A family investment holding company
A family holds its securities portfolio through one Cyprus company with accounts at one or more custodians, so the investments sit in a single audited company with one set of owners on record.
Ownership chart
- Parent A owns 40% — Investment holding company
- Parent B owns 40% — Investment holding company
- Adult child owns 20% — Investment holding company
- Portfolio manager: manages — Investment holding company
A family that invests together often holds its portfolio through one company. The company opens the custody accounts, signs the portfolio-management mandate and receives the income, and the family owns shares in the company instead of separate accounts. A new shareholder, a gift or an inheritance then becomes a transfer of shares, recorded in one register.
This page uses a Cyprus company. A BVI business company is also used for family holdings, but the BVI has been on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring since June 2025 and on the EU list of high-risk third countries since January 2026, so EU custodians apply enhanced due diligence to it; it also files only a simple financial return with its registered agent, with no audit. A Cyprus company files audited IFRS accounts every year — only the smallest may have a review instead — and its beneficial owners are in an EU register that custodians can consult. Cyprus was an early adopter of the Common Reporting Standard.
Custodians open the accounts on the strength of the company’s file: its constitution and registers, a chart down to the family members that matches the Cyprus register, a tax residence certificate, audited accounts, the family’s source of wealth, and a self-certification for the Common Reporting Standard and FATCA. The auditor works from the same evidence, with the custodians’ year-end statements reconciled to the books.
Who is the beneficial owner
There is no layer between the family and the company, so the table shows the shares as held — 40% for each parent and 20% for the adult child. Both parents are above the 25% line and are beneficial owners. The child is below it and is a beneficial owner only through control by other means, for example if a family agreement pools the votes. No one holds more than half, so no one controls the company through shares alone. The portfolio manager runs the investments under a mandate and holds no shares, and the custodians keep the securities for the company; neither is an owner of it.
| Person | Through shares | Through a role |
|---|---|---|
| Parent A | 40% | — |
| Parent B | 40% | — |
| Adult child | 20% | — |
What each layer files and keeps
- 01
The family
Identity and address, tax residence and source of wealth for each shareholder, the source of the money put into the company, and any agreement between them on votes, dividends and transfers of shares.
- 02
The holding company
Registers of members and directors, the beneficial-ownership filing and its annual confirmation, audited IFRS accounts, the HE32 annual return and the tax return, a tax residence certificate, and board minutes approving the investment policy, the custody accounts and the management mandate.
- 03
The custody accounts
The documents each custodian took at account opening, the self-certification for the Common Reporting Standard and FATCA, the portfolio-management mandate, and the statements for every account, reconciled to the company's books at each year end.
What to watch
- Custodians are obliged entities. They can see the core entries in the Cyprus beneficial-ownership register for €3.50, and a discrepancy they report leads the Registrar to ask the company to answer within 30 days
- Each custodian reports the account every year under the Common Reporting Standard to its own tax authority, which passes the information to the countries concerned; the self-certification it relies on must be kept current
- From 1 January 2026 EU reporting follows the 2023 update of the standard, which adds e-money and central bank digital currencies; crypto-assets held with a crypto-asset service provider are reported separately under DAC8, with first exchanges by 30 September 2027
- In Cyprus the company pays 15% on interest, while dividends received and gains on shares and bonds are generally exempt
- Decisions on the portfolio are taken and minuted by the board in Cyprus; banks and treaty partners look for them, not only a registered office
What the dossier keeps
- The ownership chart and the family's agreement, with each shareholder's identity file
- Every custodian's account documents and self-certifications, kept current
- Year-end custodian statements reconciled to the audited accounts
- The calendar of the company's filings — beneficial-ownership confirmation, accounts, annual return and tax return
Jurisdictions in this structure
General information, not advice. Facts are stated as of the date on each page. Law, lists and rates change; the professional who acts for the entity confirms what applies to it. Chrysos performs no regulated act and gives no legal or tax advice.
- Registrar of Companies — Beneficial Ownership Register guidance, version 2.1
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Cyprus, income determination
- Trident Trust — Summary of Cyprus's 2026 tax reforms
- European Commission — DAC8, crypto-assets and the CRS update
- New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs — FATF jurisdictions under increased monitoring, June 2026
- Maples — BVI business companies, requirements for new annual returns