Richard Grasby Urges Specialist Input for Cross-Border Wealth Advice as Hong Kong Eyes Family-Office Role
Updated
Updated · Hubbis · Nov 4
Richard Grasby Urges Specialist Input for Cross-Border Wealth Advice as Hong Kong Eyes Family-Office Role
2 articles · Updated · Hubbis · Nov 4
Summary
At a 28 October Hong Kong forum, Appleby partner Richard Grasby said advisers to complex international families stand out by knowing when to bring in specialists—or decline work entirely—rather than forcing a one-stop solution.
One example was a proposed Cayman trust for a family with US links: after checking the US consequences, Grasby said he turned down the assignment because of a potentially adverse tax outcome on the settlor’s death.
Fees, he argued, should be tied to clearly defined scope and assumptions, because an early estimate can harden into a client expectation even when the work later expands beyond the original brief.
Stable teams are another differentiator, he said, since continuity spares families from repeatedly disclosing sensitive personal details and preserves context behind earlier planning decisions.
For Hong Kong, Grasby said headline counts of family offices matter less than the wider ecosystem—trusts, funds, philanthropy and holding structures—that supports cross-border family arrangements.