Jersey intends to overhaul the legal framework for funds managers by bringing them within the scope of the Financial Services Jersey Law. Th...

Jersey intends to overhaul the legal framework for funds managers by bringing them within the scope of the Financial Services Jersey Law. The move is part of a continuing programme of enhancement to its fund regulations, according to the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The move would then permit fund managers to conduct their activities on an ongoing basis without needing to be approved each time they acted for a different fund. “Whilst the JFSC intends rightly to maintain the high standards of regulation that have been recognised internationally, it is working with the funds industry to create a still more efficient regulatory regime, which ultimately will benefit the fund promoters and administrators using Jersey,” said Helen Hatton, deputy director general of the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Ms Hatton was speaking during a presentation in London earlier this week organised by Jersey Finance and the Jersey Funds Association in which hedge fund professionals heard more about the emergence of Jersey as a location for hedge fund business. Jersey has witnessed high levels of funds business growth since the launch of the Expert Fund Guide and then the Non-Domicile Fund Guide in 2004, according to Jersey Finance. The most recent statistics compiled by the JFSC show that the value of collective investment schemes has risen by almost 15 per cent in the third quarter to a new record high of £113 billion ($199.9 billion) and the total number of funds has jumped by over 30 per cent to just under 900.