Steve Sokic, Group Head of Private Wealth at IQ-EQ

What do you hope attendees will gain at your webinar?

Trusts and foundations have been around for many years, but the last year was unlike most. At the same time, our fiduciary industry has changed so much during my 27+ year career in this space, as have the dynamics of wealth generally, especially over the past several years. I hope that attendees will take away key messages that marry those two observations and be able to apply them in their day-to-day stewardship of clients worldwide.

What discussions do you look forward to having with the attendees?

We trust and foundation providers are in a niche area of financial services, but we also have many non-financial, EQ-type aspects of our day jobs. I genuinely enjoy the mixing of those two attributes and discussions like this one are key in doing our bit to drive and shape our industry well into the future. This is particularly important given the massive levels of wealth to be transferred between generations over the next decade.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

Enjoyment of my role is derived from three main perspectives; namely, having the privilege to steward and have an impact on: (1) many families’ wealth legacy around the world, (2) our wealth structuring industry in the current and next phase of its evolution, and (3) my trusted colleagues within one of the very best and most enjoyable organisations in the world.

How did you get into the industry?

I started as an accountant at Deloitte in Canada in the early 1990s, as part of a very small group focusing on private client wealth structuring. This quickly evolved into cross-border families and investments, which – to cut a long story short – really widened my perspective and impact on wealth preservation globally, in terms of clients, jurisdictions, wealth governance and structures, along with a wonderfully diverse group of colleagues throughout the world.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

I have two. I’m passionate about my family and very proud of my heritage, so my favourite places in the world link the two together: Canada and Croatia.