BVI Trust Formation: Why There’s No BVI Foundation
Foreign investors and families researching offshore wealth structures frequently type “BVI foundation” into a search engine, expecting to find a civil-law-style entity similar to what exists in Panama, Liechtenstein, or Nevis. That entity does not exist under British Virgin Islands law, and no amount of searching will turn up a genuine BVI Foundations Act, because the BVI legislature has never passed one. What the British Virgin Islands does offer, and offers with considerable sophistication, is one of the world’s most developed offshore trust regimes, built around the Trustee Act and a purpose-built innovation called the VISTA trust.
The distinction matters because a foundation is a specific legal term of art. It requires enabling legislation that creates a separate legal person governed by a Foundation Charter and a Foundation Council, distinct from both a company and a trust. The BVI took a different legislative path. Rather than creating a foundation regime, it modernised its Trustee Act and, in 2003, introduced the Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act (VISTA) specifically so that settlors could retain control of an underlying BVI company inside a trust structure without a trustee second-guessing every commercial decision. For BVI trust formation purposes, this trust-and-company combination is the jurisdiction’s functional answer to what a foundation does elsewhere.
This guide sets out how a BVI trust actually works, how a VISTA trust differs from an ordinary trust, how a Private Trust Company is formed, who is licensed to form these structures, what BVI FSC’s own published fees are, and how BVI trust formation compares to the true foundation regimes in Nevis, the Cayman Islands and Seychelles. Every legal claim, fee, and process step below is sourced exclusively from the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (bvifsc.vg), BVI gazetted legislation, the BVI International Tax Authority, and, where a comparison jurisdiction is discussed, that jurisdiction’s own official financial services regulator.
What Is a BVI Trust, and Why Is There No BVI Foundation?
The Legal Reality: The BVI Has No Foundations Act
The BVI Financial Services Commission’s own Corporate Structures page sets out every legal person and legal arrangement that can be formed in the Virgin Islands. The legal persons are BVI Business Companies (formed under the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004), Limited Partnerships (formed under the Limited Partnership Act, 2017), and Micro Business Companies, which are currently suspended pending further notice. The legal arrangements are Express Trusts, governed by the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 303), and Virgin Islands Special Trusts (VISTA). A foundation does not appear anywhere on that list, because the BVI has never enacted a Foundations Act. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
BVI’s Trust-Based Alternative to a Foundation
In practice, the combination of a standard trust or VISTA trust with an underlying BVI Business Company, often administered through a Private Trust Company, replicates most of what a foundation does in other jurisdictions: holding family assets, planning succession across generations, and separating legal ownership from beneficial enjoyment. The vocabulary differs. A foundation has a Founder, a Charter, a Council and Beneficiaries; a BVI trust has a Settlor, a Trust Instrument, a Trustee and Beneficiaries. But the underlying commercial objective for BVI trust formation, whether asset protection, orderly succession, or holding a family business, tends to be the same. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
Why Investors Still Search for “BVI Foundation”
Part of the confusion comes from how offshore structures are actually used in practice. It is common for a Nevis or Cayman foundation, formed under that jurisdiction’s own foundation statute, to sit above a BVI Business Company that in turn conducts trading or holds investments. That layered structure is sometimes marketed loosely as a “BVI foundation package” even though the foundation itself is registered in Nevis, Cayman, or elsewhere, and only the underlying company is BVI. Investors should treat any consultancy offer of a “BVI Foundation Charter” filed with a BVI Registrar with caution, since no such filing process exists under BVI law; the description below explains what BVI FSC-licensed providers can actually deliver.
How Does a Standard BVI Trust Work Under the Trustee Act?
Governing Law: The Trustee Act (Revised Edition)
The main statutory source for BVI trust formation is the Trustee Act (Cap. 303, Revised Edition), which has been strengthened through a series of amendment acts in 1993, 2003, 2013, 2015 and, most significantly, 2021. Trusts formed under the Trustee Act are not required to be registered with any BVI government body, which preserves a meaningful degree of confidentiality compared with jurisdictions that maintain a public foundation or trust register. Source: BVI FSC, Trustee Act, Revised Edition.
Settlors, Trustees and Beneficiaries
A BVI trust involves a settlor who transfers assets into the trust, one or more trustees who hold legal title and owe fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries, and beneficiaries who hold the beneficial interest. Trustees are bound to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and, following the amendment acts, owe an express statutory duty to maintain and keep proper trust records. Only a person or entity licensed by BVI FSC as a registered agent, holding a Company Management Licence or General Trust Licence, may be engaged to establish the trust structure. Source: BVI FSC, Trustee Act; BVI FSC FAQ on registered agents.
Perpetuity Period and Reserved Powers
BVI trusts, other than charitable trusts and statutory purpose trusts which may run indefinitely, are subject to a maximum perpetuity period of 360 years, together with a wait-and-see rule under which a disposition only fails if it actually takes effect outside that period. The Trustee (Amendment) Act, 2021, in force from 9 July 2021, significantly strengthened the BVI’s reserved-powers regime, expressly confirming that a settlor may reserve powers such as the power to change the trust’s governing law, remove and appoint trustees, remove and appoint beneficiaries, and consent to a trustee’s exercise of its powers, without invalidating the trust or drawing the trust assets back into the settlor’s estate on death. Source: BVI FSC, Trustee Act, Revised Edition.
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What Is a VISTA Trust and How Does It Differ From an Ordinary Trust?
The Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act, 2003
The Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands introduced the Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act in 2003, and it came into force on 1 March 2004. It was refined by amendments in 2013 and 2021. VISTA makes special provision for trusts of shares in BVI companies, and its central purpose is to solve what practitioners call the prudent investor problem, where an ordinary trustee’s duty to diversify and manage risk conflicts with a settlor’s wish to keep a family or operating company under long-term, undiluted trustee control. Source: BVI FSC, VISTA page.
The Statutory Duty to Retain Shares
Under a VISTA trust, the trustee has a statutory duty to retain the shares of the BVI company subject to the trust, and the ordinary duty to preserve or enhance the value of the trust fund becomes secondary to that retention duty. VISTA also prohibits trustees from intervening in the management of the underlying company except in specific circumstances set out in the trust instrument, and it provides mechanisms for appointing and removing the company’s directors in accordance with the trust’s terms. This removes the trustee from day-to-day oversight of the company’s commercial decisions, which is the opposite of how an ordinary trust operates. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page; BVI FSC, VISTA page.
Who Uses a VISTA Trust, and the Licensed-Trustee Requirement
A VISTA trust’s assets must consist of shares in a BVI Business Company, transferred into the name of the trustee, and at least one of the trustees must be a BVI-licensed trust company or a BVI Private Trust Company acting as trustee. VISTA trusts are typically used by families with closely held or family-owned businesses, particularly where there is a sole director and shareholder who wants the business to continue operating independently after their death or incapacity, and for trust assets invested in ventures that a traditional trustee would treat as high risk under the ordinary prudent investor rule. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
The table below compares the BVI’s three main trust-based structures.
| Feature | Standard Trust (Trustee Act) | VISTA Trust | Private Trust Company (PTC) |
| Governing Law | Trustee Act (Cap. 303, Revised Edition) | Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act, 2003 | Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007 |
| What It Is | General-purpose trust for any type of asset | A trust designed to hold shares in a BVI company | An unlicensed company that acts as trustee for a related family’s trusts |
| Who May Act as Trustee | Any BVI-licensed trust company or individual trustee | Must include at least one BVI-licensed trust company or a BVI PTC | The PTC itself, once registered |
| Prudent Investor Rule | Applies in the usual way | Displaced by a statutory duty to retain the BVI company’s shares | Not applicable; the PTC is the trustee, not the trust |
| Typical Use Case | General wealth or asset holding | Family-owned or closely held BVI company succession planning | One family group wanting to control its own trustee board |
How Do You Set Up a Private Trust Company (PTC) in the BVI?
The Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007
A Private Trust Company, or PTC, is a BVI company that acts as trustee for the trusts of a single family or a defined group of connected persons without needing to hold a full trust licence. The Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007 exempt a PTC from the trust licence requirement provided its trust business consists solely of related trust business or unremunerated trust business, meaning it only administers trusts connected to the family that owns it and does not charge unrelated third parties for trustee services. Source: BVI FSC, Trust Business division; Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007.
Naming Rules and Board Composition
A PTC’s name must end with the designation “PTC” placed immediately before its corporate suffix, such as “Limited”, and the name must not include “trust”, “trustee”, “trust company”, “trust corporation”, “fiduciary”, or any derivative of those words, since the PTC is not a licensed trust company. There is no statutory requirement as to who may sit on a PTC’s board, so it can be constituted entirely by family members or their trusted advisors, although professional administration is common and generally recommended for governance and continuity reasons. Source: BVI FSC, Trust Business division.
Registration Fees and Ongoing Record-Keeping
BVI FSC’s published fee for PTC registration is US$1,500 as an initial registration fee, with a further US$1,500 payable annually thereafter. A PTC must keep up-to-date copies of the trust deed, or other document creating or evidencing each relevant trust it administers, together with any variations, and must retain the underlying know-your-client documentation and other records at its office in the BVI. Source: BVI FSC, Trust Business division, Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007.
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Who Can Form a BVI Trust? Registered Agent and Licensing Requirements
Only Licensed TCSPs May Form BVI Trusts and Companies
BVI FSC’s Corporate Structures page states plainly that only Trust and Corporate Services Providers, categorised as registered agents, are permitted to form legal persons and legal arrangements in the Virgin Islands. There is no self-filing route for BVI trust formation. A registered agent takes an applicant through name reservation, disclosure and vetting of proposed beneficial owners, drafting of the trust instrument or company’s memorandum and articles, any required licence or permit applications, and payment of government fees. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
Company Management Licence vs. General Trust Licence
To become a BVI registered agent, an applicant must hold either a Company Management Licence or a General Trust Licence issued by BVI FSC. The minimum requirements for a Company Management Licence are proven company management experience, a minimum paid-up capital of US$25,000, and a physical presence in the BVI, with an application fee of US$200. BVI FSC has also indicated that, other than for institutions of clear international standing that will bring services not otherwise available in the jurisdiction, licences are generally granted to locally owned entities with a physical BVI presence. A General Trust Licence, by contrast, authorises the fuller range of fiduciary and trust administration services described in the fee schedule below. Source: BVI FSC FAQ, Company Management Licence requirements.
Fit-and-Proper and AML/CFT Requirements
BVI FSC will only issue a licence where it is satisfied that the applicant meets the requirements of the relevant Act and Regulatory Code, satisfies the Commission’s fit-and-proper criteria covering honesty, integrity, reputation, competence, capability and financial soundness, has adequate organisation, management and financial resources for the business proposed, and where issuing the licence is not against the public interest. Once licensed, Trust and Corporate Services Providers fall under BVI FSC’s prudential and AML/CFT/CPF oversight and must follow the Commission’s published TCSP anti-money-laundering guidance when forming and administering trusts, PTCs and BVI companies. Source: BVI FSC, licensing criteria and TCSP AML/CFT guidance.
What Fees and Costs Apply to BVI Trust Formation?
BVI FSC Trust and Company Management Licence Fee Schedule
BVI FSC publishes its licence fees under the Financial Services Commission (Fees) Regulations, 2010, and these fees are subject to change. The table below sets out the published figures for the main routes into BVI trust formation as a licensed provider, current as of BVI FSC’s Fees page.
| Licence / Registration | Application Fee | Licence or Registration Fee | Annual Renewal Fee |
| Company Management Licence | US$200 | Assessed on application (fit-and-proper basis) | Assessed annually |
| Class I Trust Licence | US$1,000 | US$16,000 (granted before 1 July) / US$8,000 (after 30 June) | US$16,000 |
| Class II Trust Licence | US$1,000 | US$14,000 (granted before 1 July) / US$7,000 (after 30 June) | US$14,000 |
| Restricted Class II Trust Licence (up to 10 trusts) | US$500 | US$1,000 (before 1 July) / US$500 (after 30 June) | US$1,000 |
| Private Trust Company (PTC) Registration | N/A | US$1,500 initial registration fee | US$1,500 |
PTC Registration Fees Compared with a Full Trust Licence
The gap between a US$1,500-a-year PTC registration and a Class I Trust Licence’s US$16,000 annual renewal fee explains why the PTC route, exempted under the Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007, is by far the most commonly chosen structure for a single family that only wants to act as trustee for its own trusts and does not intend to offer trustee services to unrelated clients. A family that later wants to offer fiduciary services commercially to third parties would need to move to a full Class I or Class II Trust Licence instead. Source: BVI FSC, Fees page; Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007.
Underlying BVI Company Incorporation Costs
Where a VISTA trust or PTC structure holds shares in an underlying BVI Business Company, that company’s own registration and annual government fees are set out in Schedule 1 to the BVI Business Companies Act (Revised Edition 2020). Schedule 1 has been amended by Cabinet Order multiple times, most recently by the BVI Business Companies (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order, 2025 (S.I. No. 62 of 2025), which confirmed a US$75 fee for requesting an entry from the Register of Beneficial Ownership and a US$50 fee for a beneficial ownership disclosure exemption application. Because the underlying incorporation and annual registry fee bands vary by a company’s authorised share structure and have changed several times since 2016, a licensed registered agent should always be asked to confirm the current figure for a specific structure rather than relying on a single flat number. Source: BVI FSC, BVI Business Companies (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order, 2025.
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How Does BVI Trust Formation Compare to Real Foundations in Nevis, Cayman, and Seychelles?
Nevis Multiform Foundations
Nevis enacted the Multiform Foundations Ordinance in 2004, later amended, which allows the establishment and registration of foundations regulated by the Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission. Its defining feature is the multiform concept: a Nevis foundation’s constitution states whether it is to be treated as a trust, a company, a partnership, or an ordinary foundation, and that stated identity can be changed during the foundation’s lifetime. Nevis foundations are used for estate planning, charitable purposes, and special investment holding arrangements, and can elect to become tax-resident in Nevis at a modest rate rather than remaining tax-exempt. Source: Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission.
Cayman Islands Foundation Companies
The Cayman Islands took a company-based route with the Foundation Companies Act, 2017, which came into force on 18 October 2017 and has since been consolidated with later amendments. A Cayman foundation company is a hybrid entity combining features of a company and a trust, retains its own separate legal personality, and is used for succession planning, asset protection, charitable giving, and commercial transactions. Foundation companies file beneficial ownership details with the Cayman Islands General Registry through its Corporate Administration Platform, and amendments to a foundation company’s memorandum must generally be filed with the Registrar within 15 days. Source: Cayman Islands General Registry; Foundation Companies Act, 2025 Revision.
Seychelles Foundations
Seychelles enacted its Foundations Act in 2009, providing a dedicated legal basis for establishing, managing, and dissolving foundations with their own separate legal personality. Foundations must register with the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, which oversees the registries for foundations, international business companies, limited partnerships, and trusts, by submitting a foundation charter and paying the applicable fees. Source: Seychelles Financial Services Authority.
| Jurisdiction | Legal Basis | Regulator | Key Feature |
| British Virgin Islands (trust, not foundation) | Trustee Act (Cap. 303) / Virgin Islands Special Trusts Act, 2003 | BVI Financial Services Commission (bvifsc.vg) | No separate foundation legal person exists; a VISTA trust instead retains BVI company shares under trustee control |
| Nevis | Multiform Foundations Ordinance, 2004 (as amended) | Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission (nevisfsrc.com) | Foundation can elect multiform treatment as a trust, company or partnership |
| Cayman Islands | Foundation Companies Act, 2017 (2025 Revision) | Cayman Islands General Registry (ciregistry.ky) | Foundation company is a hybrid of a company and a trust with its own legal personality |
| Seychelles | Foundations Act, 2009 | Seychelles Financial Services Authority (fsaseychelles.sc) | Registered by charter directly with the FSA; separate legal personality from formation |
What Ongoing Compliance Applies After a BVI Trust Is Established?
Beneficial Ownership Filing Through VIRRGIN
Where a trust or other legal arrangement sits in the ownership chain of a BVI legal entity, the beneficial owners of that trust must generally be identified for beneficial ownership purposes, save for an important exception: where the entity has a licensed BVI trustee, only the trustee’s own details need to be filed, provided the trustee holds the underlying beneficial ownership information and can produce it within 24 hours of a Registry request. Save for certain exceptions, BVI companies and limited partnerships must file beneficial ownership information within 30 days of incorporation, registration, or continuation. From 2 January 2025, these filings moved from the BOSS Act system onto the BVI’s VIRRGIN online platform, and a US$75 fee now applies to a request to inspect or receive a copy of an entry in the Register of Beneficial Ownership. Source: BVI FSC, Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act (Revised 2020); S.I. No. 62 of 2025.
Economic Substance: Why BVI Trusts Are Excluded
The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 requires BVI companies and limited partnerships that carry on one of nine defined relevant activities, such as holding company business, finance and leasing business, or fund management business, to be directed and managed in the BVI, conduct core income-generating activities there, and maintain adequate employees, expenditure and premises relative to that activity. The Act’s own scope, as confirmed through the BVI International Tax Authority’s guidance, applies specifically to legal entities, meaning companies and limited partnerships, and expressly does not extend to trusts or general partnerships. A BVI trust or VISTA trust itself therefore carries no economic substance filing obligation, although an underlying BVI company held by the trust may still need to assess its own relevant-activity status separately. Source: BVI International Tax Authority, Economic Substance Rules.
Annual Returns and Ongoing Registered Agent Duties
A BVI Business Company held within a trust or PTC structure must maintain a registered office and registered agent in the BVI at all times, and the company itself must keep records of its transactions and financial position. The registered agent is required to maintain, at its office, the company’s memorandum and articles, register of members, register of directors, and copies of all notices and documents filed with the Registry, and it bears responsibility for filing statutory documents and acting as the point of contact for regulatory correspondence. Losing a registered agent, or falling out of good standing with annual fee payments, places the underlying company in breach of its statutory obligations, which can in turn disrupt the VISTA trust or PTC structure sitting above it. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page; BVI FSC FAQ on registered agents.
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Practical tips for BVI trust formation
- Do not pay for a “BVI Foundation” package before confirming with your provider exactly which BVI FSC-licensed vehicle you are actually buying. Ask them to name the specific BVI statute involved; if they cannot cite the Trustee Act, the VISTA Act, or the Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007, you are likely being sold undefined terminology rather than a real BVI legal structure.
- If your main goal is to keep a family-owned BVI company under long-term settlor-friendly control rather than have a trustee manage it as an investment, ask specifically about a VISTA trust rather than a standard trust, since VISTA displaces the ordinary prudent investor rule by design.
- If you only need a trustee for your own family’s trusts and have no intention of offering fiduciary services to third parties, a Private Trust Company registered under the Financial Services (Exemptions) Regulations, 2007 is usually far cheaper than a full Class I or Class II Trust Licence.
- Confirm your registered agent’s licence status directly against BVI FSC’s public list of regulated entities before engaging them, since only a Company Management Licence or General Trust Licence holder may lawfully form a BVI trust, PTC, or company on your behalf.
- If you specifically need a true foundation, with its own Founder, Charter and Council, rather than a trust, compare Nevis, the Cayman Islands, and Seychelles directly with your advisor, since each has its own dedicated Foundations or Foundation Companies statute that the BVI does not.
How can BusinessSetupHQ help with BVI trust formation?
Choosing between a standard BVI trust, a VISTA trust, a Private Trust Company, and a foundation in an entirely different jurisdiction is a decision with real legal and cost consequences, and the wrong choice, or a structure built on a misunderstanding of what the BVI actually offers, can be expensive and slow to unwind. Clients who first ask us about a BVI foundation almost always end up choosing one of these BVI trust formation routes once the distinction is explained. The terminology alone, foundation versus trust, settlor versus founder, trustee versus council, trips up even experienced investors who are used to civil-law structures.
BusinessSetupHQ’s team brings more than 22 years of combined experience guiding foreign investors and families through UAE and international corporate structuring, including coordinating with BVI FSC-licensed registered agents for trust, VISTA trust, and PTC formation, and advising on how a BVI structure sits alongside a UAE holding company, bank account, or residency plan. We work only through properly licensed providers in every jurisdiction we recommend, and we verify every fee and process step against the relevant regulator before presenting it to a client.
Contact BusinessSetupHQ at businesssetuphq.com for a free consultation on whether a BVI trust, a VISTA trust, a PTC, or a true foundation in another jurisdiction best fits your wealth-structuring goals.
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Frequently asked questions about BVI foundations and trust formation
No. The British Virgin Islands has never enacted a Foundations Act. BVI FSC’s own Corporate Structures page lists only BVI Business Companies, Limited Partnerships, Micro Business Companies, Express Trusts and VISTA Trusts as the legal persons and arrangements available in the territory. Anyone offering a “BVI Foundation” as a distinct legal entity is describing something that does not exist under BVI law. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
A foundation is its own separate legal person from the moment it is created, governed by a Charter and managed by a Council, with the founder typically stepping back from ownership entirely. A BVI trust is not a separate legal person; instead, a trustee holds legal title to the trust assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries under the terms of a trust instrument, and a settlor may retain significant reserved powers over the trust under the Trustee (Amendment) Act, 2021. Source: BVI FSC, Trustee Act, Revised Edition.
A VISTA trust is used specifically to hold shares in a BVI Business Company while displacing the ordinary prudent investor rule, so the trustee retains the company’s shares rather than diversifying them, and generally does not intervene in the company’s day-to-day management. It is most often used by families with a closely held or family-owned BVI operating company who want that business to continue running independently after the founder’s death or incapacity. Source: BVI FSC, VISTA page.
Yes. BVI trust formation is designed for international settlors and beneficiaries, and there is no BVI residency or nationality requirement to establish a trust, VISTA trust, or PTC. The trust itself must still be formed through a BVI FSC-licensed registered agent holding a Company Management Licence or General Trust Licence, and at least one trustee of a VISTA trust must be a licensed BVI trust company or a BVI PTC. Source: BVI FSC, Corporate Structures page.
Costs depend on the structure chosen. A Private Trust Company can be registered for a US$1,500 initial fee plus a US$1,500 annual fee, while a full Class I Trust Licence carries a US$1,000 application fee, a US$16,000 or US$8,000 licence fee depending on the grant date, and a US$16,000 annual renewal fee. Underlying BVI company incorporation and annual registry fees are set out in Schedule 1 to the BVI Business Companies Act and vary by authorised share structure, so a licensed registered agent should confirm the current figure for your specific structure. Source: BVI FSC, Fees page.
Where a trust sits in the ownership chain of a BVI company or limited partnership, its beneficial owners generally must be identified for beneficial ownership filing purposes, filed within 30 days of the underlying entity’s incorporation, registration, or continuation, now via the VIRRGIN platform since 2 January 2025. An important exception applies where the entity has a licensed BVI trustee: only the trustee’s own details need to be filed, provided the trustee can produce the underlying information within 24 hours of a Registry request. Source: BVI FSC, Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act, Revised Edition.
No. The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 applies only to BVI companies and limited partnerships that carry on a relevant activity, and it expressly does not extend to trusts or general partnerships. An underlying BVI company held by a trust may still need to assess its own economic substance position separately if it carries on a relevant activity. Source: BVI International Tax Authority, Economic Substance Rules.
If a genuine foundation, with its own Founder, Charter and Council and separate legal personality from formation, is the actual requirement, Nevis, the Cayman Islands and Seychelles each have a dedicated statute the BVI lacks: the Multiform Foundations Ordinance, 2004 in Nevis, the Foundation Companies Act, 2017 in the Cayman Islands, and the Foundations Act, 2009 in Seychelles. A BVI trust or VISTA trust remains the right choice where the goal is trustee-based control of an underlying BVI operating company rather than a standalone foundation entity. Source: Nevis Financial Services Regulatory Commission; Cayman Islands General Registry; Seychelles Financial Services Authority.
