Mazars
Mazars is a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm. Operating as a united partnership, they work as one integrated team, leveraging expertise, scale and cultural understanding to deliver exceptional and tailored services in audit and accounting, as well as tax, financial advisory, consulting and legal services. With over 28,000 professionals in Mazars integrated partnership and 16,000 professionals via the Mazars North America Alliance. In Portugal, St James Global Private Clients have partnered with the tax advisory department of Mazars, with a team focussed on international tax matters, taxation of individuals and corporations.
Espanha e Associados
Espanha e Associados have provided high level tax opinions on the advice St James Global Private Clients render to clients in Portugal. This not only substantiates the suitability of this advice from a fiscal point of view for tax residents living in Portugal but also gives our independent trustees the comfort in knowing that we at St James Global have taken independent tax advice prior to the implementation thereof. Espanha e Associados are a highly respected Law firm based in Lisbon that specialises in matters of cross border taxation.
The firm is recognised in the top Legal 500 and is an active member of the Portuguese Tax Association and Portuguese Association of Tax Consultants and we work with a team of lawyers specialising in several areas ready to give our clients the best legal advice and assistance. Particular reference has been made to the tax implications and the tax treatment in Portugal of annuities paid by trusts or pension funds located abroad and together with our Corporate Pension Trustees, St James Global Private Clients and Espanha e Associados have looked at different types of structures in great depth at all the potential tax implications resulting thereof, in respect of receiving income in Portugal from assets domiciled in other countries.
We have also looked at compliant, cost effective and easy to understand solutions to help mitigate Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax without breaching Government Anti-Avoidance rules. Comprehensive guidance notes have been prepared in respect of international pension plans held by Non – Habitual Residents and Residents in Portugal and will be made available on request.
Awareness
Awareness Consulting has been advising clients in Portugal on tax efficiency for their business and private life for over 10 years. They pride themselves on delivering turn key solutions to ensure that the strategies advised cover all the sides of the tax and corporate law. The partners have a particular focus on cross-border tax planning and asset structuring across multi-jurisdictions.
Overseas Trust and Pension
Overseas Trust and Pension (OTAP) are a specialist firm that focuses solely on trust, pension and retirement provision. This means their knowledge, expertise, products and operational capability are all aligned to meet specific needs of clients. They have extensive experience of administering Trust, OPES, QROPS, QNUPS and International and Corporate pension schemes.
OTAP are entrusted with circa USD 1.5 billion on behalf of 6,000 trusts and pensions for private individuals and corporate clients. Clients include corporates and private clients from more than 40 countries. Being a Guernsey regulated company gives clients the comfort that a well-regulated and highly respected jurisdiction brings in terms of safeguarding clients' wealth.
Guernsey is a world class jurisdiction for international financial services. Its political stability, financial security, regulated environment, robust legislation, skills and expertise makes it the ideal jurisdiction from which to offer pensions and trusts.
In 2004, Portugal introduced a list of territories which it categorised as territories and/or regions with privileged taxation regimes with the potential to undermine Portugal's ability to collect tax from Portuguese residents in respect of investment capital income earned and held in these territories. This list extends to 83 countries worldwide and capital investment income earned from these territories, by a non-habitual resident in Portugal, is not exempted from taxation.
Undistributed gains and income within international pensions and annuities received in respect of pensions are not subject to taxation even though connected with a blacklisted jurisdiction. It should be noted that the Portuguese law qualifies income paid from a trust as capital income, which, when paid by an entity in a blacklisted jurisdiction, is subject to the aggravated tax rate. As mentioned previously this would apply to a trust where the individual controls the assets held within the trust. Furthermore, in respect of international pensions, income may be from a European Union source, held within the pension.
Rathbones
Rathbones has more than £58.9 billion of funds under management and is one of the leading investment managers in the UK. Rathbones are an independently owned company that specialises in discretionary investment management. St James Global Private Clients have been working with Rathbones for a considerable period of time and can be certain their full attention is focused on providing and managing clients investments, and nothing else, with an outstanding track record and level of service.
From the highly qualified and capable people, Rathbones deal with to the efficiency of their administration and reporting and everything they do is designed to provide clients with investment management of the highest quality.
Alongside funds in multiple currencies and collective portfolios, Rathbones provide individual discretionary investment portfolios for clients with £500,000 or more to invest. As a specialist in discretionary investment management, they have the scale to provide high-quality service at a competitive price. This benefit passes to clients through fees that represent excellent value for money.
Quilter Cheviot
Quilter Cheviot is one of the largest discretionary investment management firms across the UK and Ireland. They have managed bespoke investment portfolios for individuals and families for generations and are focused on helping our clients invest for a lifetime of opportunities and challenges.
Our relationship with Quilter Cheviot goes back some 15 years and they have one of the largest in-house research teams in the discretionary industry with a 22 strong team of equity, fixed interest and collective fund analysts with direct access to the management of listed companies and to managers of funds they invest in, giving them unique insights and investment opportunities.
Quilter Cheviot investment managers have a 5* Defaqto rating for their Discretionary Portfolio Service and are trusted by over 36,000 clients with over €32.5billion of assets under management as at 31 March 2022.
Utmost
Utmost Group is a leading provider of insurance and savings solutions. Utmost International is a leading provider of insurance-based wealth solutions and provides employee benefits through its Utmost Corporate Solutions Business.
The Group operates in the UK and the International insurance industry across our two businesses, Utmost International and Utmost Life and Pensions. As at 31 December 2021, Utmost Group has approx. £64bn in AUA and 550,000 clients.
Sable
International money transfers to anywhere in the world. Whether you’re an individual living or working abroad wanting ad-hoc or regular pension money transfers or a business owner, Sable International can help you transfer money at extremely competitive rates, to just about any destination in the world.
Founded over 25 years ago in London and with 6 offices across four countries, Sable have over 150 dedicated staff looking after over 2m clients around the globe. St James Global have found Sable forex services the most reliable, quickest and most cost-effective in the market and invite clients to experience for themselves how they can addd value when it is time to transfer money to anywhere in the world.
Passport to Portugal
With over 20 years’ experience in Portuguese legislation, immigration, property and financial services, the Passport to Portugal (PTP) team includes legal advocates, tax accountants, immigration specialists and real estate professionals. PTP provide a comprehensive and transparent service to individuals or families seeking to secure residence and financial assets outside their home country in an environment that offers safety, stability and peace of mind. The routes to Portuguese residency are diverse and flexible in their application. Depending on your investment objectives, time commitments and ultimate goals, Passport to Portugal can help structure a residency package to suit your specific requirements with minimal hassle. Passport to Portugal is a dedicated consultancy service that assists in selecting and preparing various routes to residency.
St James Global Private Clients have been working successfully with PTP since 2018, to ensure that clients receive the best advice in all aspects of residency and immigration as well as a structured time line from start to the end of the process. In conjunction with PTP, we look all the available routes and how they might apply to you. All routes to residency provide eligibility for citizenship after 5 years.
Broseta
To further substantiate our advice and keep on top of the ever-changing world of international taxation, in particular in the EU where most of our clients choose to retire, we have appointed another top legal firm, Broseta in Portugal. Tax compliance is becoming increasingly important, in particular when clients re-locate their tax residency or in the case of succession planning, when assets pass onto children resident in another country.
Broseta is a reference law firm in the Iberian legal market, with more than 240 highly specialized professionals in its Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Lisbon and Zurich offices. The firm provides transversal and multidisciplinary advice to leading companies in the industrial, transport, venture capital, financial activities, infrastructure, construction, real estate and urban planning, public sector, energy, environment, health, telecommunications, privacy, IT and digital, media, automotive and many other areas of economic activity.
Broseta stands out for its clear international vocation, examples of which are its presence in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland, an exclusive partnership with the law firm FPA Advogados in Angola, as well as its leadership of the Ibero-American Legal Network (an alliance of Latin American law firms with a presence in 20 countries and more).
In April 2024, Broseta took another step towards growing the firm in Portugal and consolidating its position as an Iberian law firm with the integration of João Espanha (as equity partner) and his team. João Espanha, who’s over 30 years' experience, is recognized as a specialist in Tax Law by the Portuguese Bar Association, is a tax arbitrator for the Administrative Arbitration Centre and member of the Supervisory Board of the Banco Internacional de Negócios - Europe and of AIDA (Association Internationale de Droit des Assurances) - Portugal.