IFC Review 2024

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Editor's Note:

Welcome to the IFC Review 2024, where we once again bring together the elite of the wealth management industry to analyse and comment on all the key developments across the world's leading specialist finance centres. Regulatory scrutiny remains a key concern, particularly in light of evolving regulations aimed at protecting investors and preventing financial crime, so in this issue, Section 1's Global Overview shines a light on the wide-reaching debate surrounding transparency versus privacy. On the topic of Public Registers of Beneficial Ownership (PARBOs), we have an insightful perspective from Martin Kenney, who suggests that lessons already learnt by the UK could be useful for the USA in light of the 2024 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), while Paul Marshall and Rebecca Munro of Pragmatix describe the evolving PARBO laws in the EU as a remedy that is "worse than the disease"

We continue to examine the issues around public information and client privacy with an article on 'soft power and the FATF's International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation' by Oxford Brookes University's Paul Beckett. In the USA, Burke Files offers food-for-thought on whether AML laws are actually doing the job they were designed for whilst Brian Garst writes about the advent of a sweeping crypto-surveillance regime'. Aparna Mathur's article on corporate income tax and Martin Litwak's in-depth update on taxes across Latin America shed light on another crucial aspect of the regulatory landscape.

Continuing to cover the broadest range of jurisdictions possible, IFC Review 2024 looks at the latest news and trends from across a diverse range of jurisdictions in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Section 2 contains an authoritative "State-of-play guide, honing in on a selection of globally-diverse IFCs and their unique perspectives, including an overview of Rwanda's growing status as a conducive IFC from Jean Marie Kananura whilst Dr Ludovic C Verbist paints a bright future for Mauritius at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Australia.

From private foundations in Austria and tax reforms in Bermuda, to regulation of Digital Assets in Singapore and advice for avoiding investment 'pitfalls' in The Netherlands, IFC Review 2024 continues our tradition of being the most comprehensive reference resource in the industry. With updates on legislation in Ireland, the Cayman Islands' latest actions to address FATF transparency requirements, and Hong Kong's updated approach to virtual assets, our extensive coverage of regulatory. updates is essential for informed decision-making.

Our detailed Fact Files are a go-to source of information, and the expertise of our international authors is indispensable for professionals within the industry. In this issue, we also spotlight Switzerland's 2023 revision of the international succession law in an article from Charles Russell Speechlys in Geneva, while ESG specialist, Julie Pelcé, sheds light on carbon funds in Luxembourg and placing next-gen investors socially conscious concerns at the heart of investment strategies.

IFC Review 2024 remains a respected one-stop authority for the investment industry, with technical analysis of key industry developments from professionals at the cutting edge of the industry. Through representation of the challenges and opportunities facing the wealth management industry in 2024, IFC Review demonstrates the unique resilience, innovation found adaptability and in international finance centres.

Dee Lundy-Charles

Commissioning Editor