that they run.That has got another layer of complexity.”4. Old Mutual International Karen Blatchford, head of international proposition at Old Mutual International, part of Quilter, said: “As advisers transition their businesses in an evolving international advice landscape, client segmentation is becoming critically important. Firstly, it is good business sense, particularly when moving to recurring fee models. “Thorough segmentation and analysis of client databases will enable firms to ascertain the profitability of different client segments to ensure they are commercially viable to serve. “But it also allows you to ensure you are serving specific client needs.This is important not only from a regulatory standpoint, but even more importantly it helps to ensure you are delivering good client outcomes. “By defining target clients, you can gain a deeper understanding of their behaviours and desires, find opportunities to improve their experience and keep them coming back to you for more. “It enables you to pinpoint the groups that will be most profitable and makes your efforts more measurable.”5. Howard...