The mid-year promotions, which took effect from 1 July 2023, include Clare Stotesbury, who becomes an Associate Director.

In addition, Charlotte Williamson has been made a Senior Manager whilst Melloney Bond has been promoted to Manager, and both Hannah Le Claire and Joel Lucas-Villar become Senior Administrators.

All five have been promoted in recognition of their achievements, expertise and contribution to the business.

Congratulating those promoted, Heather Tibbo, Group Head of Crestbridge Family Office Services, said:

“Client service remains front and centre of our proposition and delivering that means nurturing a high quality, driven and highly knowledgeable team. With that in mind, I’m delighted that five of our professionals have received promotions in recognition of the contribution they have made to the business over the past year, and their ongoing commitment to their own professional development.”

Sophie won Gold in the ‘Business Development Manager of the Year’ category, with the accolades being presented at an Awards ceremony held in London this week (20th June).

Now in their eighth year, the Awards recognise the best brands across the private wealth landscape and champion the individuals and teams driving positive change and demonstrating best practice across the marketing, business development, public relations and communications sectors.

Sophie, who joined Crestbridge in January this year, has built a career as a business development specialist over the past ten years, working across the trust and company service provider sector in Jersey to support strategic business goals. As well as working with colleagues to facilitate the onboarding of new clients, Sophie also supports the team’s marketing efforts and is a champion for the business’ client relationship-driven approach. She holds the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management and the ICA International Diploma in Anti Money Laundering.

Commenting on Sophie’s success, Daniel Channing, Director, Crestbridge Family Office Services, said: “In a highly competitive market, it’s imperative that we effectively communicate how we differentiate ourselves.  I’m delighted for Sophie – she has contributed to our business development strategy this year and her efforts, along with those of our wider marketing and business development team, have proved pivotal in cementing our positive reputation.”

Jersey-based Directors Danielle Cottignies and Laura Parkes are included in the ePrivateClient Channel Islands NextGen Leaders List – previously the ‘Top 35 Under 35’ list – published last week. The list recognises and celebrates rising stars from across Jersey and Guernsey’s private client landscape.

In compiling the list, the publication considered a number of factors, including individual achievements over the past 12 months, and career progression.

Danielle was one of the first to join Crestbridge Family Office Services in 2014, rising swiftly to become the team’s youngest director. She leads a large client team and manages several key family office structures, including for Middle Eastern clients that involve multiple asset classes, Shari’a-compliant structures, and multi-jurisdictional factors. She is also a leader within the business in understanding the risks and opportunities of structures with ESG investment and monitoring requirements.

Laura’s career in fiduciary services spans 18 years, joining the Crestbridge team in 2022. She is responsible for a number of mid-cap client family office relationships and leads a team who service over 60 entities. She also supports the firm’s clients with US connections and has supported the onboarding  of new high-profile relationships. Laura is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

Paul Hunter, Group Head, Crestbridge Family Office Services, said: “Crestbridge has a strong track record in attracting and nurturing talent, and that’s reflected in the inclusion of two of our team in this list celebrating young and emerging Channel Islands leaders. I’m delighted for Danielle and Laura, who have both made huge contributions over the past year. Their approach, attitude and commitment mirrors the values we share as a team.”

This article was published in ALM’s The Month – Luxury Assets Magazine – May 2023

Global inflation hit almost 9% last year, according to the IMF. What’s the initial reaction been like from families in response to that inflationary environment?

Daniel Channing (DC): From an investment point of view, the response from families has largely revolved around how their portfolios can adapt to beat market conditions. It’s certainly brought about added scrutiny around returns and put added pressure on investment performance.

The reaction has been reflected to a certain extent in the ESG investment space. While families might previously have been happy to accommodate perhaps lower-yielding ESG investments as part of a wider high-performance portfolio, in the current environment returns have taken on greater significance, prompting families to review their strategies with a view to achieving inflation-beating investment performance. Achieving that has become more difficult – though actually what we’ve seen is ESG-rated investments continuing to deliver decent returns. Morningstar, for example, found that sustainable investing generated returns similar to those of the overall market in 2022.

The point here is more about avoiding knee-jerk reactions to the environment, rather than ESG investments themselves. The IMF is predicting global inflation to fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% this year, and then 4.3% in 2024 – which, although still above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%, provides some useful medium-term context. Families are keen to take that longer-term view and, although some have seen the current conditions as an opportunity to review their portfolios, what we’ve seen play out on the whole is actually a sustained commitment to ESG, and a disciplined approach to their strategies. In that context, the environment has actually helped reinforce family investment strategies and risk-return appetite as a whole.

Are market conditions impacting succession planning too?

DC: Another implication of the high inflation environment is the challenge of determining real asset values – or, more accurately, managing a decline in asset values in real terms. And that makes the transition or allocation of wealth to nextgen family members more complex.

For families who are currently putting in place plans for significant wealth transfer, for instance, the environment has thrown up some interesting challenges – for example, creating the potential for difficult conversations with nextgen beneficiaries whose expectations may be wildly off the mark because of the current impact on asset values. It is definitely providing an opportunity for families to make sure they have robust, independent, good quality legal and advisory frameworks in place to avoid current and future intergenerational disputes.

Are families putting in places certain mechanisms to mitigate inflationary conditions?

DC: What’s become clear is that those families that have already got in place robust governance structures and frameworks are in a good position to navigate the challenges of a high inflation environment. Having those good governance protocols in place – a clear vision, comprehensive family documentation such as letters of wishes, and robust support from external advisers – is putting those families in a strong position to avoid the temptation to make knee jerk, emotively-driven decisions.

It can ensure that families are capable of making pragmatic, rational decisions that are in line with agreed family values. That’s good for the long-term sustainability of family wealth planning.

Are there opportunities too in the current environment?

DC: As well as challenges, there are opportunities created by the inflationary environment, for those families that are agile, have the right frameworks already in place and have put the preparatory groundwork in to their structuring.

We’ve seen a number of occasions where families have looked at direct investment opportunities, for instance, or explore co-investment opportunities, where they can identify co-investors that bring additional expertise to the table and enable them to access high quality deals that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Private equity has seen particularly stark rises in allocations from family offices in recent years and that is expected to be a trend that persists, despite the inflationary market.

There are opportunities, for instance, for those families that have ensured they have cash available to allocate at short notice – though those opportunities are as bespoke as the families themselves. From a structuring point of view, there is real benefit to not having overly complex structures, or having sufficient flexibility built into their structures to make sure they can react quickly as they arise – but at the same time backed up by the family values and governance processes outlined above.

Global inflation hit almost 9% last year, according to the IMF. What’s the initial reaction been like from families in response to that inflationary environment?

Daniel Channing (DC): From an investment point of view, the response from families has largely revolved around how their portfolios can adapt to beat market conditions. It’s certainly brought about added scrutiny around returns and put added pressure on investment performance.

The reaction has been reflected to a certain extent in the ESG investment space. While families might previously have been happy to accommodate perhaps lower-yielding ESG investments as part of a wider high-performance portfolio, in the current environment returns have taken on greater significance, prompting families to review their strategies with a view to achieving inflation-beating investment performance. Achieving that has become more difficult – though actually what we’ve seen is ESG-rated investments continuing to deliver decent returns. Morningstar, for example, found that sustainable investing generated returns similar to those of the overall market in 2022.

The point here is more about avoiding knee-jerk reactions to the environment, rather than ESG investments themselves. The IMF is predicting global inflation to fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% this year, and then 4.3% in 2024 – which, although still above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%, provides some useful medium-term context. Families are keen to take that longer-term view and, although some have seen the current conditions as an opportunity to review their portfolios, what we’ve seen play out on the whole is actually a sustained commitment to ESG, and a disciplined approach to their strategies. In that context, the environment has actually helped reinforce family investment strategies and risk-return appetite as a whole.

Are market conditions impacting succession planning too?

DC: Another implication of the high inflation environment is the challenge of determining real asset values – or, more accurately, managing a decline in asset values in real terms. And that makes the transition or allocation of wealth to nextgen family members more complex.

For families who are currently putting in place plans for significant wealth transfer, for instance, the environment has thrown up some interesting challenges – for example, creating the potential for difficult conversations with nextgen beneficiaries whose expectations may be wildly off the mark because of the current impact on asset values. It is definitely providing an opportunity for families to make sure they have robust, independent, good quality legal and advisory frameworks in place to avoid current and future intergenerational disputes.

Are families putting in places certain mechanisms to mitigate inflationary conditions?

DC: What’s become clear is that those families that have already got in place robust governance structures and frameworks are in a good position to navigate the challenges of a high inflation environment. Having those good governance protocols in place – a clear vision, comprehensive family documentation such as letters of wishes, and robust support from external advisers – is putting those families in a strong position to avoid the temptation to make knee jerk, emotively-driven decisions.

It can ensure that families are capable of making pragmatic, rational decisions that are in line with agreed family values. That’s good for the long-term sustainability of family wealth planning.

Are there opportunities too in the current environment?

DC: As well as challenges, there are opportunities created by the inflationary environment, for those families that are agile, have the right frameworks already in place and have put the preparatory groundwork in to their structuring.

We’ve seen a number of occasions where families have looked at direct investment opportunities, for instance, or explore co-investment opportunities, where they can identify co-investors that bring additional expertise to the table and enable them to access high quality deals that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Private equity has seen particularly stark rises in allocations from family offices in recent years and that is expected to be a trend that persists, despite the inflationary market.

There are opportunities, for instance, for those families that have ensured they have cash available to allocate at short notice – though those opportunities are as bespoke as the families themselves. From a structuring point of view, there is real benefit to not having overly complex structures, or having sufficient flexibility built into their structures to make sure they can react quickly as they arise – but at the same time backed up by the family values and governance processes outlined above.

Global inflation hit almost 9% last year, according to the IMF. What’s the initial reaction been like from families in response to that inflationary environment?

Daniel Channing (DC): From an investment point of view, the response from families has largely revolved around how their portfolios can adapt to beat market conditions. It’s certainly brought about added scrutiny around returns and put added pressure on investment performance.

The reaction has been reflected to a certain extent in the ESG investment space. While families might previously have been happy to accommodate perhaps lower-yielding ESG investments as part of a wider high-performance portfolio, in the current environment returns have taken on greater significance, prompting families to review their strategies with a view to achieving inflation-beating investment performance. Achieving that has become more difficult – though actually what we’ve seen is ESG-rated investments continuing to deliver decent returns. Morningstar, for example, found that sustainable investing generated returns similar to those of the overall market in 2022.

The point here is more about avoiding knee-jerk reactions to the environment, rather than ESG investments themselves. The IMF is predicting global inflation to fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% this year, and then 4.3% in 2024 – which, although still above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%, provides some useful medium-term context. Families are keen to take that longer-term view and, although some have seen the current conditions as an opportunity to review their portfolios, what we’ve seen play out on the whole is actually a sustained commitment to ESG, and a disciplined approach to their strategies. In that context, the environment has actually helped reinforce family investment strategies and risk-return appetite as a whole.

Are market conditions impacting succession planning too?

DC: Another implication of the high inflation environment is the challenge of determining real asset values – or, more accurately, managing a decline in asset values in real terms. And that makes the transition or allocation of wealth to nextgen family members more complex.

For families who are currently putting in place plans for significant wealth transfer, for instance, the environment has thrown up some interesting challenges – for example, creating the potential for difficult conversations with nextgen beneficiaries whose expectations may be wildly off the mark because of the current impact on asset values. It is definitely providing an opportunity for families to make sure they have robust, independent, good quality legal and advisory frameworks in place to avoid current and future intergenerational disputes.

Are families putting in places certain mechanisms to mitigate inflationary conditions?

DC: What’s become clear is that those families that have already got in place robust governance structures and frameworks are in a good position to navigate the challenges of a high inflation environment. Having those good governance protocols in place – a clear vision, comprehensive family documentation such as letters of wishes, and robust support from external advisers – is putting those families in a strong position to avoid the temptation to make knee jerk, emotively-driven decisions.

It can ensure that families are capable of making pragmatic, rational decisions that are in line with agreed family values. That’s good for the long-term sustainability of family wealth planning.

Are there opportunities too in the current environment?

DC: As well as challenges, there are opportunities created by the inflationary environment, for those families that are agile, have the right frameworks already in place and have put the preparatory groundwork in to their structuring.

We’ve seen a number of occasions where families have looked at direct investment opportunities, for instance, or explore co-investment opportunities, where they can identify co-investors that bring additional expertise to the table and enable them to access high quality deals that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Private equity has seen particularly stark rises in allocations from family offices in recent years and that is expected to be a trend that persists, despite the inflationary market.

There are opportunities, for instance, for those families that have ensured they have cash available to allocate at short notice – though those opportunities are as bespoke as the families themselves. From a structuring point of view, there is real benefit to not having overly complex structures, or having sufficient flexibility built into their structures to make sure they can react quickly as they arise – but at the same time backed up by the family values and governance processes outlined above.

Underlining Crestbridge FOS’ strategy of providing its people with an ongoing skills and qualification journey throughout their career, it has been accredited as an ‘ACCA Platinum Approved Employer for Trainee Development’ and as an ‘ACCA Approved Employer for Professional Development’.

The accreditation will provide various benefits to ACCA members at Crestbridge FOS who are studying for ACCA exams and following the ACCA CPD programme, whilst it also reflects the quality of Crestbridge FOS’ training and professional development framework.

As well as being accredited by ACCA, Crestbridge Group is also a STEP Platinum Employer Partner and provides ongoing continuous professional development opportunities for its people across a wide range of industry bodies, including in Islamic Finance.

Global inflation hit almost 9% last year, according to the IMF. What’s the initial reaction been like from families in response to that inflationary environment?

Daniel Channing (DC): From an investment point of view, the response from families has largely revolved around how their portfolios can adapt to beat market conditions. It’s certainly brought about added scrutiny around returns and put added pressure on investment performance.

The reaction has been reflected to a certain extent in the ESG investment space. While families might previously have been happy to accommodate perhaps lower-yielding ESG investments as part of a wider high-performance portfolio, in the current environment returns have taken on greater significance, prompting families to review their strategies with a view to achieving inflation-beating investment performance. Achieving that has become more difficult – though actually what we’ve seen is ESG-rated investments continuing to deliver decent returns. Morningstar, for example, found that sustainable investing generated returns similar to those of the overall market in 2022.

The point here is more about avoiding knee-jerk reactions to the environment, rather than ESG investments themselves. The IMF is predicting global inflation to fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% this year, and then 4.3% in 2024 – which, although still above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%, provides some useful medium-term context. Families are keen to take that longer-term view and, although some have seen the current conditions as an opportunity to review their portfolios, what we’ve seen play out on the whole is actually a sustained commitment to ESG, and a disciplined approach to their strategies. In that context, the environment has actually helped reinforce family investment strategies and risk-return appetite as a whole.

Are market conditions impacting succession planning too?

DC: Another implication of the high inflation environment is the challenge of determining real asset values – or, more accurately, managing a decline in asset values in real terms. And that makes the transition or allocation of wealth to nextgen family members more complex.

For families who are currently putting in place plans for significant wealth transfer, for instance, the environment has thrown up some interesting challenges – for example, creating the potential for difficult conversations with nextgen beneficiaries whose expectations may be wildly off the mark because of the current impact on asset values. It is definitely providing an opportunity for families to make sure they have robust, independent, good quality legal and advisory frameworks in place to avoid current and future intergenerational disputes.

Are families putting in places certain mechanisms to mitigate inflationary conditions?

DC: What’s become clear is that those families that have already got in place robust governance structures and frameworks are in a good position to navigate the challenges of a high inflation environment. Having those good governance protocols in place – a clear vision, comprehensive family documentation such as letters of wishes, and robust support from external advisers – is putting those families in a strong position to avoid the temptation to make knee jerk, emotively-driven decisions.

It can ensure that families are capable of making pragmatic, rational decisions that are in line with agreed family values. That’s good for the long-term sustainability of family wealth planning.

Are there opportunities too in the current environment?

DC: As well as challenges, there are opportunities created by the inflationary environment, for those families that are agile, have the right frameworks already in place and have put the preparatory groundwork in to their structuring.

We’ve seen a number of occasions where families have looked at direct investment opportunities, for instance, or explore co-investment opportunities, where they can identify co-investors that bring additional expertise to the table and enable them to access high quality deals that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Private equity has seen particularly stark rises in allocations from family offices in recent years and that is expected to be a trend that persists, despite the inflationary market.

There are opportunities, for instance, for those families that have ensured they have cash available to allocate at short notice – though those opportunities are as bespoke as the families themselves. From a structuring point of view, there is real benefit to not having overly complex structures, or having sufficient flexibility built into their structures to make sure they can react quickly as they arise – but at the same time backed up by the family values and governance processes outlined above.

Global inflation hit almost 9% last year, according to the IMF. What’s the initial reaction been like from families in response to that inflationary environment?

Daniel Channing (DC): From an investment point of view, the response from families has largely revolved around how their portfolios can adapt to beat market conditions. It’s certainly brought about added scrutiny around returns and put added pressure on investment performance.

The reaction has been reflected to a certain extent in the ESG investment space. While families might previously have been happy to accommodate perhaps lower-yielding ESG investments as part of a wider high-performance portfolio, in the current environment returns have taken on greater significance, prompting families to review their strategies with a view to achieving inflation-beating investment performance. Achieving that has become more difficult – though actually what we’ve seen is ESG-rated investments continuing to deliver decent returns. Morningstar, for example, found that sustainable investing generated returns similar to those of the overall market in 2022.

The point here is more about avoiding knee-jerk reactions to the environment, rather than ESG investments themselves. The IMF is predicting global inflation to fall from 8.8% last year to 6.6% this year, and then 4.3% in 2024 – which, although still above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%, provides some useful medium-term context. Families are keen to take that longer-term view and, although some have seen the current conditions as an opportunity to review their portfolios, what we’ve seen play out on the whole is actually a sustained commitment to ESG, and a disciplined approach to their strategies. In that context, the environment has actually helped reinforce family investment strategies and risk-return appetite as a whole.

Are market conditions impacting succession planning too?

DC: Another implication of the high inflation environment is the challenge of determining real asset values – or, more accurately, managing a decline in asset values in real terms. And that makes the transition or allocation of wealth to nextgen family members more complex.

For families who are currently putting in place plans for significant wealth transfer, for instance, the environment has thrown up some interesting challenges – for example, creating the potential for difficult conversations with nextgen beneficiaries whose expectations may be wildly off the mark because of the current impact on asset values. It is definitely providing an opportunity for families to make sure they have robust, independent, good quality legal and advisory frameworks in place to avoid current and future intergenerational disputes.

Are families putting in places certain mechanisms to mitigate inflationary conditions?

DC: What’s become clear is that those families that have already got in place robust governance structures and frameworks are in a good position to navigate the challenges of a high inflation environment. Having those good governance protocols in place – a clear vision, comprehensive family documentation such as letters of wishes, and robust support from external advisers – is putting those families in a strong position to avoid the temptation to make knee jerk, emotively-driven decisions.

It can ensure that families are capable of making pragmatic, rational decisions that are in line with agreed family values. That’s good for the long-term sustainability of family wealth planning.

Are there opportunities too in the current environment?

DC: As well as challenges, there are opportunities created by the inflationary environment, for those families that are agile, have the right frameworks already in place and have put the preparatory groundwork in to their structuring.

We’ve seen a number of occasions where families have looked at direct investment opportunities, for instance, or explore co-investment opportunities, where they can identify co-investors that bring additional expertise to the table and enable them to access high quality deals that might otherwise have been out of their reach. Private equity has seen particularly stark rises in allocations from family offices in recent years and that is expected to be a trend that persists, despite the inflationary market.

There are opportunities, for instance, for those families that have ensured they have cash available to allocate at short notice – though those opportunities are as bespoke as the families themselves. From a structuring point of view, there is real benefit to not having overly complex structures, or having sufficient flexibility built into their structures to make sure they can react quickly as they arise – but at the same time backed up by the family values and governance processes outlined above.