The latest figures for all sectors of Jersey’s finance industry show stability and signs of new growth, led by the funds sector where the value of funds business passed through the £200 billion mark for the first time since June last year.

The statistics highlight that the net asset value of funds increased by £5.1 billion in the second quarter of 2014 to just over £200 billion, with the increase most notable in real estate funds which shows growth of nearly 20% during the quarter. Geoff Cook, chief executive, Jersey Finance Limited, described the picture overall as showing ‘clear signs of recovery’.

The latest statistics, collated and prepared by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, are for the three month period ending 30th June, 2014. Headline figures include:

•    The net asset value of funds under administration increased by £5.1bn from £195.3bn to £200.4bn during Q2 2014.  The total number of regulated collective investment funds decreased by 54 from 1,337 to 1,283 over the same period.

•    Consent was granted in respect of 27 COBO only Private Placement funds with a reported total NAV of £593m.
•    The total number of unregulated funds increased by 3 from 199 to 202 during the second quarter.
•    The value of total funds under investment management decreased slightly by £0.4bn from £22.2bn to £21.8bn during the second quarter of 2014.
•    The total number of live companies increased by 506 to 33,207 at the end of Q2 2014.

Geoff Cook, Chief Executive, Jersey Finance, commented:

‘The latest statistics show another quarter of stability in the performance of the finance industry.  The increase in funds business is due to the general improvement in market conditions, specifically in property fund valuations. The increase also takes into account a number of new fund launches established in the last few quarters reporting for the first time, while the reduction in the number of regulated funds relates to relinquished certificates for funds which have become inactive.

He added:

“It was encouraging to see an increase in the number of Jersey companies, now the highest number of company incorporations since 2008 and with the recent introduction of innovations to our companies law on the statute, Jersey is an even more attractive proposition for investment structuring, asset holding and a wide variety of other purposes. The strength of the industry continues to be in its diversity and it is very encouraging to see clear signs of recovery across a range of sectors.”

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