International Investment Horizons: Unlocking US and Global Market Opportunities

Leading advisors convene in Riyadh to guide Saudi Arabian families and investors through the complexities of cross-border wealth structuring and global market access.

As Saudi Arabian families increasingly look beyond their borders for investment opportunities and portfolio diversification, the Riyadh Private Wealth event convened a distinguished panel of international advisors to address the practicalities of accessing US and global markets. The discussion revealed a landscape transformed by regulatory transparency, evolving tax regimes, and a next generation eager to deploy capital internationally with sophistication and structure.

The US Market: Navigating Opportunity Amid Uncertainty

Griffin Freeman of Goldman Sachs opened by characterizing the current US investment environment through four broad themes. "We've gone from a high-interest-rate environment into a rate-cutting environment, and that has big implications for the cost of funds," he explained. Geopolitical risk has increased following the change in political leadership, exemplified by market volatility around trade policy announcements. Yet the technology and AI revolution continues unabated with technology stocks now accounting for over 30% of the S&P 500’s market capitalization. Finally, he observed a slowdown in Private Equity distributions, coupled with increased interest in secondary funds targeting mature portfolios.

Despite these crosscurrents, Freeman's message was unequivocal: "In spite of some geopolitical risk, we still think that the US market is the place to be. It still exhibits the strongest earnings growth when compared to other markets. It boasts unparalleled technological innovation, and benefits from highly favorable demographics.”

On the technology sector, Freeman referenced the latest Goldman Sachs Family Office Investment Insights Report, noting that over 58% of family office clients expect to overweight technology in their portfolios over the next 12 months. Furthermore, 86% of family offices are investing in AI, with 51% already integrating AI into their investment processes.

Meanwhile, the slowdown in private equity distributions has created new opportunities in the secondary market. Institutional investors, such as university endowments, are increasingly selling LP stakes, providing buyers with access to more mature portfolios. Secondary funds are particularly attractive as they offer shorter durations than traditional private equity funds, greater portfolio-level transparency, and help mitigate the J-curve effect typically associated with private equity investing.

Freeman also highlighted the growing interest in the sports ecosystem, which sits at the intersection of investment opportunity and personal passion for many family offices. Families are exploring acquisitions of stakes in major league teams, emerging sports like eGaming, and investments in sports venues and related real estate.

The UK: Stability Amid Sentiment Challenges

Hannah Wailoo of Withers acknowledged the challenge of promoting UK investment from the optimistic environment of Riyadh. "For the first time, I've had to research the answer to this question because it's talking about the UK and what's happening there, particularly in the last few days when I'm in Saudi Arabia and I get the buzz of everything that's going on here."

Yet beneath the sentiment concerns lies substance. "We're the second globally ranking from the PWC CEO survey. We do have political and legal stability," Wailoo emphasized. Despite Treasury uncertainties, "we have a very steady and stable legal and tax system."

From her practice perspective, Wailoo sees continuing demand for UK residential real estate, though usage patterns have shifted. "They're not spending as much time there as they used to. It's more like a temporary place for them to come and spend a little bit of time in London." Competition now comes from other jurisdictions, both in terms of time and capital allocation.

Intriguingly, while some Middle Eastern families may be spending less time in the UK, American investors are filling the gap. "There are still people arriving, so we do a lot of work with US people. Whilst there might be fewer people from Saudi Arabia spending time in the region, we see more US citizens coming to London."

The Inheritance Tax Challenge

Omar Aswat of ASWATAX delivered sobering news about UK inheritance tax exposure. "The tax system currently is looking a bit tired" he observed, before addressing a critical misconception: "I don't live in the UK, I hardly travel there, my UK property is owned by an offshore entity—so how can I be subject to UK inheritance tax?"

The answer lies in the April 2017 regulatory changes. "Now any UK land or property is subject to UK inheritance tax, whether held directly or indirectly through offshore entities," Aswat explained. "We’ve seen families invest £10 million into London real estate with no idea what’s coming—then face a payment deadline within six months.”

He added that successive measures have continued to target non-residents, not only through IHT but also via non-resident CGT expansion and additional SDLT surcharges, making planning essential even for those living entirely outside the UK.

His prescription: "The structure needs to be looked at before funds arrive in the UK." In the right circumstances, pensions or appropriately designed investment companies can preserve value and keep future growth outside the estate.”

Structuring Beyond Tax Efficiency

Dave Lange of Trident Trust in Dubai provided a critical perspective on structuring philosophy, emphasizing that advisors must look beyond pure tax optimization to consider the broader implications of their decisions. "If we're looking at the US, for example, the US and UK are quite complicated from a tax planning point of view, but I don't think we should lose sight of the other purposes of structuring. When we're discussing structuring, we're also considering aspects such as succession planning and asset protection. Yes, tax efficiency is obviously one of the key benefits and reasons why people structure, but you can't lose sight of the others."

For US investments, Lange outlined practical solutions: "Your typical BVI blocker could do quite well for protection from estate tax. It also provides families with the option of using offshore structures to equalize distribution among certain family members. So that's another benefit of using an offshore holding company when you're investing in the US."

He noted nuances around venture capital and pre-IPO investments: "If we're looking at things like pre-IPOs and VC investments, people are going to be using Delaware as a jurisdiction for structuring. But ultimately, you've got to look at this from a succession planning point of view as well, and that affects the question of whether there should be something on top of the holding structure—whether there's a possibility of putting a foreign trust structure in place. These are all dependent on a case-by-case basis."

For UK investments, Lange acknowledged greater challenges: "It's a bit more challenging to get tax-efficient investment structures into the UK. If you're holding assets in trust, there's the 10-year anniversary charge for inheritance tax. Tax efficiency becomes a bit trickier, but you've still got to keep coming back to succession planning as the priority."

Evolving Structures for Modern Families

Wailoo noted a push toward alternatives to traditional trust structures: "Family investment companies and family partnerships—we're seeing a lot more of them. They offer different tax reliefs, different ways of bringing different family members in, different ways to keep control of an asset whilst passing on the economic value."

These structures resonate more intuitively with families. "Part of that is that families understand them a little bit more. They can understand the concept of a company or a partnership over what might be this esoteric trust that we all in this room talk about a lot."

Insurance as Strategic Architecture

Jorge Carstensen of Sophós Advisors highlighted the growing role of insurance in sophisticated planning. He shared a case study of a family with international assets that faced significant UK inheritance tax liability after 2017. "They ran some life insurance numbers and compared that to other possible solutions. The math worked—if they bought the policy, the premium would still be less than any other resolution. And the heirs would receive liquidity at the right time."

Beyond estate tax mitigation, Carstensen explained how private placement life insurance serves as a holding vehicle for diverse investments while addressing asset protection, succession, and often-overlooked withholding taxes. "Many advisors are not aware that there are options to properly structure and plan to minimize potential tax liability. Families can get stuck with huge bills in withholding tax that may seem minimal at the beginning but compound over time."

Operational Readiness: The Execution Challenge

Jiggy Rawal of Jellyfish Consulting provided a framework for families preparing to transact internationally: "When people are transacting internationally, they're expecting an institution to transact, and the institutions they're transacting with are expecting the same level of professionalism and institutionalization in place."

Success requires three elements. First, governance: "Defining the layers, defining the structure, defining decision-making authority." Second, operational structures: "Who are the decision makers, who gets the vote, how quickly are decisions made? If you have a deal opportunity, who do you consult in the next 72 hours?" Third, capability: "Cross-border teams that can deliver at speed and at pace with all the right things in place."

The Transparency Revolution

The panel addressed the new reality of global tax transparency with remarkable candor. Aswat explained: "There's a misconception around transparency. With the advancement of technology and AI, global tax authorities are sharing a great deal more information than most people realize. The days of secrecy and privacy through structure are not over, but structuring purely for secrecy is not effective anymore."

Wailoo added that privacy considerations remain important but require sophisticated approaches: "It's a bit of an education piece on understanding where family names need to be disclosed. There is a balance between compliance and protecting the inherent privacy of families, while also safeguarding the family name. It becomes higher on the list once families understand the risks involved in where their names appear."

Next Generation Sophistication

Dave Lange observed a marked shift in next-generation engagement with wealth structures: "The next generation is very eager and keen to have that conversation. They're being educated globally—travelling around the world. It's not just about academic education, it's about cultural education, seeing different ways of doing things, experiencing different things, seeing different points of view."

He noted the evolution across generations: "First gen probably didn't know certain things existed or take the time to understand how they work. Second gen is coming in and really asking a lot more thoughtful questions and wanting to bring a bit more sophistication into structures."

Wailoo shared a telling trend: "The instructions I get here are often from the next generation—sometimes the eldest son saying, 'I've been tasked with this, I need to understand this.' The conversations that some of us have been having for many years with the top generation are really coming to fruition now."

Freeman underscored the importance of building multi-dimensional relationships for the next generation of clients: “The most important thing is to ensure that the next generation develops a multi-touch relationship with their wealth manager. This means have access not only to the primary adviser, but also to the broader team of specialists including portfolio managers, research analysts, product experts, and the wealth planning team. By engaging with the full spectrum of the bank’s capabilities, the next generation can benefit from a more holistic advisory experience, as well as the educational opportunities that come with it.”

Practical Counsel for Today's Investor

The panel concluded with actionable guidance. Wailoo highlighted a surprising area of demand: "People want to spend as much time in the UK as possible without becoming tax resident. We're doing lots of tax residency advice."

Freeman recommended opportunities in the US energy space: "We advise clients to consider investments alongside a range of fuel types, as well as energy storage and data center power management. US power demand has remained stagnant for the last decade. Now with the rapid buildout of AI data centers, this is expected to drive a significant increase in energy consumption. To illustrate this, every time you ask ChatGPT a question, it uses the equivalent power of charging a smartphone."

Aswat added that for UHNW families, the point is to make your money work harder for you—and the heavy lifting is in the set-up: once the structure is right—family trusts and structures, efficient custody and platforms, governance and succession, and cross-border tax mitigation—it all runs quietly in the background, enabling decisive deployment when opportunities arise; despite the doom-and-gloom headlines around the UK and US, “you invest when there’s blood on the streets,” and both markets remain compelling for Middle Eastern families when approached with discipline.

Carstensen offered the panel's most fundamental counsel: "We always want to start with what's most important for the family and their goals. In wealth management, we discuss various assets, but we never forget the wealth creator—the private business. If we can incorporate that into wealth planning and succession with structures that are robust, defensible, and future-proof, families will have a foundation for many generations."

For Saudi families navigating an increasingly complex global investment landscape, the message was clear: opportunity abounds in US and UK markets, but success demands sophisticated structuring that balances tax efficiency with succession planning, operational discipline for institutional-grade execution, and advisors who understand both technical requirements and multigenerational family vision.