Recent figures illustrating growth in Jersey’s funds industry are reflective of manager and investor confidence in Jersey and provide evidence that Jersey is right at the cutting edge in creating an ideal ecosystem for alternatives, according to the Chair of the Jersey Funds Association.

The latest figures for Jersey’s finance industry for the period ending 31 December 2019, collated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) and published in February, found that the net asset value of regulated funds under administration in Jersey grew by £25.8bn annually to stand at £345.7bn.  This growth was fueled by the alternatives sector, which rose by 6% over the year.In particular, private equity and venture capital increased by 19% in 2019 to stand at £136bn.

A deeper dive into those figures shows that, over the past five years, overall funds business in Jersey has grown by 51%, with private equity growing by more than 200%, and the value of real estate business growing by some 31%.

Those figures came shortly after the publication of the latest Monterey Jersey Fund Report, also published last month, which found that (as at June 2019) Jersey’s funds sector had achieved sustained annual growth over each of the past three years of 17%, again driven predominantly by private equity, venture capital, real estate and infrastructure funds.

That report also pointed to the growing global appeal of Jersey’s funds environment, with the value of Jersey-domiciled funds with US promoters rising by 20% year on year and funds with Japanese promoters doubling.

Tim Morgan,Chair, Jersey Funds Association, said: “From a funds industry perspective, this is all clear evidence that the focus we have placed on creating a perfect ecosystem for alternatives is hitting home amongst an increasingly diverse manager and investor base. The growth we are experiencing in private equity is impressive, but we’re seeing a strong performance in real estate, hedge and infrastructure too, and with good reason.

“Our ability to enable managers to distribute funds easily and cost-effectively into the EU through private placement and to the rest of the world outside of the constraints of AIFMD is really finding favour with managers, whilst our commitment to nurturing a substance-driven environment and our emphasis on governance, quality service and specific expertise is increasingly attractive.

“It’s particularly pleasing to see our Jersey Private Fund (JPF) product, the AUM figures for which are not included in the JFSC’s overall reported total values, continue to grow in popularity too and surpass the 300 mark, cementing its position as the go-to vehicle for sophisticated investors.”

At the end of last year,the JFA presented the findings of its annual members survey, which found that 85% of members were confident or very confident on their growth outlook.

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