The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has released a new set of rules which form an opt-in regulatory regime of measures equivalent to the AIFMD.
Guernsey is not in the European Union (EU) and therefore considered a third country for the purposes of AIFMD. In response to AIFMD and to cater for its global client base, Guernsey has adopted a dual regime where there are two parallel regulatory regimes for investment funds: the existing regime remains in place for managers and investors not requiring an AIFMD fund, including those using EU national private placement regimes and those marketing to non-EU investors; and an opt-in regime which is fully compliant with AIFMD.
Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, says: “Third countries are not required to implement an AIFMD equivalent regime until the third country passport becomes available in 2015, but we felt that it was important to provide Guernsey managers and depositaries with certainty as soon as possible. It is therefore very pleasing that we have been able to publish the rules now and will have them effective from the start of 2014.”
Peter Ames, partner at EY in London, said that Guernsey’s dual regime could become a model for other offshore jurisdictions. Such an approach will enable the jurisdiction “to cater for investors that are completely outside the EU and have no interaction with AIFMD at all", he said. “The Directive will inevitably impose additional costs on in-scope funds managed by an AIFM and if you stay outside the regime, principally if you’re not marketing to Europe, it’s helpful to have a regime that allows you to do that. Equally, if you do want to market to Europe it is helpful to have a regime, which is respected as the same standard as Europe and you can market when passporting for such non-EU funds comes on stream.”
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