The Island's new Jersey Private Funds regime appears to be
successfully striking the right balance between investor protection
and freedom for experienced investors to invest where they want,
according to law firm Walkers.
The Jersey Private Fund will eventually take over from other
similar investment products where the rules are simpler because
their use is restricted to experienced or wealthy investors.
The JPF can only be marketed to a maximum of 50 investors who are
'professional' or have a minimum of '£250,000
each to invest. The fund does not need Jersey-resident directors or
require an offering document to be approved, and it can be set up
in a streamlined process taking less than 48hours.
The main requirement is that it needs a designated service provider
registered with the Jersey Financial Services Commission who has to
carry out the due diligence on the fund's promoters.
In just over a year since the regime was introduced, more than 120
JPFs have been approved to invest in a wide range of alternative
assets. Two of the earliest funds were for the Westbrooke Group
which has a presence in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
This article first appeared in the Jersey Evening Post.
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