Further to our blog dated 5 November 2015 in which we reported that The European Securities and Markets Authority had now recommended that Guernsey and Jersey be granted a ‘third country’ passport under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).  We can now report that Guernsey has amended its Investor Protection regulations for Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) that are based in EU member states and has been able to fully implement AIFMD to allow more straightforward movement between Guernsey and EU markets.
These passports were previously only available to EU entities, but Guernsey’s Finance Chief Executive has spoken out about his belief that by allowing non-EU entities such as Guernsey to obtain the AIFMD passports it will increase trade and competition in the funds sector across the EU.
This is indeed good news as it means that Guernsey who recently had an estimated 130 billion Euro in funds into the EU half of which is said to be drawn from outside Europe will now be able to offer a broader range of marketing and organizational options to fund managers, regardless of whether they are European or global investors.