Recently, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason P. Hayward JP, MP, addressed attendees at the STEP Bermuda Conference 2023.  

The conference held on November 29-30th at the Bermuda Under Water Exploration Institute (BUEI) welcomed professionals from across the trust and private client industry to dive into the ever-evolving landscape of trust and estate planning, exploring the intricacies of tax law, asset protection and estate administration.  

Bermuda has long been an attractive destination for the High-Net-Worth Services industry. We were one of the first international trust jurisdictions and remain a premier jurisdiction for trusts, family offices, high-net-worth individuals and other private-client structures.  

Bermuda's regulatory regime ensures privacy while meeting the highest global compliance standards. The broadening of Bermuda's wealth management industry has been identified as an area for growth, so the island is expanding its offering with new legislation. 

To that end and in alignment with the economic development strategy, the Government envisions Bermuda's transformation into the destination of choice for single-family offices and high-net-worth individuals. 

Explaining this vision, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Minister Hayward JP, MP, highlighted," Bermuda seeks to offer an enhanced framework which includes: 

• Enhanced Services: We've streamlined application and reporting processes, making Bermuda more user-friendly for family offices.  

• Public Benefit Companies (PBCs): We are actively working to introduce PBCs into Bermuda's corporate landscape. PBCs are an innovative option for social impact investing and ESG initiatives.  

• Corporate Landholding: Bermuda is adapting its landholding policies to facilitate investment in real estate with less red tape.  

• Immigration Matters: Bermuda offers a welcoming environment for family members and employees of family offices. Our Economic Investment and Residential Certificate program supports long-term residency, ensuring families can make Bermuda their home. Understanding the importance of the family office, we will expedite processing times and take a more nuanced approach to work permits for family offices to hire and retain trusted staff. We will also accelerate processing times for land license applications to facilitate property investments by family offices or family clients looking to reside in Bermuda. 

• Modernisation and Innovation: Bermuda boasts one of the world’s most comprehensive frameworks for regulating digital asset business activities. We’ve created a regulatory sandbox for insurance entities and an innovation hub for companies looking to provide emerging technology solutions for that sector. With a dominant market share of over 90%, Bermuda is the global leader in insurance-linked securities and hosts many professional services used by single-family offices. Our industry professionals work collaboratively with the Government and the financial services regulator to ensure that our legislation remains appropriate and responsive to changing market demands. 

• Trusts: We understand the importance of a protective, reliable, responsive trust framework. Our trust laws provide legal certainty and substantial flexibility for settlors, trust professionals and courts.” 

Minister Hayward emphasised, "In simple terms, Bermuda has it all!"

For more information about the new family office framework and opportunities for family offices in Bermuda, email Ray Jones, Director, Bermuda Government Economic Development Department, at rsjones@gov.bm.