BLACKHORN FAMILY OFFICE
A family office is a powerful arrangement for the preservation of family wealth through trusts and investments, family harmony through internal governance and education, as well as legacy and values planning through philanthropy and foundations. A large part of family wealth sustainability is a function of the stewardship and success of ensuing generations. The importance of financial literacy and wealth transfer discussions within the family is paramount to the success of building a successful multi-generational legacy. Every family has its own unique set of requirements, and Blackhorn Family Office will guide our families through all these discussions. A well-run family office successfully integrates strategies to ensure that they support the goals of the family as a whole.
Will & Estate Planning
A will is a legal document that allows an individual to direct how the property to which he is beneficially entitled at the time of his death to be distributed after his death. Without a will, the assets of the deceased individual will be distributed in accordance with the Intestates’ Estates Ordinance (Cap 481). The benefits of having a will include appointing a trustworthy person to administer their estate, distributing the estate according to their wishes, avoiding a lengthy probate process, minimising estate tax duty, making gifts and donation and avoiding disputes among family members.
Philanthropy & Impact Investing
A majority of family offices engage in philanthropy and impact investing. Family offices facilitate philanthropic investments directly or through other, related mechanisms, such as a family foundation or donor advised funds. The main reason to explore this topic is to educate the next generation of wealth owners to build a lasting legacy. Philanthropy and impact investing provide valuable opportunities to engage and educate the next generation of the family and prepare them for the responsibility of wealth and to motive them to create a lasting impact on the world.
Family Trusts
A trust is set up by a trust deed between the settlor and the trustee and often accompanied by a letter of wishes. Once the assets are transferred into the trust, the trustee has control over the assets and will administer the trust and distribute trust assets in accordance with wishes of the Settlor stated in the trust deed and the letter of wishes. Trusts are often set up for the purpose of the welfare, education and well being of family, and assist with future generations' estate planning, privacy, tax planning and asset protection, in particular against bankruptcy and divorce.
Enduring Power of Attorney
Problems may arise when a person becomes mentally incapacitated and family members have no authority to manage the property and affairs of the mentally incapacitated person. With an enduring power of attorney, the donor can appoint and empower the attorney to manage his/her property and financial affairs when he/she becomes mentally incapable. This saves the need for family members having to make an application to court for an order under the Mental Health Ordinance which may be a lengthy and expensive process. However, the scope of enduring power of attorney does not extend to decisions relating to the donor’s health care. Enduring Power of Attorney Ordinance (Cap 501) lays down the prescribed form and specific requirement for the execution of an enduring power of attorney.
Advance Directive
An advance directive for health care is described as a statement, usually writing, in which a person indicates when mentally competent the form of health care he would like to have at a future time when he is no longer competent. Advance directive allows the individuals to decide their own health care, including whether he would like to receive life-sustaining treatments, and relieves such burden from their family members. It will be invoked after the person has become incompetent to make decisions. Although there is currently no legislation governing advance directive in Hong Kong, advance directive will be recognized as valid unless otherwise challenged.
OUR PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Peter Tsang
Co-Founder
Peter is a founding partner of a reputable local law firm and has been a practising lawyer for over the past 30 years. He specializes in will, trust and probate, estate planning, the law of succession and financial planning for mentally incapacitated person and presentation of family assets for future generation. He is currently a member of Probate Committee of The Law Society of Hong Kong and the Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Recently, he provides legal advisory services for Blackhorn Family Office to meet the wealth management needs of the clients.
Yugi Lee
Co-Founder
Yugi Lee is the Founder of Blackhorn Group, which includes Blackhorn Wealth Management and Blackhorn Family Office, and she is an executive member of the firm's investment committee. She is an outstanding female entrepreneur and she was also awarded the "Outstanding CEO Award" by Capital CEO magazine in 2022. Prior to setting up Blackhorn, Yugi served as a director in the wealth management division of UBS for six years, responsible for managing the assets of many well-known HK families and listed companies, including those in Mainland China and HK. She rapidly rose to the position of director at the age of 25, with total assets under management reaching 800 million USD. Yugi obtained her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, majoring in Economics, from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. After graduation, she embarked on her banking career by working at Bank of Shanghai. At that time, she was a key member of the founding team and directly assisted the CEO to set up Hong Kong Branch and obtained a restricted banking license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, as well as set up various departments within the bank. In 2014, she also worked in the Independent Wealth Management (EAM) team at Credit Suisse, providing investment and execution solutions for family offices. She is a passionate and driven entrepreneur, dedicated to creating value and success for her clients.
Vincent Chow
Co-Founder
Vincent has more than 20 years of experience in financial management, financial control, internal control, corporate governance, operational auditing, M&A deal structuring and legal compliance of listed companies in Hong Kong and in China. He has served as the Senior Management (Finance) of New World (China) Development Company Limited, Shimao Real Estate Holdings Co., Ltd and Sino French Water Company Limited previously. Starting from 2010, he has been running Golden Wins CPA Limited and in committed for assisting cross-border transactions such as China WOFE formation, tax planning, project merger & acquisition, pre-IPO restructuring and legal litigation support. Vincent is the Co- founder of Greater Bay Area Business Services Alliance Co., Limited, the Founder of Golden Wins CPA Limited, Winson Business Consultancy Limited and GZ Wen Sheng Business Consultancy Limited. He is the Fellowship of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Tax Adviser (HK) and (UK), and he obtained the Master in Chinese & Comparative Law (LL.M), Bachelor of Laws (LLB, UK).
Andrew Lo
Advisor
Andrew graduated from University of Western Ontario (Canada) with a Bachelor Degree of Science. He is the founder and CEO of EFT Solutions Ltd (HKEX: 8062), which is specialised in providing solutions on electronic fund transfer at point-of-sale terminals and provision of system support services. In 2013, he also founded eft Payments (Asia) Limited where the company processed the first Alipay offline transaction in Hong Kong and have developed years of strategic relationship with major e-payment service providers in Hong Kong. Most recently, he works as Advisor of Blackhorn Family Office and shares his professional insight on business development and marketing strategy of the office.
Mary Chiu
Co-Founder
Mary Chiu is the Founder of Blackhorn Group, which includes Blackhorn Wealth Management and Blackhorn Family Office, and she is a member of the firm's investment committee. With more than 20 years of experience in the asset management and banking industry, Mary was previously with UBS AG, expanding their Global Family Office offering in Greater China by providing investment solutions across the wealth management and institutional banking platform to prominent Hong Kong families. Mary started her banking career at Morgan Stanley, where she helped companies raise capital through IPOs and follow-on offerings and assisted Hong Kong listed companies in debt and equity capital issuances. She holds a MBA with Distinction from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and a double major Honours BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Toronto.
Venus Chui Ki Ma
Advisor
Venus Chui Ki Ma graduated from the University of Cambridge with a first-class honours degree in Law. During her time there, she published her work in the Stanford University Journal, and has received the Goddard Scholarship as well as various internal and external sponsorships in recognition of her non-academic contributions to the University. She is a senior consultant of Links Education Limited, a family-run education consultancy which boasts an exceptionally personalised approach to boarding school and university admissions, academic tutoring, and summer courses. Prior to Cambridge, Venus has attended Diocesan Girls' School and the Cheltenham Ladies' College on a major music scholarship. She works full time as a qualified solicitor in Hong Kong and draws upon her experience in education as an advisor to the Blackhorn Family Office.