US fund managers have responded “positively” to Guernsey’s intention to operate a dual regime for the distribution of funds into both EU and non-EU countries. 

A funds delegation from Guernsey attended the International Bar Association conference, where they held meetings with fund managers, lawyers, accountants and brokers in New York City and Boston, MA. Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the island’s finance industry, led the delegation.

Le Poidevin said attendance at the conference – and the trip as a whole – presented “a great opportunity” to update US contacts with details of the island’s dual regime, ahead of the EU's new regulatory regime under the terms of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive on July 22, 2013.

The AIFMD is a measure designed to tighten regulation of vehicles such as hedge funds, requiring more detailed reporting, due diligence, while also creating a “passport” system for such funds in the EU.

“The IBA Conference was very well attended. The event had some very relevant panel sessions, particularly on the subject of AIFMD which is a hot topic in the US for anyone with EU investors or those considering the EU market. AIFMD is one of the reasons why we have received more enquiries from US fund managers over the past couple of years and a key part of why we embarked on this US delegation,” Le Poidevin said in a statement yesterday.

Le Poidevin added that the “good links” Guernsey and the US have shared in the past are also important. US fund managers also appreciate the island’s ties with London, specifically the London Stock Exchange, where - aside from the UK itself - Guernsey is home to more entities listed across the LSE markets than any other jurisdiction globally, she said.