Profile - Ian Cain, LLB

Ian has 15 years experience as a tax lawyer, wealth planner, consultant and strategic adviser working principally with entrepreneurs and family offices.
 
Ian’s career started with boutique UK tax law firm, Wiggin and Co.  Then, for 8 years at Eversheds LLP (the world’s second largest law firm at the time) Ian focused on tax planning the trust and company structures of some of the UK’s wealthiest entrepreneurial families. ‘Exit planning’ for business sales/ IPOs was a key element linked with identifying suitable investment vehicles/ investment managers for clients’ following major liquidity events.  This remains a key area of expertise.  

Then as a partner at leading law firm, Boodle Hatfield, from 2004 Ian was head of Family Business and continued advising long standing entrepreneurial clients on commercial, tax and structuring issues. 

Ian lead Goldman Sachs' UK Strategic Wealth Advisory Service from 2006. Goldmans sophisticated investment platform married with a sophisticated international client base provided an opportunity to hone ‘trouble shooting’ / strategic advisory skills for clients. Integrating tax and investment issues as a ‘trusted adviser’ and co-ordinating with families’ existing advisory teams or helping select new professional advisers and trustees, were key facets of the role.  Extensive due diligence on private client service providers was carried out, tapping into Goldman’s  database/ historic market knowledge whilst also reviewing new entrants to the private client world in the UK and abroad.    

In 2009, Ian took responsibility for developing Ogier’s international wealth planning strategy as head of Private Wealth. Based principally in London and Jersey, Ian lead the development of Ogier’s 5 year fiduciary services strategic plan. 

Ian has worked with leading lawyers, accountants, family business advisers and investment managers, assisting with introductions to complement clients’ existing advisory teams for 16 years. Identifying  specialists in different disciplines/ jurisdictions (focussing both on firms and specific partners or key personnel within those firms) remains a key element in supporting the complex needs of wealthy clients.  Ian’s experience is that many families are under advised and inadequately supported by their advisers – typified by either (i) a lack of communication between the adviser teams (ii) short term/ reactive advice failing to properly address a family’s medium or longer term strategic goals (iii) advisers not having sufficient breadth of vision when problem solving.

Ian established his independent consultancy in 2009.  As a consultant (not as ‘tax lawyer’) Ian is focused, first, on identifying priorities and problems and then delivering a plan, working with suitable external advisers, to best meet clients' strategic goals – rather than being narrowly focused on the pure tax or documentation aspects. Ian is a regular speaker at private client events. 

Ian grew up abroad but is settled in Oxfordshire with his family.