Simon Rees
Director of Family Office Services
Simon has looked after high net worth individuals and families for more than 40 years, working in international accountancy firms, law firms, private banking and trust companies. He now focuses on advising UK and worldwide clients and family offices, with a particular emphasis on the Middle East. His work includes not only strategic advice, perhaps on succession or family governance, but also support on a wide range of operational matters and wealth management issues. He liaises with other advisers to provide informed and co-ordinated solutions.
Simon has seen family issues from many aspects, including acting as a trustee of family and charitable trusts. Whilst the client is at the heart of his work, Simon's career also enables him to appreciate the challenges faced by the client's various advisers, which is key to delivering workable support and solutions.
After more than twenty years advising on private client tax and trusts, Simon left PwC in 2005 to become Head of Tax at Ansbacher, where he gained an investment management qualification. His roles then broadened, particularly in the area of family trusts; he was one of the founding principals at New Quadrant Partners, looking after the firm’s trust management services, before becoming Head of UK Fiduciary at Kleinwort Hambros.
He joined Farrer & Co in 2017, to focus on services for client families. The scope of that work is very broad, including trustee issues, private trust companies, wealth structuring, family governance, compliance and administration. He often adopts an informed liaison or co-ordination role.
Having gained an investment management qualification, he takes a particular interest in investment manager performance (he was a member of the judging panel for the Private Asset Managers (PAM) Awards for several years).
Simon especially enjoys working across family generations and looking at succession and family governance issues. He believes very strongly in the benefits of working in a collegiate and collaborative way with the client family's other advisers.