Frequently asked questions

A TCSP is a business licensed in Hong Kong to form and administer companies and trusts on behalf of clients — for example acting as company secretary, providing a registered office, or serving as trustee. Since 2018 anyone carrying on this business in Hong Kong must hold a TCSP licence issued by the Companies Registry. Aegivest One Limited holds Licence No. TC009123.

Yes. Aegivest One Limited is a licensed TCSP, Licence No. TC009123. You can confirm this yourself on the public TCSP licensee register kept by the Companies Registry of Hong Kong — a licence is only meaningful if you can check it, so we encourage you to do so.

We form and administer companies and trusts for families and their businesses, and we hold and safeguard assets as trustee and custodian. In practice that spans company setup and secretarial work, trust and fiduciary structuring, asset custody and succession, nominee arrangements, and ongoing administration and compliance. Each service states the licence or professional basis it stands on.

A law firm gives legal advice and an accounting firm handles audit and tax filings; we are the licensed provider that builds and runs the structure day to day — forming the company, acting as trustee or custodian, and keeping it compliant. We work alongside your lawyers and accountants rather than replacing them, and we bring them in where regulated advice is needed.

There is no fixed threshold. What matters more is a real need — a business to hold, a family to provide for, or assets to safeguard across borders. A first conversation is the best way to find out whether a structure is worth building for your situation; it is confidential and without obligation.

A family trust is a legal arrangement where you (the settlor) transfer assets to a trustee, who holds and manages them for the people you choose (the beneficiaries) under rules you set out in a trust deed. Legal ownership passes to the trustee, but the benefit belongs to your family — which is what lets a trust protect assets, plan succession, and keep wealth together across generations.

You give up legal ownership — that is what makes a trust effective — but you do not give up influence. Through the trust deed, a letter of wishes, and roles such as a protector, you can shape how and when assets are used. A good structure balances genuine legal separation with your family’s intentions; we walk you through exactly what you keep and what you hand over before anything is signed.

A will only takes effect after you pass away and usually must go through a court probate process before anything is distributed. A trust operates while you are alive and can continue seamlessly afterwards, without waiting on probate — which is why families use trusts for continuity, privacy and protection a will alone cannot provide. Many families use both together.

A trust can hold a wide range of assets — shares in a family company, investment portfolios, real estate, other valuables, and, increasingly, digital assets such as cryptocurrency. For digital assets the trust provides the ownership and succession framework, while the coins themselves sit with a licensed custodian — the Digital assets & Web3 section below explains exactly how that works. The right structure depends on what you are holding and where it is located, which is part of what we map out with you at the start.

No, and we are clear about this. Aegivest One is a licensed TCSP and acts as trustee under that licence; we are not registered as a trust company under the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29), and we do not provide statutory estate administration. Where a matter calls for a registered trust company or court-supervised administration, we tell you and work with the right professionals.

It depends on the complexity of your assets and the due-diligence checks involved, but a straightforward structure is typically a matter of weeks rather than months. We give you a realistic timeline once we understand your situation, rather than a one-size-fits-all promise.

In short: a company name, at least one director and one shareholder (who can be the same person and need not be a Hong Kong resident), a Hong Kong registered address, and a company secretary. We handle the incorporation and the ongoing statutory obligations so the structure stays in good standing.

Yes. Hong Kong companies can be owned and directed by non-residents, which is one reason the city is widely used by cross-border founders and families. You will still need a local registered address and a company secretary, both of which we provide.

Every Hong Kong company must appoint a company secretary, who maintains the statutory records and makes the required filings with the Companies Registry. It is a compliance role, not a decision-making one. We act as company secretary for the companies we administer, so these obligations are met on time.

Every Hong Kong company must have a local registered address where official correspondence is sent. Yes — we provide a registered office address as part of our corporate services, and we handle the official mail that arrives there on your behalf.

We cannot open or guarantee a bank account — only the bank can decide that. What we do is prepare a clean, well-documented application and a compliant structure so the bank can complete its own checks efficiently. We are honest about this up front, because no reputable provider can promise a bank’s approval.

Custody means we safeguard and administer assets on your behalf, as custodian, keeping them distinct from the firm’s own assets. The assets sit in properly designated accounts and structures; our role is to hold, record and protect them, not to trade them.

No — we do not deal in securities or virtual assets ourselves. Where a structure needs to hold investments, the actual buying and selling is executed by licensed third-party brokers, while we act solely as trustee and/or custodian. We structure and safeguard; regulated dealing stays with those authorised to do it.

That is exactly what a trust or a well-designed holding structure is for. Because the trustee already holds the assets under rules you set, succession can continue without the delay and public process of court probate — your beneficiaries receive what you intended, in the way you intended.

Segregation means client assets are held separately from the firm’s own assets and from those of other clients. It is a core safeguard: your assets are identifiable as yours and are not exposed to the firm’s own affairs. This is a structural principle, built into how we hold and record everything.

Yes. A trust or holding company we administer can own digital-asset wealth — Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies — as part of a family’s or founder’s balance sheet. The structure is the legal owner and provides the governance and succession framework; the coins themselves are safeguarded by an appropriately licensed custodian rather than by us. Put simply: we build the sophisticated owner around your digital assets, while a licensed custodian holds the keys.

Because a personal wallet dies with its private key. Holding digital-asset wealth through a trust or company gives you what a wallet cannot: an orderly succession plan if something happens to you, protection against a single lost key or device, clear rules over who can move what, and a recognised legal owner your bank, auditor and family can all understand. For serious holders, the structure is what turns a private stash into wealth that can be governed and inherited.

We are the structuring and administration partner for digital-asset founders. Under our TCSP licence we form and run the corporate or holding structure behind your project — company setup, company secretary and registered office, nominee and governance arrangements, and ongoing compliance — so your regulated activity sits on a clean, credible legal foundation. The licensed exchange or custody work stays with the licensed operators; the structure around it is ours to build and keep in good standing.

No — and we are deliberate about it. Aegivest One is a licensed TCSP, not a VASP; we do not exchange, deal in, or hold the private keys to virtual assets ourselves. That is a feature, not a limitation: regulated custody and dealing are performed by appropriately licensed parties, while we provide the trust and corporate structure that legally owns the assets — giving you institutional-grade separation between the owner (the structure we run) and the custodian (a licensed specialist).

Think of it as two layers. The custody layer — a licensed custodian or exchange — safeguards the private keys and carries out any dealing. The ownership layer — the trust or company we administer — is the legal owner that appoints the custodian, sets the rules for who may instruct it, and carries the wealth to the next generation. We run the ownership layer and work alongside the custodian you choose, so the two fit together cleanly with clear responsibilities on each side.

As a licensed TCSP, we are legally required to verify who our clients are and understand the source of their funds — the same anti-money-laundering standards banks follow. Thorough checks are not a lack of trust; they are what makes a structure legitimate and durable, and they protect you as much as us.

Typically proof of identity and address, information about the source of funds and wealth, and details of the business or assets involved. The exact list depends on your situation and the structure; we tell you what is needed up front so there are no surprises.

We help you present a clean, well-documented case and a compliant structure so that a bank or broker can complete its own assessment. The account-opening rules of every jurisdiction must be met — we will not look for shortcuts around them, and if a case cannot be done compliantly, we will tell you plainly.

Yes. Client information is treated as confidential and handled only for legitimate professional and legal purposes. Confidentiality, however, operates within the law — it never means concealing information we are legally required to hold or disclose.

Yes. A large part of what we do is help families and founders based outside Hong Kong use Hong Kong structures to hold and safeguard cross-border assets and businesses. The due-diligence process is the same for everyone, wherever you are based.

Tax depends on your own residence and circumstances, and it is not something we advise on. We structure and administer; for tax questions we work with qualified tax advisers so you get proper advice. Anything on this site is general information, not tax advice.

Hong Kong combines a stable common-law legal system, a well-established trust and company framework, free movement of capital, and a licensed, regulated fiduciary sector. For families holding assets across borders, that mix makes it a practical and credible base — which is why it is where we operate.

It starts with a confidential conversation to understand what you are protecting and who it is for. From there we propose a structure, complete due diligence, and then form and administer it — with clear steps and clear responsibilities at each stage. You always know who is authorised for what.

Fees depend on the structure and the scope of ongoing administration involved, so we set them out clearly once we understand your needs — no hidden charges. We would rather quote you accurately for your situation than publish a number that does not fit it.

No. A first conversation is confidential and without obligation. Its purpose is to understand your situation and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.

Absolutely. Most families and founders begin with questions, not decisions. A first conversation carries no obligation, and if a structure is not right for you, we will say so.