Fiona Le Poidevin, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance the promotional agency for the Island's finance industry, led the delegation and was joined by Guernsey industry practitioners Gavin Farrell from Mourant Ozannes, Patricia White of Legis Fund Administration Services and PwC Evelyn Brady. Caroline Chan from Ogier joined the team for the IBA conference.
Miss Le Poidevin said attendance at the IBA conference and the trip as a whole had presented a great opportunity to update US contacts with the latest details of the Island dual regime ahead of the EU introducing a new regulatory regime under the terms of the AIFMD on 22 July.
"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," said Miss Le Poidevin.
"People were extremely interested to learn about our forthcoming dual regime and how we are perfectly placed to service US fund managers under AIFMD". Guernsey position of being a European domicile but not part of the EU, couple with our dual regime which will allow us to continue to distribute our funds to both EU and non-EU countries, means that we will be uniquely positioned as an international funds centre and an ideal domicile for US fund managers.
"The good links that Guernsey and the US have shared in the past are also important. For example, a major factor behind Guernsey rise as a leading centre for private equity was when one of the largest US private equity houses, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) & Co. L.P., established a fund in Guernsey which listed on Euronext Amsterdam. At the time it was particularly innovative and extremely significant in raising awareness among US managers of Guernsey capacity to act as a gateway to listing vehicles on European stock exchanges."
Managers in the US also appreciate our close links to the City of London, specifically the London Stock Exchange (LSE) where aside from the UK itself Guernsey is home to more entities listed across the LSE markets than any other jurisdiction globally.
