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As the appetite for alternative investments grows in 2017, there's likely to be increased demand for investment funds in the emerging asset classes of public-private infrastructure projects, traditional healthcare, energy consumption, 'hardware' such as ships and aeroplanes, and litigation funding.
That's according to investment fund specialists who addressed a crowd of more than 120 attendees at yesterday's annual London Stock Exchange (LSE) Investment Fund Conference in London.
The future direction of investment funds was a focus of discussions, in the context of greater demand for new income strategies and the swifter redemption of investments – an advantage of funds in the uncertain 'post-Brexit' environment.
While it was widely agreed that 80-85% of shareholders in new funds remain UK-based, it was noted that Guernsey, with 124 funds listed in London, remains the number one offshore jurisdiction through which to set up funds for listing on the LSE markets.
"The connection between Guernsey and London is now very well-established and that is proven by the fact the island provides almost twice as many listings for London than our nearest offshore rival," said Dominic Wheatley, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance.
"Fund managers from further afield, for example, North America, who are now discovering the advantages of listing on this side of the world should know that Guernsey offers them a proven and expert platform from which to launch into the City," he said.
The panel charged with discussing the future direction for investment funds included Guernsey-based practitioners Chris Gambrell of Praxis Fund Holdings Ltd, Tony Mancini of KPMG and Stuart Lawson of Northern Trust. They were joined by Cormac Leech of Victory Park Capital and Luke Simpson of Peel and Hunt LLP.
Guernsey Finance, under its WE ARE GUERNSEY branding, co-sponsored the event, which took place at the LSE headquarters in Paternoster Square.
