Global wealth mobility is accelerating rapidly, reshaping the priorities of high net worth families and the international finance centres that support them.
In this piece, Henry Baye, CEO of Standard Chartered Jersey, tells Channel Eye how shifting tax landscapes, changing investor behaviours, and increasingly complex family dynamics are driving cross-border wealth migration — and why Jersey’s strengths leave it well placed to support clients as these trends intensify in 2026.
Global family mobility and wealth migration have been consistent twin themes within the cross-border private client landscape in 2025, driven by policy changes around the taxation of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), shifting investor behaviours and increasingly complex inter-generational family dynamics.
With families and private clients currently analysing the impact of further tax-related measures announced in the UK Budget recently and with geopolitical volatility persisting more widely, it’s very clear that the physical migration of wealth will remain on the agenda as we look forward to 2026.
While 2025 has marked a historic level of wealth mobility – globally, 142,000 millionaires are estimated to have relocated in 2025 alone, whilst the UK has suffered the largest net outflow of HNWIs with around 16,500 millionaires departing over the course of the year (Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025) this is not a sudden phenomenon.
The physical migration of wealth is very real and can be the consequence of both a reactive ‘push’ – a response to changes in tax policy, for instance, – or a more proactive ‘pull’ – a lifestyle or personal choice that suits a particular family need.
Alongside the physical mobility of family wealth, meanwhile, we are also seeing greater complexity in terms of cross-border wealth migration, something that is more aligned to shifts in investment behaviour in pursuit of diversification, inter-generational wealth transfer as the nextgen assumes a growing stake in family affairs, and greater family complexity as family members become more geographically spread.
Research indicates that 61% of HNW families, for example, are seeking new investment opportunities with 53% looking to diversify their portfolios (Deloitte Private, 2024).
All this has repercussions for international finance centres, like Jersey, that specialise in cross-border wealth management.
In the face of this mobility, there is a growing need to respond to family complexity by providing a combination of both optionality and certainty at a jurisdictional level – offering professional and tailored support to enable families to meet their global wealth migration needs.
Jersey responds to this call very well indeed. Standard Chartered’s team on the island, for example, continues to see growth in demand for specialist international banking and wealth services from key markets such as the United Arab Emirates, African markets such as Nigeria and Kenya, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Backed up by Jersey’s jurisdictional proposition – its stability, certainty and experience – we are able to meet the needs of clients through our own expertise in Jersey and through the deep knowledge of our global network.
Future Direction
In fact, for Standard Chartered in Jersey, 2025 has been a watershed year, with the team receiving a growing number of queries relating to wealth transfer, and the volume of enquiries around wealth transfer having quadrupled compared to five years ago.
A decade ago, the hot topic was wealth preservation; now it is wealth transfer, with international clients placing a premium on quality advice and relying more than ever before on the 45+ years of experience the Bank has of operating in Jersey. In particular, the team is seeing year-on-year increases in trust structures and personal investment vehicles (PIVs) being established to meet wealth transfer strategy objectives – something we are likely to see more of in 2026 as we establish Jersey as a centre of excellence for PIVs for our Priority clients.
And as we look forward into 2026, it’s important to stay on the front foot and anticipate the future direction. Which is why we continue to build on a global campaign launched by the Bank earlier in 2025 aimed at supporting the evolving needs of HNW clients in key overseas markets – including Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Korea, Taiwan, UAE and India. The ‘Now’s your time for wealth’ campaign signalled Standard Chartered’s commitment to create a more holistic approach to client engagement, and that holistic approach will become increasingly important in the context of supporting wealth mobility.
With Standard Chartered Jersey forming a key part of the Bank’s global wealth proposition, the campaign is reinforcing Jersey’s offering to affluent clients in those markets, whilst also underlining Jersey’s strengths as a wealth hub.
Further, Jersey forms an integral part of Standard Chartered’s International Banking proposition, which brings together four of its major cross-border hubs Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, as well as Jersey – to create a network of expert wealth advisory hubs . It’s a platform that supports more than two million HNW clients globally and that will resonate clearly with families when it comes to efficient wealth transfer too.
As we move into 2026, Jersey’s ability to blend core stability and certainty with innovative solutions will become more and more important in a world of fluid global wealth mobility. A new demographic of wealthy clients that places a greater emphasis on flexibility, bespoke and digitally-delivered solutions – in alternative investments, philanthropy, and ESG, for example – will see an attractive proposition in Jersey.
Standard Chartered in Jersey is ready to play its part, ensuring that families can continue to realise the benefits of true global wealth mobility in 2026 and beyond.
At Standard Chartered Jersey, our focus is to see you prosper internationally and at home. Our tailored service puts you in control of your wealth, wherever you are and our expert solutons help you navigate life in a global world. Start your journey with Standard Chartered Jersey today through our website or on email: [email protected]
Pictured: Henry Baye, CEO of Standard Chartered Jersey
