Jersey Funds Hit Out Against AIFMD, ALFI Survey

Two fund associations based in Jersey have hit out against a study published by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), claiming the data used to assess the impact of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) on countries was outdated.

In a report published by ALFI and consultancy Oliver Wyman, it said the number of funds based in the Channel Islands had decreased by two percentile points between 2010 and 2013, whereas Luxembourg and Ireland saw their market share increase.

However, in a joint statement issued by Jersey Finance and the Jersey Funds Association, they say current data disproves the report.

“The recently commissioned report appears to base its findings on historic data from 2010 to 2013, a period of pre-AIFMD uncertainty before future third country marketing routes into the EU were confirmed,” says Geoff Cook, CEO, Jersey Finance.

Citing the Monetary Insight Fund Report, Cook says there were 171 new funds launched in Jersey between June 2013 and June 2014, compared to 78 in the same period between 2012 and 2013.

Furthermore, Cook says the total value of funds being administered in Jersey has grown by around 5% year-on-year to over £205 million as of September this year.

“Gaining insight into how the AIFMD is bedding down in Europe is helpful, but it is patently obvious that ALFI’s suggestion, based on historic data and ‘estimates’, that Jersey might be ‘not faring very well’ in the new AIFMD environment are unsupported by official, independent statistics available in 2014,” adds Ben Robins, chairman, Jersey Funds Association.

“These facts and figures evidence the positive impact of AIFMD in Jersey, where the operation of EU private placement, our readiness for third country passporting equivalence and our ability to operate outside the AIFMD environment.”