International finance centres need to focus on building and maintaining trust to support investors in a world of heightened risk and ever greater complexity and uncertainty, according to speakers at this year’s Jersey Finance Private Wealth Conference.
Entitled ‘Trusted Shores’, the event – which took place last week in London and achieved a record attendance of more than 560 delegates from Jersey, the UK, Europe and further afield – included a keynote speech from former Secretary General of NATO the Rt Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.
Setting the wider geopolitical context of trust, he described a world facing extraordinary levels of change and disruption, framing the challenges ahead through his ‘six Vs’ – volatility of global events, velocity of change, increasing vulnerabilities, the importance of values, a vacuum of global leadership and the need for vision.
This narrative was maintained in the first panel, ‘Mind the Gap? Do the NextGen Trust the Current Generation… and Vice Versa?’. Moderated by Clare Flanagan, Partner at Capital Generation Partners, alongside Catherine Grum (Catherine Grum Consultancy), Piers Master (Charles Russell Speechlys), Nick Rees (Cambridge Associates) and Verity Sherwin (Payne Hicks Beach), the panel explored the complexities of trust between generations and how successful succession is not just about transferring wealth but also empowering the next generation to take responsibility.
Meanwhile, the second session – ‘Advising in an Age of Uncertainty’ – took the format of a live recorded podcast. Moderated by Jersey Finance’s Director – UK, Robert Moore, the session, which also included Sarah Farrow (EY Private Client Services) and David Sher (Amalgamated Metal Corporation), looked at how uncertainty has morphed from largely a market factor to a far more nuanced force driven by geopolitics, regulation and family dynamics. The session also looked at how trust in family relationships is created, how families can focus on their ‘sphere of competence’ to seek opportunity in a shifting landscape and the enduring value of expert advisers in an age of AI and information overload.
Concluding the event, acclaimed documentary-maker, writer, producer and podcast host Louis Theroux took part in a fireside chat where he offered a unique perspective on connection, credibility and building trust in an increasingly divided world. Alluding to the blurring of boundaries between public and private life through social media, he pointed to a distrust in AI generated content and the prevailing benefit to humanity of curiosity, authenticity and mutual respect.
Commenting after the event, Joe Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer, Jersey Finance, said: “The backdrop to our conference this year served to highlight the fragility of the environment we operate in, from escalation in conflict around the world, to market volatility, to climate risk, to concerns around the challenges AI might pose. It’s clear that, in this context, trust has taken on a new and multifaceted meaning – between countries, institutions, leaders, investors and families.
“Our world is changing at a pace we have never seen before – but, as our speakers highlighted this year, we have also never been more capable of managing those risks. As investors navigate greater complexity and uncertainty, our challenge as a jurisdiction is to give them not only options but confidence in the people and structures supporting their decisions. For Jersey, that means building on our strong track record; not standing apart from change but providing a trusted base that can adapt to give investors the tools they need.
“The stakes for investors and markets around the world are high – and that is reflected in that fact that this was our best attended private wealth conference to date. I’d like to extend my thanks to this year’s speakers and panellists, our sponsors, our media partners, our guests and the team at Jersey Finance, who have made it such a success once again.”
