Three months after opening its new office in New York, Jersey Finance is ramping up its activities in the US in early 2020 as it continues to see a rise in demand for specialist alternative fund structuring and servicing expertise in Europe from US managers.
Earlier this month, Jersey Finance formed a partnership with the CFA Society Stamford to support its events programme throughout 2020, which will see the Society explore a number of key topics pertinent to US fund managers.
The partnership started with the Society’s Annual Forecast Dinner in Greenwich, Connecticut on 16 January, which featured keynote speaker Dr Robert Shiller, Noble Laureate and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, and was attended by around 360 delegates. Representing Jersey at this event was Philip Pirecki., Jersey Finance’s business development lead in the US.
In addition, Jersey Finance also hosted a roundtable in London on 16 January for legal experts, investment advisors and US fund managers, moderated by Rob Moore, Director – UK. Elliot Refson, Director of Funds at Jersey Finance, spoke at the event about Jersey’s appeal as a gateway to Europe.
Maintaining momentum in the US market, Jersey Finance is also supporting an event in New York on 29th January looking at critical issues for fund managers in the rapidly evolving environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investment landscape.
Hosted by IFI Global, the seminar, ‘ESG: How it is transforming international asset management’, will feature a panel session including Jersey-based Michael Johnson, Group Head of Fund Services at Crestbridge, alongside a number of asset managers, who will discuss how managers are responding to strong growth in ESG allocations, how investor behaviours are changing around ESG, and what the implications are for structuring and governance.
The Government of Jersey’s Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré will be attending this event as part of a wider visit to the US to reinforce Jersey’s relationship with the country, including the twinning of St Helier with Trenton and the strengthening of links between Jersey and key US universities, in terms of digital developments and skills.
Commenting on the US-focused programme of activity, Philip Pirecki, said:
“As is reflected through our new partnership with the CFA Society Stamford and our roundtable initiative, we’ve been working really hard over recent months to understand the needs of US alternative fund managers as we continue to see significant interest in our proposition as a gateway to Europe.
“What we’re hearing is that our specialist expertise in private equity, real estate and hedge and our ability to provide seamless access to European investor capital is resonating really well. We’re looking to expand on that now and I’m really pleased to be supporting an event on ESG investing, an area that is evolving rapidly and where we believe we can add real value for US managers looking to tap into the European investor space.”
Chief Minister Senator John Le Fondré added: “The opening of Jersey Finance’s office in New York in October was a significant milestone, reflecting the commitment we have as a jurisdiction to the US. We have a really positive relationship with the US and I’m pleased to have been able to cement that relationship over the past three months and to have the opportunity to grow our ties and work closely together in a number of ways throughout 2020.”
Jersey Finance opened its office in New York in October in order to help enhance Jersey’s visibility in the US and promote its proposition as a gateway to Europe for US alternative fund managers. According to Monterey Insight figures, the value of US-promoter assets administered in Jersey has more than doubled over the past five years.
