Addressing Ultra High Net-Worth Wealth Planning Needs
Kimmis Pun is the Managing Director, Family Office, Shenning Investments Pte Ltd. Prior to this appointment, she had been in senior management positions at UBS, HSBC, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank, VP Bank and EFG Bank.
With her all-rounded financial experience in Corporate/Investment Banking, Trustee Company and Private Banking at the top banks, she serves Ultra HNWIs in the region and is instrumental in their wealth planning, investment planning and succession planning.
She has MBA from Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, and professional qualifications CFP®, ChFC, CWMA, AIF, AEPP® and IBFA. She is also the IBF Fellow awarded by IBF Singapore.
Besides being successful in her career, Kimmis plays a significant role in the financial planning and wealth planning industry. She is the Board of Director of the US-based Financial Planning Standard Board after her 4-year presidency in Financial Planning Association of Singapore. She is also the Chairman of Wealth Planning Standard Board that makes research and promotes wealth structuring and planning.
Being a strong believer in philanthropy and life- long learning, she speaks frequently in various international seminars and conventions, gives interviews to media and lectures in 3 Singapore universities and many regional universities for the past 15 years..
EPPL: I understand that you have recently joined Shenning Investments’ family office in December. Can you tell us more about your role?
K: Shenning Investments Pte Ltd is a private equity fund manager specialising in Wealth Management and Private Equity investments. Shenning set up a Variable Capital Company (VCC) as a platform to help UHNWIs with their family offices and funds. I am currently leading Shenning’s family office outfit and offer well- architected solutions to suit the needs of the UHNWIs and rich families. The family office investment teams will help the UHNWIs and rich families manage their global investments and structure their family wealth and succession plans.
EPPL: What are your plans in your new role?
K: Professionally managed family offices and dedicated family funds would be a trend for the HNWIs in the next decade. Riding on the fast-evolving trend of succession planning among the riches, Shenning would further build up its family office team over the next 12 months.
My role is to expand Shenning’s family office into a multi-family office in the coming years and use the family trusts and VCC solutions to help clients do their succession planning and global investments.
EPPL: What exactly is VCC Framework?
K: A VCC is a legal entity specifically for investment funds that can be used for traditional and alternative strategies, both on an open-ended and closed-ended basis.
The Shenning VCC is designed to provide cost- effective, customized wealth management and investment services for investors.
A VCC must be managed by a Singapore fund manager that is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
EPPL: How does VCC help UHNWI do succession planning?
K: Being a global financial centre with a favourable tax system and political stability, Singapore is considered one of the best jurisdictions for the set up and maintenance of the family-office for the UHNWIs and rich families.
With the government tax incentives, VCC is a compelling structure to hold the family assets of the UHNWIs and the rich families for aggregate management by a licensed fund manager.
Combined with other legacy planning tools such as family trust, the family members can enjoy all the economic benefits of the professionally managed family assets as desired by the patriarch or matriarch of the family, with high confidentiality and flexibility.
This would also broaden the network with other regional UHNWIs and rich families in getting into various well-chosen investment projects or prestige funds.
This article was first published in our newsletter, The Custodian Issue 16 on February, 2021. Click here to access our latest newsletter.
