20 February 2008
Jersey has introduced a new fund regime that will allow it to generate additional business from sophisticated investors.
The new laws, termed the ‘Unregulated Fund Regime’, have been introduced to compete more effectively with other jurisdictions such as Guernsey and the Cayman Islands. The new regime allows a fund to be launched without regulatory assessment and provides the ability to respond quickly to market opportunities.
The regime also recognises that major institutions and those investing in excess of $1 million are less reliant on regulatory approval as they possess the skills necessary to assess the risks directly.
This fund regime complements the existing Expert Fund Regime that has driven the recent rapid growth of funds to levels in excess of £220 billion – marginally greater than traditional banking deposits.
The Minister for Economic Development, Senator Philip Ozouf, who signed the Order introducing the new fund regime said: “This is another important part of the finance industry’s toolkit and ensures that our offering remains up to date and relevant. This has taken a great deal of work by the Commission and very significant time, freely given by members of the finance industry. The move demonstrates Jersey’s responsiveness in the face of competition.”
For further information, please contact James Mews, Finance Industry Development Executive, on 440413 or e-mail j.mews@gov.je
gov.je