Special Education Management for Globally-mobile families

Our friends and partners at Henley & Partners hosted another great Global Citizenship Conference, this time at Glaziers’ Hall by London Bridge.

The world of international financial and family mobility is constantly changing, and the modern Family Office or Wealth Manager is no longer limited to a handful of low-tax locations or havens.  Neither are Financial matters always the deciding factor in any move.  People and families have more choice and often base themselves across many countries, and consequently many countries are making their pitch for the internationally mobile.  Whereas previously, tax and financial considerations were the main drivers of relocations, many speakers at this Henley & Partners conference, as at Spears500 last week, pointed to family and lifestyle factors as being the main consideration now that there are so many vehicles and mitigations available on the financial side, and Education is one of the most important of those factors.

We heard about how regional instability underlines that tax regimes aren’t the only driver of location decisions and families are turning to stable, predictable and high quality-of-life jurisdictions like Switzerland (Lugano) and also to established long term strong horses like Britain and specifically London, which is renowned for education and access to many global markets as well as great culture!

One panellist in the Private Family Office space linked education to succession planning and noted a shift in approach, one being that she was seeing more relocations further down the wealth scale not just limited to UHNW clients. Families don’t just move everything in its entirety, but are asking “how do we live more strategically across locations?”

Instead of choosing a location and as an afterthought asking “Now how do we educate our children?” they’re asking “we want our children to be educated/go to college in XYZ, how do we make it happen?”.  Now that there’s increased competition, clients demand more from Family Office Advisors. Ultimately they want someone to orchestrate their different specialists, with Education being a key one.  Another speaker pointed to the advantage of this very trusted and personalised client profile always valuing a human element and wanting someone who understands their objectives and bigger picture, including family dynamics and personal worries.

This has certainly been borne out in conservations we’re having with our own international clients when we help them to plan their Special Education arrangements, and we’re working with an increasing number of family office groups and family managers to help families navigate the myriad considerations of the SEND world.

If you are a Private Family Office, Multi-family Office, Chief of Staff or Family House Manager, we'd be delighted to discuss how we can help with your Education and specifically Special Education challenges. Please contact matt@fireflyeducation.co.uk