- Domiciles
- Bahamas
Domicile · Caribbean
Bahamas.
The Bahamas is the private wealth booking centre. IGUAKO Private Wealth (Bahamas) Ltd. was licensed in 2022, when the Private Wealth & UHNW division moved its booking function from George Town to Bay Street Pavilion. The figures need their denominators. US$356 million of the US$842 million client portfolio is booked through the Bahamas entity, for families covered from Palm Beach, Zürich, Dubai, Singapore, Brisbane and Nassau itself. Of that, US$38 million is attributed to the Caribbean region, being the 12 of the 61 family relationships that Nassau covers directly. The remainder is attributed to the regions whose offices cover the families concerned.
- People in Nassau
- 8
- Client assets booked through the centre
- US$356 million of US$842 million
- Family relationships covered from Nassau
- 12 of 61
- Client portfolio attributed to the Caribbean region
- US$38 million
- Local entity
- IGUAKO Private Wealth (Bahamas) Ltd.
- Entity type
- Licensed investment business company
- Role
- Private wealth booking centre
- City
- Nassau
- Currency
- Bahamian dollar (BSD), at par with the US dollar; client accounts are booked in US dollars, sterling, euro or Swiss francs
- Time zone
- Eastern Time (UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer)
- Languages
- English
- Region
- Caribbean
Presence
Office at Level 6, Bay Street Pavilion, Nassau: eight people, the base of Beatrix Oduya-Ferrante, Head of Private Wealth, with Constance Lindgren-Abubakar as Head of Office.
Why this domicile
- A licensing regime built for private wealth booking, with a settled body of trust and company law.
- Independent custodians and trust companies on the island, so that booking, custody and trust administration are separated by firm as well as by function.
- The Bahamian dollar trades at par with the US dollar, and multi-currency accounts are permitted for non-resident clients.
- Two hours' flight from Palm Beach, where United States principals are covered, and in the same time zone.
The booking entity holds no client assets on its own balance sheet. Securities and cash are held with independent custodians in Nassau and Zürich, and trust assets are administered with Andros Sound Trust Company, a Nassau trust company that has worked with the group since 2022. The custody liaison desk reconciles every position to the custodians' records each business day and reports breaks to George Town the same afternoon. Eight people work in the office: relationship managers, an onboarding team and the custody desk.
Bahamas booking is designed to sit alongside the rest of the network. A family can hold its trust structure through Bay Street Private Trust Company Ltd. or through St Helier, its private equity co-investments through Road Town, and its liquid assets on the Nassau book, and receive one consolidated statement each quarter. Beatrix Oduya-Ferrante reviews every relationship annually, and no relationship is opened until it has passed the Know Your Client policy and the source-of-wealth examination that the division applies to every principal.
Nassau is the largest booking line in the group by client assets and the one where the seventh principle of the Ethical Technology Charter is exercised most often: any family may require a human review of any decision, and 14 such reviews were requested in the year to 30 June 2026, each answered by a named person within ten business days. The 2026 phase of Programme Latitude leaves the booking centre where it is and brings its cash sweeps into the Caribbean treasury cycle run from George Town.
Services booked here
- Booking of private wealth relationships for the 61 families served by the division
- Custody liaison with independent custodians in Nassau and Zürich
- Private-client onboarding and enhanced due diligence
- Private trust company services for family holding structures
- Consolidated reporting across booking, trust and co-investment lines
- Direct coverage of 12 family relationships from Nassau
Local entities
The register.
| Entity | Purpose |
|---|---|
| IGUAKO Private Wealth (Bahamas) Ltd. | Licensed booking entity for the Private Wealth & UHNW division, 2022 |
| IGUAKO Nominees (Bahamas) Ltd. | Nominee company holding registered title for booked positions, 2022 |
| Bay Street Private Trust Company Ltd. | Private trust company for family holding structures, 2023 |
Regulatory approach
IGUAKO Private Wealth (Bahamas) Ltd. holds a licence from the local financial services regulator for the securities and investment business it carries out: dealing as agent, arranging, managing and advising for its clients. It is not a bank, does not accept deposits and does not hold client assets, which are placed with custodians that are themselves licensed in the Bahamas or in Switzerland. The licence requires a physical office, a resident compliance officer, a resident money laundering reporting officer, minimum regulatory capital and an annual audit filed within four months of the year end. Quarterly returns show client assets under administration by custodian and by currency. Bay Street Private Trust Company Ltd. is registered under the local private trust company regime and administers structures for group families only.
Regulatory notices
Six notices for Bahamas.
Each notice combines the group standard with the provisions that apply in this jurisdiction.
Also in the region