Jersey Foundations and the Values of Legacy: Insights from Dominique Burnett's 'Hubbis Hot Seat'

Dominique Burnett, Managing Director, Singapore, was delighted to speak in the Hubbis Hot Seat at the Wealth Planning and Structuring Forum Hong Kong 2025, in October. 

*This article was originally published by Hubbis on 21st November 2025.

Dominique spotlighted an increasingly relevant solution for Asian families navigating succession and asset continuity: the Jersey foundation. Against a backdrop of growing cross-border wealth and multi-generational families with increasingly global footprints, Burnett delivered a methodical breakdown of how this structuring vehicle supports client values, particularly in areas of certainty, control and respect.

An Independent, Cross-Jurisdictional Fiduciary Platform
Fairway Group, founded in Jersey more than two decades ago, is a director-led and privately owned fiduciary firm with operations in Singapore, Dubai, Kuwait, Madeira and its home jurisdiction. From its Singapore office, the firm supports Asia-based clients by acting as a gateway to the broader group’s private client, fund services and pensions platforms. Its corporate governance and professional protector services are designed to work seamlessly across geographies, with a strong emphasis on regulatory compliance and local client service.

While Fairway’s Jersey roots remain core, Burnett noted that Singapore plays an increasingly strategic role in facilitating Asia-centric structuring. “Singapore acts as a point of contact for our Asia-based clients across the group,” she explained, outlining how regional demand for global solutions is growing in tandem with asset complexity.

The Jersey Foundation: A Hybrid for Contemporary Families
At the centre of Burnett’s presentation was the Jersey foundation itself, a legal entity she described as a hybrid between a trust and a company. “It’s a body corporate that has beneficiaries and limited liability. It can own anything that a natural person can own, cash, investments, real estate, gold or insurance,” she said. The structure is flexible, she added, and can serve charitable, non-charitable or mixed purposes.

What distinguishes the Jersey foundation is its ability to align corporate governance with the long-term wishes of the founder. The structure is set up by a founder, similar to how a trust is settled, and is governed by a council acting in accordance with a charter. Jersey law requires at least one regulated and qualified council member, such as Fairway itself, and a guardian must also be appointed to ensure compliance with the founder’s intentions.

Importantly, Burnett emphasised the privacy of founders under Jersey law. “The founder’s identity is not a matter of public record,” she noted. This confidentiality, along with perpetual existence and robust governance requirements, makes the Jersey foundation an attractive solution for families seeking a degree of permanence without sacrificing discretion.

A Case Study Rooted in Regional Reality
To demonstrate the practical application of the structure, Burnett outlined a scenario involving a hypothetical Hong Kong business founder, Mr Chong. As group chairman of a multi-generational family business with operations across Greater China, Mr Chong also holds an internationally diversified portfolio of investment assets, including assets in his personal name and in offshore companies.

In Burnett’s words, “So long as Mr Chong remains at the helm, this works. But what happens when he is no longer around?” She pointed to a number of challenges, including leadership succession, unclear inheritance of corporate shares and fragmented asset ownership spread across multiple jurisdictions. According to Burnett, these are not just legal or administrative risks, they are emotional and operational stress points that can destabilise families.

In this scenario, she argued, a Jersey foundation offers a coherent solution by consolidating assets and ensuring their disposition according to Mr Chong’s wishes. More importantly, the structure encapsulates three core values, certainty, control and respect, that resonate with founders of complex family enterprises.

Delivering Certainty Through Legal Continuity
Burnett began with the concept of certainty. “Assets held in a foundation are ring-fenced and protected from creditors or inheritance claims. They no longer form part of the founder’s estate,” she said. As the foundation exists in perpetuity, there is no forced liquidation or arbitrary termination. This means beneficiaries avoid the complications of probate or cross-jurisdictional enforcement.

In her words, “The founder can rest easy knowing that his assets have been placed in a legitimate, tax-compliant and effective structure.” This includes clear lines of authority, streamlined service-provider relationships and an absence of ambiguity in wealth transmission.

Retaining Control Without Micromanagement
Burnett next addressed the second pillar, control. “Our founders are used to being in control of their business and personal affairs. That doesn’t have to change,” she said. In the Jersey foundation model, founders can reserve certain powers, appoint guardians or even structure decision-making timelines and milestones.

In the case of Mr Chong, this could mean stipulating that shares in the family business are only transferred to descendants who reach specific achievements, or that non-participating family members are excluded from business governance. The structure allows for tailored succession without ongoing micromanagement.

Burnett also highlighted that family members can be added to the council over time, creating a phased transition and fostering a culture of stewardship rather than entitlement.

Embedding Values into Governance
Respect, Burnett asserted, is often overlooked in technical conversations but is central to why clients embrace foundational structures. “The charter can be a written expression of the founder’s values and legacy,” she explained. It allows founders to articulate not just who should benefit, but how they want the family to think about wealth and responsibility.

The foundation becomes a conduit for long-term family governance, not just an asset-holding shell. Burnett described it as a way to develop “a family philosophy of wealth management” across generations. In this sense, the structure promotes alignment between wealth and purpose, and opens the door to future adaptation without straying from core principles.

A Legacy Vehicle, Not Just a Holding Vehicle
Burnett concluded by reinforcing that setting up a foundation is more than a compliance exercise. “At Fairway, we believe that creating a foundation is not just about setting up an asset-holding vehicle, it is about building a lasting legacy,” she said.

By incorporating privacy, multi-jurisdictional capability and bespoke governance, the Jersey foundation offers a structure well-suited to founders seeking continuity without relinquishing oversight. In a region where family enterprises are becoming increasingly global and multi-generational, Burnett’s message was clear: the right structure can provide more than peace of mind, it can preserve vision, values and viability for decades to come.