Metis Global

Background

Metis Global (Cook Islands) Limited is a subsidiary of Metis Global Group, a Hong Kong-based financial group founded in 2013 by Dr German Cheung. The Cook Islands entity registered as a licensed trustee in 2016, filling the gap left when HSBC Trustee (Cook Islands) Limited exited the jurisdiction in 2015. The group also operates separately regulated entities in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the Cook Islands Finance register of licensed trustee companies, regulated by the Financial Supervisory Commission under the Trustee Companies Act 2014.

What distinguishes this firm

Settlors with existing banking, advisory or family ties to Hong Kong or Singapore may find onboarding smoother through a trustee already regulated and operating in those markets, since Metis provides an access point through either city with the Cook Islands entity serving as the actual licensed trustee. This is a genuine and specific advantage for an Asia-facing client base.

Weighing longevity against regional presence

Metis is a younger institution than firms such as Southpac or Portcullis, both with histories running back to the 1980s. Institutional age matters because trustees with multi-decade track records have administered trusts through actual creditor pressure and reported litigation. Neither factor should be weighed alone. A settlor with strong Asia-market ties may reasonably prioritise regional presence over longer history.

What to verify before instructing

Confirm current licensing on the government register, ask for a written fee schedule rather than a verbal quote, and confirm asset appetite for anything unusual in your portfolio before beginning an application. Ask the seven questions set out under choosing a trustee.

Using this profile alongside other research

This page describes Metis Global's general position in the Cook Islands trustee market based on publicly available information. Metis Global registered in 2016 and has parallel regulated entities in Hong Kong and Singapore. All of this is a starting point rather than a complete picture.

The Cook Islands trustee market is not large, and practitioners who work in it regularly develop working knowledge of each firm that is not available from any public source. Before confirming an engagement with any trustee, it is worth speaking with advisers who have placed clients with the firm and can speak to how it behaves in practice, not just how it presents publicly.

The FSC register at fsc.gov.ck is the authoritative source for current licensing status, managed trustee designation, and any regulatory actions. Reading it directly takes a few minutes and confirms facts that any trustee's own marketing materials have no obligation to make prominent.

Questions specific to this firm

Beyond the seven standard questions set out in choosing a trustee, every trustee conversation should include questions specific to what that firm's public profile either highlights or leaves unclear. For a firm with a strong published track record, the specific question is whether any individual who was responsible for that track record is still present and administering trusts. For a firm with limited public information, the specific question is what substitutes for the public track record in assessing how the firm actually behaves under pressure. For a managed trustee company, the specific question is exactly who makes the fiduciary decisions about your trust and under what governance arrangement.

How the multi-jurisdictional structure works in practice

Metis Global Group operates three licensed entities: Metis Global (Cook Islands) Limited as the Cook Islands trustee, Metis Global Limited in Hong Kong under Hong Kong's Trustee Ordinance and Trust or Company Service Provider licence, and Metis Global (Singapore) Pte. Limited under the Monetary Authority of Singapore. A settlor with banking or advisory relationships in either Asian hub can access the group through those existing relationships, with the Cook Islands entity serving as the actual licensed trustee regardless of where the introduction was made.

The practical benefit is onboarding efficiency. A settlor who already has a relationship with the Hong Kong or Singapore entity, or who can open one through an existing bank or adviser relationship, avoids starting the KYC process from scratch. The due diligence conducted through one entity in the group can inform the Cook Islands trustee's review, reducing the time to completion.

Confirm directly how decisions are coordinated across the three entities, particularly which office would exercise trustee discretion for your specific trust when a duress event or distribution request arises. The multi-jurisdictional structure is an access advantage. The Cook Islands entity is the trustee, and understanding exactly who in that entity makes the relevant fiduciary decisions is the key governance question.

This page describes the firm's general position in the market based on public information. It is not sponsored by or affiliated with the firm, and current services should be confirmed directly.