Guernsey Is The Alternative

Originally published in Private Client Practitioner Guernsey Supplement, December 2011

There is an implicit assumption that somehow the European Union's Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (AIFMD) is going to impact on Guernsey's reputation as a leading offshore finance centre. Butterfield Bank's head of custody services, Sadie Podmore, argues that the directive is an opportunity for fund administrators in Guernsey to promote their expertise and resilience.

Many pundits have been touting the idea that the AIFMD, and its US equivalent the Dodd Frank Act, will bring a level of onerous regulation and costs on the heads of fund managers, and, by extension, administrators. In Guernsey, the feeling is that the AIFMD is a real opportunity for the jurisdiction to continue to promote its position as the leading international centre for fund establishment and administration.