Guernsey sees another year of growth in funds business
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Guernsey sees another year of growth in funds business 14 March 2018St Peter Port Reporter: Jenna Lomax
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The total value of funds business in Guernsey last year showed an increase for the third consecutive year, according to The Guernsey Financial Services Commission’s (GFSC) Q4 results.
The results confirmed a growth of £1 billion in the three months to the end of 2017.
The latest figure of £270 billion also represents an increase of approximately £14 billion, a 5.6 percent increase from 2016.
Open-ended funds decreased by 1 percent over the quarter to £166.4 billion, but still achieved annual growth of £1.2 billion, an increase of 2.8 percent from 2016.
Closed-ended funds increased for the quarter to £166.4 billion, a 0.26 percent increase from 2016, and for the year, close-ended funds increased 4.46 percent to £7.1 billion.
Non-Guernsey schemes, which include funds not domiciled in the island, but with some aspect of their management, administration or custody carried out locally, grew by £1.4 billion. This represented an increase of 2.3 percent compared to the previous year.
An increase of £6.1 billion (11.31 percent) since 31 December 2016, valued these non-Guernsey schemes at £60.4 billion.
The GFSC revealed that real estate funds were the biggest mover, with their net asset value showing a year-on-year increase of 42 percent to nearly £21 billion, boosted by a strong Q4.
There was also an increase of 8.89 percent in the number of real estate funds over the year, from 90 at the end of December 2016, to 98 at the end of December last year.
Wheatley said: “[To] look at the statistics and see the total net asset value of funds in Guernsey on the rise in both the short and long-term is indicative of a stable environment. With so much uncertainty in the world, it’s good to see Guernsey continue to be a location of choice for many fund managers, particularly those who are familiar with the environment.”
He added: “An increase in new funds suggests, as predicted, that managers from all around the world are hedging against potential Brexit issues and Guernsey is providing answers to the uncertainty.”
Paul Smith, chairman of the Guernsey Investment Fund Association, commented: “I am optimistic about 2018. The mood in the industry has been positive in the early part of the year and I look forward to seeing that coming through in the statistics throughout the year.”
He added: “The figures show that Guernsey is still the jurisdiction of choice for a wide range of asset classes. We are continuing to work on further diversification in the type of funds that are established in Guernsey and the already numerous markets in which Guernsey funds can be promoted.”
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