A company that behaves like a foundation: separate legal person, no owners required, and a long track record as a trust alternative for family wealth.
A Cayman private foundation is a foundation company: an ordinary Cayman company that has opted into the Foundation Companies Act regime, in force since 2017 [1][12]. Unlike a trust, it is a body corporate, so it can hold assets, open accounts and sign contracts in its own name, and practitioners point to that as the reason asset protection is stronger than with a trust [1]. It can be set up with no members at all, as long as it has a Supervisor, and it can pursue any lawful object, including providing for a family [1][2][12]. Law firms list succession planning, asset protection and holding the shares of a private trust company among its main uses [2][3][4]. Cayman levies no corporation, income, withholding or capital gains tax on the company [3].
The four things families and founders actually use it for.
Because the foundation is a body corporate, duties are owed to the company rather than to beneficiaries, and Cayman's Trusts Act firewall provisions, which reject foreign court claims over trust assets, are described by law firms as extending to foundation companies [1][3].
Conyers lists efficient distribution of assets on death without applying for probate, and avoiding forced-heirship rules in civil-law jurisdictions, among the planning uses [2]. It can be built around a family, or around no named beneficiaries at all [2].
The two foundations most often shortlisted for family wealth and succession.
| Cayman Private Foundation | Panama Foundation | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax on the entity | 0% [3] | 0% on foreign-sourced assets/income [13] |
| Legal nature | A company that has opted into the foundation regime; the Companies Act applies with modifications [12] | Civil-law foundation created by Law 25 of 1995 [13] |
| Governance minimum | At least one director, plus a Supervisor if there are no members, and a licensed secretary [1] | Council of at least 3, or one juridical person; optional protector [13] |
| Annual government cost | US$925/yr registry fee at the base tier [7], plus a one-time US$500 foundation application fee [10] | US$400/yr flat Tasa Única [14] |
| Beneficial ownership register | Held by the corporate services provider, not public [6] | Private registry under Law 129 of 2020 |
| Best known for | Common-law-facing succession, PTC structures, firewall protection [1][3][5] | Civil-law estate planning, LatAm-facing founders |
Panama is the civil-law original, modeled on the Liechtenstein Stiftung. Cayman is a common-law foundation company layered onto a company law base. Pick by the legal system your family and assets live in.
The secretary must be licensed under Cayman's Companies Management Act, and the foundation cannot accept asset contributions until the secretary has given notice of no apparent regulatory objection [4]. Expect KYC on the source of assets before the first transfer.
In the law-firm sources we reviewed, CIMA registration is a requirement for private trust companies (initial registration CI$3,500 and an annual declaration due by 31 January), not for foundation companies as such [5]. Otonomos's Starter Kit includes an annual CIMA Filing [15], so confirm with us which structure you are building and what that filing covers for it.
Ogier states that a foundation company limited by guarantee is specifically excluded from Cayman's Economic Substance regime [8], while Conyers describes the ES Act as covering foundation companies [2]. In either case an annual ES notification is filed with the Registry before the annual return [9][11]. Confirm which applies to your setup before relying on the exclusion.
What Otonomos charges to set one up.
| STARTER KIT (REQUIRED BASE) | |
|---|---|
| Incorporation | included |
| Foundation Registration Fee | included |
| Filing Register of Officers and Directors | included |
| Government Fee (annual) | included |
| Corporate Secretary and Address (annual) | included |
| Annual Disbursements (annual) | included |
| CIMA Filing (annual) | included |
| Total | $12,480 |
| PACKAGES | |
|---|---|
| Foundation Holding: Full Apostille KYC/AML Kit, U.S. fiat bank account opening, Guidance | $9,000 |
| Private Foundation: Corporate Nominee Director, Full Apostille KYC/AML Kit, U.S. fiat bank account, Crypto Exchange Account Opening | $13,000 |
| POPULAR ADD-ONS | |
|---|---|
| Corporate Nominee Director | $4,800/yr |
| Nominee Shareholder | $2,400/yr |
| Full Apostille KYC/AML Kit | $2,000 |
| Cross-jurisdictional Guidance & Structuring Advice | $2,000 |
| Express Filing | $840 |
| Crypto Exchange Account Opening | $1,200 |
| Skyline Digital OTC account opening | $1,200 |
| Fiat bank account (U.S.) | $5,000 |
The order page has the live pricing, add-ons and checkout. This page was just the homework.
Yes, through reserved powers written into the constitution, such as appointing and removing directors or designating beneficiaries. Once the foundation exists it cannot be revoked, so the powers you want need to be drafted in at the start [2].
No. Beneficial ownership information is held by the corporate services provider and accessible only to listed bodies such as law enforcement, CIMA and licensed financial institutions. Cabinet can allow public access in future, but that has not happened [6].