With the end of the transition phase looming, new figures continue to point towards Jersey playing an increasing role in enabling alternative fund managers to access EU investor capital post-Brexit.

According to recent data from the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), the number of managers choosing to market their funds into the EU through Jersey using national private placement regimes (NPPR) is continuing to rise.

As at 30 June 2020, there were 192 Jersey-registered alternative managers marketing their funds into the EU through private placement – a 5% rise on the figure from six months prior and 12% compared to June 2019.

In addition, the number of Jersey-registered funds marketing into the EU through NPPR also increased to stand at 333, representing a 4% rise since December 2019 and 7% annually.

Commenting on the figures, Joe Moynihan, CEO, Jersey Finance, said:

“With Brexit deal negotiations finely poised, the likelihood is that there will continue to be uncertainty for some time around the way non-EU funds, including UK funds, can be marketed to EU investors. The fact remains that private placement provides a tried-and-tested, flexible and cost-effective solution for third country private equity, infrastructure and other alternative managers to continue to target EU investors in light of Brexit.

“These figures are evidence of a sustained trend stretching back some years now of managers putting their faith in Jersey’s platform and in particular the private placement route to market, and we expect to see further growth in this area as managers implement post-Brexit strategies.”

Tim Morgan, Chair, Jersey Funds Association, added:

“This is a critical moment for managers as they explore models and structures that are future-proofed against the backdrop of Brexit, and the clear evidence is that private placement through Jersey, backed-up by the jurisdiction’s expertise, framework, and oversight, remains a vital and increasingly popular solution amongst alternative managers, that can guarantee ongoing seamless market access.”

According to the latest quarterly figures, Jersey currently administers £361bn of fund assets, as at June 2020.

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Resilience in the face of an uncertain market, including the Covid-19 pandemic, and a stable platform designed to provide the perfect ecosystem for alternative funds should position Jersey strongly in the short and long-term, according to the chairman of the Jersey Funds Association (JFA).

With this year’s JFA Annual Dinner being postponed until later this year, Chair Tim Morgan gave a webinar update last week (3 June), when he provided an overview of the current funds landscape, the work of the JFA and also outlined future opportunities for the industry.

 Pointing to the fact that Jersey’s funds industry recorded a new record high of fund assets being administered last year (£346bn), a figure that included a 19% year-on-year jump in private equity business in particular, Tim commented

“In the first part of 2020, we continued to see a steady demand for Jersey funds, including from existing managers continuing to launch, often with larger, successor funds. Just as importantly, we’ve seen a sustained strong take up of the Jersey Private Fund, with managers converting to the structure and a growing number of smaller, start-up and spin-out managers opting for it too where the JPF's scalability and cost effectiveness, combined with Jersey's opt in approach for EU marketing, makes it a particularly strong choice for new structures. There are now more than 350 JPFs, which is a hugely positive story and a great endorsement of Jersey’s reputation as a specialist centre for alternatives.”

In addition, Tim highlighted some key findings from a recent survey of JFA members, which revealed a widespread positivity around key issues such as Brexit:

“The European market is still grappling with Brexit uncertainty, but actually more than 80% of our members consider that Brexit will have either a neutral or positive impact on business flows – due largely to the success of Jersey’s market access model,including private placement into Europe and seamless global access into other geographies.

“Of course, the coronavirus pandemic remains front and centre of minds at the moment too, but Jersey has shown real resilience, flexed its digital muscle and introduced measures such as enhanced digital filing and electronic powers of attorney, as well as guidelines on meetings during the pandemic to help keep business flowing in difficult times. In fact, with 100% of homes and businesses in Jersey connected to a pure fibre gigabit-speed network which is the fastest of any jurisdiction in Europe, Jersey’s connectivity has supported high service levels and has helped launch some notable funds during the course of lockdown.”

Looking to the future, Tim highlighted that Jersey’s strengths in alternatives would position it ideally against global market trends, with PwC forecasting growth of almost 9% across the asset classes over the coming five years*. He said:

“Our core strengths as an alternative funds centre, particularly across private equity, real estate,infrastructure and credit funds remain the same – our stability, experience, expertise,service levels, cost-effectiveness, legal framework, tax transparency and regulatory standards. However, competition from other centres remains strong and the regulatory environment remains highly complex, so we need to keep innovating and adapting to meet the needs of alternative fund managers.

“To that end, we are focused on enhancing our range of structuring options, and we are focused on promoting our capabilities in the ESG space. We’re also anticipating a rise in co-investment and fund finance activity, a resurgence in the use of Jersey property unit trusts to facilitate investment into the real estate market, and opportunities in outsourced work as managers look for specific support expertise such as governance and compliance, areas where Jersey excels.”

*PwC Market ResearchCentre

Jersey Finance says it is encouraged by the contents of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) report on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) which was published last week and contains its final recommendations to the European Commission.

There has been a change in the wording between the earlier draft and the final report in one important aspect in respect of ‘third countries’, the term used to describe jurisdictions outside of the EU.  Though the regulatory standards remain high and robust, the change is positive for ‘third countries’ since it makes it less onerous to achieve compliance. The Directive will require supervisory co-operation and exchange of information agreements between the authorities of EU member states and non EU countries.

Heather Bestwick, Technical Director of Jersey Finance, comments:

‘It is broadly positive throughout and Jersey remains on track to meet the criteria necessary for the funds industry to continue to participate when the new EU regime for funds is implemented. We are studying the detail but our first impressions are that there is nothing new in ESMA’s final report to give us concern.

‘Naturally there is still considerable work to do but it remains our intention to offer investors an ‘opt in’ AIFMD compliant regime while retaining flexibility for managers whose primary source of institutional capital is outside of Europe.’

EMSA’s latest document is the final technical recommendations to the European Commission who are expected to prepare the implementing measures on the basis of the report’s advice.