Speaking at the International Business & Finance Summit last weekend, experts in a range of fields including private wealth management, banking and financial media urged delegates to be aware of global trends and be innovative and flexible.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are shifting wealth to private companies, real estate and commodities, according to Simon Townend, head of KPMG’s advisory activities across 22 countries including the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, Bermuda, Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Malta.

He also said that there is a move away from speculative financial investment towards hard assets.

The market analysis came during a session on global trends during the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) annual three-day summit, which ran January 23-26 at Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma.

He said that the use of structures (funds, mutual funds and insurance) are expected to increase.

“The customer of the future is a much more highly mobile client,” added Robert Colvin, principal of Colvin & Associates.

Colvin advises high-net-worth international private clients, and the institutions that service them, on cross-border transactional issues, international tax, trust and estate planning, as well as private placement, variable life insurance and annuity products.

In order to capitalize on this changing world order, firms must innovate, stressed Bloomberg TV anchor Adam Johnson.

In his presentation January 24, Johnson provided real world examples of innovation at work in corporate America and how successful innovators went on to increase their bottom line and unsuccessful ones became a cautionary tale.

“If you’re not replacing your best product somebody else will,” Johnson advised. He urged industry leaders to not only take stock of assets not being using efficiently, but also to ask themselves what they are doing well and how could they do it better.

Colvin stressed the importance of building relationships with clients.

“Clients really are searching for who they can trust, because there are a lot of names out there.”

For William Heuseler, head of Itau Private Bank’s wealth planning team, based in Sao Paolo, Brazil, The Bahamas is the most professional jurisdiction in the region.

He sees the nation’s product offerings as complementing not competing with what’s available in Brazil. The feedback Heuseler has received thus far has been positive.

“There is no other jurisdiction like The Bahamas,” he said.

tblair@dupuch.com