The latest news for the Channel Islands' funds sector

Welcome to the first Collas Crill Funds Update. Following the merger of Guernsey's Collas Day and Jersey's Crill Canavan on 4 April 2011 our updates will now have a pan-Channel Islands focus and this first update from our merged firm is no exception.

From Guernsey we bring you a review of a proposed change to UK Partnership regulations and why it could be positive for Guernsey, as well as some news from the GFSC's annual report. Our funds team in Jersey have news of a regulatory consultation and thoughts on how Jersey can appeal to India. News on the AIFM Directive will, we're sure, be of interest to readers in both islands.

Guernsey Partnerships Qualify For PE Success As A Result Of UK Regulations

The UK's proposed Partnership (Accounts) Regulations 2010 (2010 Regulations), are intended to remedy a loophole created by the Partnership (Accounts) Regulations 2008 (2008 Regulations), which may catch out many private equity structures using Scottish and English LPs.

In this overview, Wayne Atkinson considers how Guernsey has the opportunity to strengthen its position in the alternative funds market by maintaining an industry-driven regulatory environment coupled with legislative innovation.

AIFM Directive Finally Published

The AIFM Directive will finally enter force on 21 July having been published in the Official Journal of the EU on 1 July. As a consequence the timetable for the directive's development now looks like this:

  • 22 July 2013  Date by which member states should give effect to the directive through transposition into national laws.
  • 22 July 2015 Deadline for ESMA report on passporting and 3rd country fund passports.

We will keep you updated with changes or amendments as they happen.

Jersey Code Of Practice Consultation

Jersey has issued a Consultation Paper, the proposals of which have the potential to simplify and, to the extent feasible codify, the Codes of Practice governing the seven finance activities, including Fund Services Business. 

The main idea is to clarify, align and augment the seven Codes of Practice. A positive spin-off would be that regulated bodies which are governed by more than one Code of Practice would be subject to a single set of requirements in place of service or product specific requirements. The Consultation Paper is currently open for comment and you may find the draft codes of practice for investment business and funds services business useful.

GFSC's Annual Report Contains Positive News For Funds Industry

On 17 June 2011 the Guernsey Financial Services Commission published its annual report, which contained a number of positives for those in the funds sector in Guernsey.

Particularly of note were a number of key objectives the Investment Business Division set out for 2011. These included: 

  • "Engage with the European Securities and Markets Authority, as well as HM Treasury and the FSA, on Alternative Investment Managers Directive and access of Guernsey funds to EU markets";
  • "Continue to communicate with the FSA in respect of designation of Class A schemes for marketing in the UK"; and
  • "Review and consider the existing Class B and Class Q open-ended fund rules with a view to updating and amending them to reflect current experience". 

Further positive news was contained in the statistics published in the report. The GFSC noted that in 2010, 48 new POI licences were granted and 89 new funds were authorised or registered.

Meanwhile closed-ended funds and non-Guernsey schemes have significantly broken previous records for funds under management in Guernsey and the total net asset value of Guernsey-domiciled open-ended funds increased 14.2 per cent in 2010 to £57.9 billion.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.