In the world of wealth planning and structuring, where the stakes are high and the rules are ever-shifting, Cone Marshall Group stands out as a beacon of legal precision and global trust structuring. As the Regional Director of Legal and Operations, Chung Yin O, takes the stage at the Hubbis Wealth Planning and Structuring Forum, he offers a compelling narrative that challenges the conventional wisdom of wealth creation and preservation. His message is clear: the true battle is not just about building wealth, but about safeguarding it and ensuring its longevity across generations.
A Legal Foundation, A Global Reach
Yin O's journey begins with a powerful insight: wealth creation is only half the battle. The real challenge lies in protecting, sustaining, and transferring that wealth without falling prey to the complexities, disputes, and regulatory changes that can erode its value. This is where Cone Marshall Group's legal roots come into play. With a foundation in a New Zealand law practice, the group has evolved into an international trust specialist, but it has never lost its DNA. This DNA is the absolute precision of legal expertise, which Yin O believes is crucial for the design and management of trust structures.
What makes Cone Marshall Group unique is its staff composition. The vast majority of its team are lawyers, not conventional administrators. This allows the firm to approach trust structuring through the sharp analytical lens of legal experts. The result is not just wealth administration, but a comprehensive risk management, regulatory foresight, and structurally robust planning. This legal discipline is what sets the group apart in an industry often driven by administrative efficiency.
A Global Platform, With A Rare Wyoming Capability
From its New Zealand base, Cone Marshall Group has built a deliberately international footprint. With 13 trust licenses worldwide, covering jurisdictions like Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, and New Zealand, the group is well-positioned to cater to diverse client needs. However, Yin O emphasizes the group's rare capability in Wyoming, a US state that offers powerful asset protection, strong privacy provisions, and modern trust legislation. This makes it an ideal jurisdiction for globally mobile families, especially those with US-connected assets, beneficiaries, or business interests.
The Wyoming capability is not just an add-on, but a genuine differentiator. It bridges the gap between global structures and US tax law, providing ultra-high-net-worth families with an unparalleled competitive edge. This is particularly relevant for families with US-connected assets, as many international structures struggle when US considerations enter the picture. Cone Marshall Group's Wyoming presence ensures that US trust planning is seamlessly integrated into broader international structuring.
Independence As A Fiduciary Advantage
Yin O then turns to the group's independence as a key structural advantage. Privately owned by its founder, with no external shareholders, private equity backers, or institutional parents, Cone Marshall Group is free from the short-term profit pressures and conflicts of interest that can plague other trust companies. This ownership model creates practical advantages for ultra-high-net-worth families, supporting confidentiality, avoiding product-driven conflicts, and allowing the firm to focus on bespoke structuring rather than standardized institutional service models.
The long-term horizon of Cone Marshall Group is central to its trust business. Structures established today may need to function for decades, often across multiple generations, jurisdictions, and family branches. A trust company built around short-term commercial pressure may struggle to provide the continuity and independence required for this role. For Cone Marshall Group, private ownership is not just a governance detail, but part of its value proposition, allowing the group to focus on client outcomes over institutional incentives.
Legal Precision Over Administrative Scale
Throughout the session, Yin O consistently emphasizes the importance of legal precision over administrative volume. While many trust companies compete on scale, operational efficiency, or jurisdictional breadth, Cone Marshall Group's proposition is rooted in legal expertise, independence, and deeply personalized client relationships. This positioning reflects the realities facing wealthy families today, where cross-border regulation is becoming more complex, geopolitical risk is rising, and family wealth structures are being tested by tax scrutiny, succession challenges, and beneficiary expectations.
In this environment, Yin O argues, advisers cannot afford to be merely reactive. Ultra-high-net-worth families deserve more than standard corporate administration; they demand global agility, legal expertise, and independence. For intermediaries advising complex families, the message is clear: trust structuring is no longer a static exercise in documentation and jurisdictional selection. It requires ongoing judgment, legal adaptability, and a clear understanding of how family, tax, regulatory, and asset protection issues intersect.
An Invitation To Build For The Long Term
Yin O concludes by inviting advisers and intermediaries to engage with Cone Marshall Group where clients are seeking structures capable of enduring across generations. He positions the firm as a partner for families navigating regulatory complexity, geopolitical uncertainty, and the inherent fragility of intergenerational wealth transfer. With 13 licenses, a rare American stronghold in Wyoming, and the brilliant minds of legal professionals guiding every decision, Cone Marshall Group is the architect of its clients' legacy.
His final message is direct: for families ready to secure wealth beyond the current generation, Cone Marshall Group is prepared to help design the structures required. "If you or your clients are ready to secure an empire for generations yet unborn, let's build that together," he says. This is a call to action for those who dare to think long-term, to build for the future, and to secure the legacy of their families for generations to come.
