Guernsey Funds May Be Set For Pre-Brexit Boost As Managers Avoid Uncertainty

Guernsey funds could be set for a burst of pre-Brexit activity as fund managers prepare for the uncertainty of the UK's departure from the European Union in 2019, delegates heard at the Guernsey Funds Masterclass.

Lack of clarity about the UK's regulatory position could lead managers to seek to launch new funds before March 2019, and to use stable and understood regulatory environments such as that in Guernsey, it has been suggested.

"I think there is a real wind of opportunity," said Robert Mellor, UK Asset Management Tax Partner at PwC, who delivered the keynote address at the Guernsey Finance-hosted event in London.

"If you look at the pace of fund launches, London-based alternative managers want to get their funds away now. If you can get a fund away before March 2019 or during the transition, then you've got a closed-ended fund on the books. Then when it comes to raising their next fund, they'll know what the landscape is."