Investment funds
A premier open-ended funds domicile
As of 31 March 2020, Guernsey’s open-ended funds sector included £44.7 billion of hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and other alternative investment asset classes as well as traditional equity, fixed income and money market products. Read more here.
Global fund promoters
Guernsey has a truly global client base and promoters such as Ashmore, Credit Suisse, FF&P, Foord Asset Management, Investec, Man Group, Marlborough, M&G, Rand Merchant Bank, Schroders, and Unigestion utilise Guernsey as the domicile for their investment platforms.
What’s available in Guernsey?
The Class B rules are intended to be as flexible as possible while consistent with meaningful investor protection. The Class B rules are essentially a codification of best practice with exemptions from the rules permitted by the regulator, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
The Class B scheme remains the most popular open-ended fund type in Guernsey. They can be considered for public marketing in many countries around the world and moreover, the GFSC has also indicated its willingness to assist promoters who wish to market funds overseas by engaging with the relevant authorities.
The Class Q rules seek to provide a clear and concise set of requirements for the operation of professional investor funds and have been designed to encourage innovation.
Class Q schemes and the rules governing them therefore place emphasis on:
- absence of investment, valuation or dealing restrictions
- disclosure of risks inherent in the investment vehicle
- simplified document requirements
- timely completion of applications
Guernsey’s regulatory regime allows open-ended funds domiciled in other jurisdictions to be serviced by Guernsey-based managers, administrators or custodians.
Benefits include a largely non-prescriptive regulatory environment where limited notifications are made to the GFSC and, from the perspective of a European promoter, the convenience of having the service provider located in a convenient time zone.
