SOTERIA TRUSTS
ON PROVIDING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS AND BUILDING TRUST
S
oteria Trusts has been faithful to its principle of assuring its clients that their assets are well-managed and protected within their lifetimes as well as creating a tax efficient legacy for their beneficiaries. Named after the Greek goddess of safety, deliverance, and salvation, the asset management company has proven that its offered schemes are focused almost exclusively on the clients’ comfort. For five fruitful years, Soteria Trusts pushed to be progressive and become one of a kind in the industry through utilising certain parts of legislation. Other than its unique tax mitigation, its employees are also trained to have attention to detail, making their solutions more personal than just taking a broad-brush approach. Innovative services The umbrella company Business Class Group has always been committed to providing a holistic range of quality services to the professional expatriate community all over the globe. With that mantra ingrained in mind, Soteria collaborated with highly specialised partners to bring the most comprehensive, allencompassing solution to its clients. Each of the schemes is domiciled in Hong Kong and operates under the territory’s robust and wellregulated domestic Trust legislation. It also serves as an open door to all nationalities with a specific focus on those with United Kingdom situs assets, irrespective of employment and residential status. Thus, the company has made
40 HONG KONG BUSINESS ANNUAL 2021
their schemes considerate of multiple jurisdictions. Wendy Clarke, Senior Business Development Executive at Soteria Trusts, shared that their current clientele status and classification are quite diverse, ranging from retail, individuals with high and ultra high net worth, family offices, and family investment companies. “We look into preserving wealth and cascading it through future generations,” Clarke added, saying their structure examines over a 100 double taxation agreements negotiated at government level. Setting apart from the competition Clarke proudly presented their IHT Planning Service and a range of trusts, all of which help attract new clients. Designed to be UK inheritance tax efficient, their IHT Solutions help clients to reduce or mitigate the five taxes that resident and non resident UK and Non UK Nationals are exposed to when owning UK property. Part of that service is an SDLT Refunds initiative that allows property owners to reclaim overpaid stamp duty land tax, wrongly calculated at outset. It is offered in conjunction with a Chartered Tax Specialist who deal directly with HMRC on the clients behalf and do so on a no win no fee basis. “We have set up many structures which save clients £100,000’s of future income, capital gains tax and IHT taxes but we don’t like to use the word success as those savings are not fully recognized until a loved one passes away. Rather than using the word success,
