Serving wealthy clients in the new reality: results of LUXPRO 2018 On September 25 at the Omega-Premium Jaguar Land Rover space in Saint-Petersburg LUXPRO 2018 was held, a closed business event for owners of large businesses, top managers, private investors, and representatives of institutional investors. For their views on the subject of investment migration and on working with wealthy clients in the new reality, attendees heard from Milan Cimbolinec (Discus Holdings), Sergei Sander (The Leading Properties of the World), Gulshat Uzenbaeva (LUXPRO Business Events), Anastasia Yanni (Sotheby’s International Realty), Elena Hen (Banque Internationale à Luxembourg), and Elena Doherty and Larisa Pisarik (both of Berkeley Group). Discus Holdings Ltd.’s First Vice-President Milan Cimbolinec touched on one of the most complex issues: “Contemporary problems of working with wealthy individual clients: Has the industry become more professional?”. As a sought-after expert in immigration and tax issues, with over ten years of experience in working with wealthy clients from the CIS countries, he was able to speak on this theme not only as a professional in his field, but also as an insider who knows perfectly how to establish working relations with the business elite so that both sides are satisfied with the process and its result. Mr. Cimbolinec traced how wealthy clients have changed over time (from the “I want a passport because my friend bought one” of the first rich Russians, through to smart investments in holding wealth abroad, all the way to the era of transparency), and he noted that while temporary residency in France, Italy, or Spain has certainly not lost its relevance, such programs have become less attractive for people with money. Today in order to obtain citizenship, business people are choosing Malta and Cyprus, countries with a gentler tax reputation and programs that fully meet international requirements for “clean” assets. When it comes to tax residency, Malta and Cyprus remain important, but they are joined by such popular options as Monaco, the UK, Andorra, and the UAE. On a separate note, Mr. Cimbolinec emphasized that the changing realities are dictating their own terms, and that companies knowledgeable only about theory, which once were capable of serving wealthy clients, are giving way to companies who have been deep in real-world practice. Mere “theorists” are distinguished by possessing less than a decade of experience, betting on reputational risks and forecasting, and lacking a network of their own company subdivisions abroad. Distinguishing features of companies who know real-world practice are having over a decade of experience, developing an international network of subdivisions, and having a presence in countries with flexible legislation and a gentle tax climate. Financial crises, terrorist attacks, color revolutions, the sanctions against Russia, and finally international exchange of tax-reporting information (CRS) have all led to a new reality where new business people are seeking fundamentally new ways to maintain confidentiality and ensure their personal safety. For this, Mr. Cimbolinec summed up, they need new consultants – real practitioners, not mere theoreticians. In closing, Discus Holdings Ltd. First Vice-President Mr. Milan Cimboloinec shared with his colleagues some recommendations for working with wealthy clients. As he explained, one should start by establishing the client’s “personal end goal”, taking into account the desires of the client and his/her loved ones. One ought to further take into account negative factors that can have an impact on the client’s business, as well as on the client and his/her family. Finally, one must appraise the client’s standing, his/her incomes and expenses, and then establish how much has to be spent and for how long in order to reach the final goal, and whether the given strategy is worth the client spending so much to implement it. As a result of this event, LUXPRO 2018 attendees got to receive unique insights into working with wealthy clients today from someone who has successfully done so, as can be seen from Discus Holdings’ position in investment migration market in Russia, Europe, and Turkey. Partners and clients who still have questions are always welcome in the company’s offices located in 18 countries around the world.

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