Personal Funds: A New Approach to Wealth Management?

The event, hosted at Stella di Mosca, attracted an audience of more than 130, including business owners and executives, government figures, heads of legal from major corporations and investment funds, and private investors.

In his opening remarks, RSPP President Alexander Shokhin highlighted the growing interest in personal funds from both businesses and the state. Amendments to tax rules in 2023 and legislative updates in 2024 — introducing confidentiality, allowing not just the founder but also third parties to transfer assets to a personal fund gratuitously, and permitting the use of arbitration clauses and foreign law — have made this asset-management tool significantly more appealing. However, Dr Shokhin noted that a number of practical issues remain in the corporate sphere, particularly as concerns taxation and securing regulatory approval. The goal of the conference, he emphasised, was to address these questions collectively and explore how to further refine the framework and create favourable conditions for the development of personal funds in Russia. 

Continuing and expanding in this key, Asari Legal partner Ilya Rybalkin underscored the advantages and long-term potential of personal funds compared with foreign trusts and funds, instruments in which Russian business owners have largely lost confidence due to geopolitical and sanctions-related factors.

The first session, moderated by Ekaterina Podbereznyak, head of legal at SUEK JSC, and Marina Zakharova, Asari Legal partner, offered a broad overview of the key aspects of personal funds: their purpose, core mechanics, benefits, and limitations from the standpoint of all stakeholders (founders, beneficiaries, notaries, management companies, and legal advisors). A significant part of the discussion focused on the notary’s role. Konstantin Korsik, President of the Federal Notary Chamber, remarked that notaries across Russia were actively improving their qualifications to meet the rapidly growing demand for personal funds.

Nato Tskhakaia, partner and head of Asari Legal’s regulatory practice, reminded attendees that, being a legal entity structured as a unitary non-profit organisation, a personal fund is permitted to conduct commercial activities, including transactions in shares. Andrey Tsyganov, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service, clarified that, under Russia’s competition law, certain transfers of units or shares to a personal fund may require prior clearance from the antitrust regulator.

Closing the conference, Anastasia Konstantinova, partner and head of the Asari Legal’s Sanctions practice, emphasised that, as personal funds are just emerging in Russia, regulators, businesses, and legal experts have a unique and important opportunity to create a practical framework for them thoughtfully and transparently, through open discussion, so that personal foundations evolve into a truly effective wealth-management tool that Russian citizens can trust.

The event concluded in the atmosphere of a warm summer night, accompanied by light jazz and engaging discussions among the participants.