My mission

With one question I challenge traditional legacy planning :

What positive impact will you leave for family & community?

Hi, I'm Wynne

Many know me as YIE YING

I know it’s important for you to know if I do what I do for the right reason and have what it takes to express my opinion. So here I am and I will keep it very real with you.

I believe that the way we conclude our lives is just as important as the way we live it. We each have the potential to create a lasting, life-giving legacy to the next generation and our community. The person who influences me the most is my mother.

My mother was ahead of her time. Born in a traditional Chinese family with 8 siblings, where educating girls was a mere fantasy, my mother was infatuated with learning. Today, at 77, she still hasn’t stopped adding to her wealth of knowledge – BBC News being one of her encyclopaedias of choice. My mother propelled my siblings and I towards our destinies. The legacy she is leaving us is an insatiable love for learning and an inquisitive attitude. Because of that, I later earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accountancy and a Master of Finance degree. My quest for knowledge on what I passionate about continues.

I started my career as an accountant and dabbled in different roles in the financial industry for a few years. Working in Europe and Asia with excellent teams of professionals has provided many opportunities. It was while establishing the Singapore branch of an American bank’s trust company, getting to hear the human stories behind the numbers, I discovered my passion for serving private clients. What are just numbers to others, represented to me, goals reached or dreams wasted. The delicate dance between wealth one day and scarcity the next fascinated me.

Through practice and hard work, I acquired a comprehensive knowledge that have seen me helping clients plan for succession, tax management and asset protection. I have since worked in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore to set up asset protection, tax planning, corporate and fiduciary, and pre-IPO planning structures for hundreds of clients for over 15 years. I have served clients across three continents, with asset values from $2 million to more than $200 million. I’ve held senior positions in various professional firms and multinational corporations, and I now serve as the executive director of trust services for a leading Asian business expansion specialist.

Over the years I realised that each client and family is different, but one thing is the same: every family has deeper issues present that most financial planners overlook. The emotional and practical sides of planning are so inextricably linked, that the best plan can fail if family inter-relational dynamics are flawed. My inquisitive nature drives me to look deeper than tax, legal matters, or business structures, to find out how to better serve the families and create a conflict-free succession plan.

I love what I do because I can apply the knowledge I have acquired to something I value.

I believe in the importance of developing positive personal relationships.

I love seeing people become accountable and empowered to make impactful decisions.

And families are where things begin.

It's Teamwork

Most of my clients are sophisticated enough to understand the importance of having a succession plan and setting up the right structure for asset protection. The challenges sometimes lie in finding the right advisor and service provider. The services and advices that they receive are often limited by their advisors’ fields of specialization.

Of course, you need to work with someone who has a comprehensive knowledge of various tools and legal structures. No one is a master of all trades, and hence there will typically be a team of professionals involved. Over time, I realise a good advisor is not anyone with in-depth knowledge, but one who has the ability to listen to the spoken and unspoken words. One who, based on the information on hand, is able to find the right team that produce the best solution in any given circumstance.

The Missing Ingredient

Monetary provision is often the first thing to come to mind when we talk about succession planning. Money is quantifiable. However, in my opinion it is the intangible aspects, such as values and principles, that determines whether multi-generational businesses and wealth thrive.

I am sure you have heard of the old saying “Give a man a fish, and he will be hungry again tomorrow; teach him to catch a fish, and he will be richer all his life”. Having strong and positive values creates a compass to improve decision making.

Dont leave It Too Late

The time to create positive value in life needs to start early – long before one planning for the succession.

Just look at Victoria Mars, the fourth generation of the family business Mars Inc. She has talked about growing up with 5 principles. Advocated by her great grandfather, these principles have shaped the family’s values and steered the business for
generations.

“Legacy is not leaving something for people; It’s leaving something in people.”

– Peter Strople

My Mission

I believe there needs to be a shift in perspective. The focus of succession planning should not be just about THINGS or TAXES. It needs to focus on PEOPLE.

Many families face the challenges of maintaining relationships during times of conflict, particularly after a passing of key member that hold the relationships together. For families who share ownership and management of a business these challenges deepen.

The root cause of loss of wealth and the end of a family business is often family conflict. For the times that it is not, it is a lot easier to ride through rough water. The rise and fall of a family business have a ripple effect reaching the employees and the community. To put things into perspective, family businesses contribute 40-60% of gross national products. Family enterprise also fills 35-70% of employment.

My mission is to help family enterprises thrive through generational leadership. Challenging traditional succession planning requires asking one simple question: “What positive impact will you leave for your family and community?”; “What kind of legacy will you be remembered for?”

I don’t have the answers to everything but I am committed to find the best solution in any given circumstance. I will do my utmost to preserve your legacy and to ensure that you have an inheritance of so much more than money… one you can be proud of.

And it is a mission I don’t take lightly.

Testimonials

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