Typical Malta Structures for Family Offices

Malta has positioned itself as a leading jurisdiction for multigenerational wealth management, offering a well-developed legal infrastructure, regulatory transparency, and tax-efficient structuring options. Family offices face complex challenges in preserving and transferring wealth across generations, including navigating succession laws, cross-border tax implications, and asset diversification in volatile markets. The ability to respond flexibly to changes in family structure, investment strategies, and regulatory environments is essential for sustainability.

Malta addresses these needs with a robust and adaptable legal framework supported by the MFSA, English-speaking professionals, and a strategic EU location. Families managing global assets benefit from Malta’s alignment with international compliance standards and its facilitative regulatory stance. This makes Malta particularly well-suited for structuring long-term governance vehicles such as holding companies, private trust companies, and regulated funds.

The Malta Holding Company is a core structuring tool for family offices seeking asset protection, tax optimisation, and operational flexibility. It is especially effective for consolidating international investments, holding equity in family-owned businesses, or owning high-value assets such as real estate, yachts, and aircraft.

Key features include:

• Participation Exemption: No tax on capital gains or dividends from qualifying holdings.
• Notional Interest Deduction (NID): A deductible return on equity, aligning Malta with other competitive jurisdictions offering an alternative to thin capitalisation rules.
• No Withholding Taxes: Dividends, interest, and royalties paid to non-resident shareholders are typically not subject to withholding tax.
• Double Tax Treaty Network: Malta has over 70 double taxation agreements, facilitating cross-border efficiency and reducing international tax exposure.

These attributes make the Malta holding company a central entity in multi-layered family office structures, particularly where international asset planning and intergenerational succession are involved.

A Private Trust Company (PTC) in Malta serves as a bespoke trustee vehicle for managing family trusts and allows for a high level of family participation and governance. PTCs are especially relevant in the context of complex estate planning, where flexibility, continuity, and privacy are paramount.

Highlights include:

• Corporate Trustee Structure: The PTC acts as trustee for one or more family trusts, with board members often including family representatives and trusted advisors.
• Regulatory Clarity: Governed by the Trusts and Trustees Act, PTCs are not required to obtain full trustee licensing if they serve only specific family trusts, making setup efficient and cost-effective.
• Governance Requirements: Minimum of three directors ensures collective responsibility and risk management.
• Insurance Provisions: The level of insurance must be proportionate to the scale of trust assets, adding a layer of prudential oversight.

This structure supports long-term family control over trust-held assets and allows for dynamic administration aligned with evolving family circumstances.

Family offices often benefit from fund structuring when managing pooled investments, alternative assets, or collective family wealth. Malta offers multiple fund types, with the Professional Investor Fund (PIF) being particularly suited to family offices due to its flexibility and light regulatory touch.

Key benefits include:

• PIF Framework: Allows for a wide range of investment strategies with oversight by the MFSA, but without full UCITS harmonisation—balancing regulation with agility.
• Minimum Entry Criteria: EUR 100,000 minimum investment and EUR 750,000 net worth requirement—easily met by typical family office participants.
• Flexible Use: Can be used not only for managing financial portfolios but also for employing private staff (e.g., captains, household managers) and addressing family operational needs.
• Tax Transparency: Possibility of opting for transparent treatment enhances tax planning for international families.

Malta’s fund regime provides a modern, compliant platform for families seeking to institutionalise wealth management without compromising privacy or control.

Real estate structuring within family offices in Malta involves a strategic combination of legal, tax, and operational considerations designed to preserve wealth, generate income, and support intergenerational planning.

Holding companies are commonly used to centralise ownership of residential, commercial, and high-value assets such as real estate, offering liability protection and access to Malta’s tax-efficient regime—including capital gains exemptions and no withholding tax on dividends to non-residents. Structures such as private trust companies or foundations may be employed to enhance governance, enable succession planning, and maintain control within the family.

For rental properties, family offices must implement robust lease agreements, comply with local rental laws, and carry out regular maintenance to sustain asset value. Commercial property investments require due diligence, market research, and strategic tenant management, with best practices including sector diversification and lease clauses for inflation adjustment and ESG compliance.

Effective structuring also involves planning for acquisitions and disposals, engaging professional valuers, and ensuring regulatory compliance across all aspects of property ownership and management.

Malta’s robust regulatory framework, flexible corporate vehicles, and tax-efficient structures make it a highly attractive jurisdiction for the establishment and operation of family offices. Whether through private foundations, trusts, investment companies, or partnerships, Malta offers a range of legally secure and administratively streamlined options tailored to the diverse needs of high-net-worth families. The ability to centralise wealth management, succession planning, investment governance, and philanthropic efforts under a single, well-regulated EU jurisdiction provides international families with both stability and strategic advantage. By leveraging Malta’s typical structures for family office setups, families are well positioned to preserve and grow their wealth across generations while benefiting from Malta’s pro-business environment and extensive professional support network.