01
Residency & Company Formation
We scope the vehicle with Monegasque counsel before anything is lodged, because company formation here needs prior governmental authorization, granted case by case. The société anonyme monégasque (SAM) is the joint-stock company for larger operations. The société à responsabilité limitée (SARL) is the private limited company for smaller ventures, and sole-trader status or a civil company (société civile) serves holding purposes.
Establishing a business, or obtaining the residence permit (carte de séjour) that anchors a high-net-worth move, typically involves a Monegasque notaire and engagement with the relevant government departments, supported by proof of accommodation, financial standing, and a clean background. Because authorization is discretionary and substance-focused, we scope each pathway with local counsel from the outset.
02
Trusts & Foundations
For a common-law family settling in Monaco, we check Law No. 214 before anything else. Monaco has no domestic trust law, but that statute lets nationals of certain common-law jurisdictions create and administer in Monaco a trust governed by the law of one of those jurisdictions. Nationality is the gate: a family that fails it plans through foreign structures instead.
In practice, wealth holding is more commonly arranged through foreign structures (trusts, foundations, and holding companies established elsewhere) administered with Monegasque advisers. Where a foreign-law trust or foundation is the right instrument, we coordinate Monegasque avocats and notaires alongside trustees admitted in the governing-law jurisdiction, so the succession, asset-protection, and philanthropy objectives are met without overstating what Monegasque law itself provides.
03
Banking & Accounts
Monaco hosts a concentrated private-banking and wealth-management sector, with strong custody, lending and discretionary-mandate capabilities oriented to the resident high-net-worth client and family office.
Onboarding is demanding. Banks apply detailed AML/CFT, residency, and source-of-wealth diligence consistent with international standards, and they look harder at complex ownership chains and politically exposed profiles. We help assemble a clean, well-documented file and introduce banking relationships from our partner network; the account relationship itself is held with the licensed institution.
04
Funds & Asset Management
Where a family office or a licensed manager is the goal, we coordinate the CCAF workstream through Monegasque counsel. The Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières (CCAF) supervises Monegasque collective investment schemes and licenses portfolio-management and advisory activity, so a discretionary mandate run from Monaco needs an authorized firm behind it before the first trade.
Monaco's market serves private-client wealth management rather than large-scale fund domiciliation, so the typical engagement centers on a licensed manager or a family-office mandate. When a client also needs collective vehicles or cross-border fund access, we coordinate those through other European domiciles and keep them aligned with the Monaco relationship.
05
Regulatory & Licensing
The CCAF authorizes and supervises portfolio-management firms, financial-advisory firms and Monegasque collective investment schemes. AML/CFT supervision is conducted by SICCFIN (the Service d'Information et de Contrôle sur les Circuits Financiers) under Monegasque law aligned with international standards.
A beneficial-ownership register is maintained, and the principality participates in MONEYVAL evaluations of its anti-money-laundering framework. Matters before the CCAF and SICCFIN are run through locally admitted avocats and licensed providers. We coordinate that engagement and never speak for the regulator ourselves.
06
Tax & Treaty Posture
We plan residency around Monaco's tax position and the home-country rules that sit behind it. Residents pay no personal income tax, subject to limited exceptions, the principal one for French nationals under the 1963 bilateral treaty with France, and there is no wealth or property tax. The tax rules of the country being left usually decide the timing.
Companies that derive a substantial share of their income from activities outside the principality may be subject to business profits tax, so corporate structuring requires care. Monaco participates in the OECD Common Reporting Standard and exchange-of-information commitments. Tax outcomes are residency- and fact-specific and are developed with Monegasque counsel and advisers; this page is educational and is not tax advice.