A changing world: opportunities for mobile high-net-worth individuals

As global mobility accelerates, the very idea of “home” is evolving, shaped by shifting visa programmes, dynamic tax landscapes and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. To navigate this complex new reality, we brought together two leading voices in cross-border asset management: Jonathan Hewlett, chairman of Savills Private Office, and Chris Ottenritter, head of EMEA Wealth Advisory at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Together, they offer valuable insights on achieving clarity and seizing opportunity in a world defined by change.

Has there been a rise in the number of wealthy people moving between multiple global residences, and if so, why?

Chris Ottenritter: Global mobility is a growing trend. On the positive side, wealthy tech nomads can now run their businesses from anywhere, and the countries competing for their residence promise a good quality of life. On the other side is the termination of certain favourable tax regimes and significant global geopolitical disruption.

What are the pull factors enticing people towards new destinations?

Jonathan Hewlett: Certainly, people have started to up sticks. Those who were in Hong Kong probably now spend more time in Singapore, which has a 60% Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) for foreigners, but interestingly, America and some of the Nordics have an exemption. Dubai has the infrastructure and the incentives to pull people there, but in terms of pure investment, I think Abu Dhabi is the one to watch. There will be opportunities in Saudi Arabia once there is a clear purchase structure for foreign buyers. I think Spain will remain a strong area for growth, as will Milan. One big change is the strong chalet markets in Aspen, Courchevel, Verbier and Gstaad. It’s all about the summer and fitness – people like walking, cycling and running in the mountain air.

How can clients navigate complex tax regulations and residency requirements in multiple jurisdictions?

CO: These places compete to attract the wealthy. In Europe, you have relatively new tax-favoured programmes in Italy and Greece, alongside the more established locations such as Switzerland and Monaco. Singapore and the UAE are attracting wealthy business people who need technology infrastructure, reasonable regulation and favourable taxation.

JH: The other thing is, people are pretty impatient these days. So if you want to go to Monaco, I’m told that currently there’s about a 6,000-person waiting list for tax residency. It takes time.

CO: In terms of “golden visa” and flat tax programmes, the Portuguese, Spanish and Italian schemes have been the most popular. When Cristiano Ronaldo went to Italy, the press loved it – and the population was so happy that this programme had helped to bring Ronaldo to live there. It was such a coup that it guaranteed the health of the scheme for several more years.

Are there other wealth-planning considerations when living across different countries?

CO: Yes, though decisions are not driven by a single tax point. You rarely hear somebody ask, “Where is the cheapest place I can go?” We have been amazed at how many of our clients who were part of the UK non-domiciled regime have decided to stay. This is going to cost some of them hundreds of millions of pounds. However, they like their communities and family connections, and the UK is still where they see as home. It’s not about tax any more. There are often personal factors that are the opposite of efficient that drive people to make decisions.

JH: My first question to clients is always, “Where do your friends live and what do they like?” Many of us go where like-minded people are nearby.

Are there particular considerations for families with children when it comes to multi-country living?

JH: One risk is that the spouse goes home because they don’t like living there. It’s all very well having the best schools, but if you’ve got nothing to do during the day, people don’t like it. Then you end up with the main earner in Switzerland and the family in Paris, say, or somewhere else.

CO: Families make wealth planning more complex, with multiple jurisdictions to take into consideration when a family is split over different countries. I cover eastern Europe and Kazakhstan, and my clients’ kids go to the London School of Economics (LSE) or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Often the children stay, get jobs and get married, and then you have two cross-border tax nexuses. Both can affect succession, particularly if the assets sit in a third country. For example, in the UK, trust structures are very common tools for succession planning and protecting assets, but civil law countries in western Europe don’t legally recognise them. So you want to make sure you have good counsel in those countries and that you do a health check on the wealth ownership vehicles to make sure they’re compatible on a future basis.

How does Savills work with clients to build multi-jurisdiction property portfolios?

JH: On the property front, we will give the best advice to make sure people invest in the right place. We can’t always stop people acting on impulse because they’ve fallen passionately in love with a property. But if we think this is not a good move, we will say, “You need to take proper advice.”

How does J.P. Morgan Private Bank help clients address the complexities of managing wealth without borders?

CO: One of our jobs – and it’s true for you, Jonathan, as well – is to help our clients sleep better at night. That means you help them understand the risks and opportunities of the different options. We help them organise their minds. For example, if it’s a younger family who are looking at tax-favoured residency, they need to understand that things move fast.

JH: Across many places in the world, you need to bear in mind that it might be wonderful now, but the rules can change overnight.

CO: If you get three to five years as a tax-favoured resident, that’s a success. These programmes evolve, reform and disappear, and new ones come up. So if one of your key drivers is tax efficiency, you need to expect to be a slow-moving nomad. What that drives is a pursuit of simplicity in terms of your planning. For many of our clients, wealth comes with complex ownership of assets. So you always need to do a sanity check and make sure you’re not creating needless complexity that will make your life more challenging when you move to your next country.