Private Foundation

What is a private foundation?

A private foundation is an alternative to traditional trust structures, it is suitable for clients seeking the best solution for holding and managing their assets and is the first of its kind in Asia. A foundation is likely to appeal to investors from countries with a civil law tradition who may be unfamiliar with trusts, especially the concept of the separation of legal and beneficial ownership.

Viewed as having the characteristics of both trusts and companies, common reasons for setting up a foundation include:

– Protecting and enhancing assets

– Succession planning to enable subsequent generations to participate in a family's wealth

– Holding assets for a specific transaction / purpose

– Carrying out work for charitable and non charitable causes

What is the main attraction?

The Private Foundation provides an optimum level of management flexibility by appropriately determining the mandate to be executed by the Foundation board. Additional benefits include:

– Confidentiality of beneficial ownership

– Unlimited lifespan

– Flexibility in investment and distribution of assets

– No minimum initial assets endowed while a subsequent minimum value of foundation property to be retained may be set by charter