“Fund domiciliation patterns have always been subject to change"

Friday 08 July 2022

A new report published by IFI Global and supported by Jersey Finance has highlighted the importance of expertise, flexibility and stability in evolution of international fund jurisdictions.

‘The Evolution of the International Fund Jurisdictions’ report forms the latest in a series undertaken by IFI Global with Jersey Finance, with previous reports published over the past two years having focused on fund domiciliation, structuring, and fund governance.

This new report explores the origins of the fund domiciliation industry and how a number of locations around the world with no previous connection to funds, have ended up playing fundamental roles at the heart of the global funds landscape, servicing more than $16tn of fund assets. 

The report also explores how those centres, including Jersey, BVI, Bermuda, Cayman, Guernsey, Ireland and Luxembourg, have since evolved and what their past experiences tell us about their future direction.

Among the report’s key areas of focus are: 

• Key dates, from the establishment of the first expatriate banking operation in Jersey in the 1960s to EU alternative fund regulation in 2018
• The origins of the international funds industry in the 1980s, including the first investment funds offered to expats and the largely Anglo-Saxon asset management industry of the 1990s
• The dawn of alternatives, including the introduction of regulatory measures, the shift towards institutional investors, the heightened focus on governance and substance in the wake of the global financial crisis, and the impact of Brexit
• The future, including the growth of sustainable finance and crypto funds and the importance of first mover advantage when it comes to new investment categories

Commenting on the findings, Elliot Refson, Head of Funds at Jersey Finance (pictured top), said: “Given the trends over the last decade or more, highlighted in this paper, there’s no doubt that the fund jurisdictions that will be most successful in the future will be those that are stable with strong expertise and infrastructure, and robust but flexible regulatory frameworks.

"This has really been Jersey’s mantra for the past 20 years, and we’ve seen the fruits of that in the growth of Jersey in recent years as a trusted funds domicile.  

“There will undoubtedly be more changes over the coming decades and our focus will remain on staying true to our values and on retaining our position as an integral part of the global fund landscape.”

Simon Osborn, CEO of IFI Global and author of the report, added: “Fund domiciliation patterns have always been subject to change and there is no reason to believe this will not continue to be the case in future.

"To understand how the asset management business might develop in the future, it is a good idea to know something about how the international fund jurisdictions, on which this industry depends, are evolving.

“This White Paper touches upon how a few unlikely locations, dotted around the world, got into this business, focuses on what is happening in international fund domiciliation today and explores what may well happen to international fund jurisdictions over the next few years.”

The new research can be viewed and downloaded here.