Market shares revealed in new fund research report

Monday 15 February 2021

A new report by an independent research company has revealed the market shares of all service providers in Jersey’s funds industry.

According to Monterey Insight, fund assets serviced in Jersey rose to $493bn in June 2020 – a growth of 2.5% on the previous year.

The number of serviced schemes rose to 1,495, up 11.9%, and the total number of sub-funds recorded were also up to 1,981, which represents a 9.6% increase.

For the fifth consecutive year, Aztec Group has maintained the largest market share for fund administration services across both domiciled and non-domiciled funds, with $174.7bn in assets.

They are followed by Saltgate with $46.3bn, while R&H Fund Services take third position with $28.8bn.

Among transfer agents of serviced funds, Aztec Group also maintain their lead, with total net assets of $175bn.

Computershare Investor Services and Intertrust swap positions with Computershare Investor Services climbing to the second spot with $29bn, ahead of Intertrust ranked in third position this year with $27.4bn.

“To be recognised as Jersey’s leading administrator for the fifth consecutive year is an incredible achievement. It’s one which our teams in Jersey and across the wider Group can be extremely proud of,” Aztec CEO Edward Moore said.

Pictured: Aztec CEO Edward Moore.

BNP Paribas Securities Services was top again as the largest custodian by assets with $18.7bn, followed by Sanne Trustee Services, who took second place with $12.7bn. J.P. Morgan was third with $10.9bn.

“We are delighted to be announced as the leading Custodian of funds serviced in Jersey,” BNP’s Head of Client Development, Ross Youngs, said. “Our priority is to deliver outstanding client service and to continue to grow in partnership with our clients. We are very excited about the prospects for growth in Jersey as we continue to evolve our end-to-end fund servicing proposition through continued investment in our technology and staff.“

Among legal firms of serviced and distributed funds, Carey Olsen took the top spot in the rankings, advising on 845 funds. For the market share of domiciled funds, the firm maintained its lead with 457 funds. In both tables, they are followed by Mourant, advising on 814 funds and 360 funds respectively. Ogier remains third with 516 and 295 funds.

Robert Milner, Partner in Carey Olsen's Jersey investment funds team, described the ranking as a “milestone”, adding that it had come “following an incredibly tough year for everyone.”

“Ensuring client demands are met and maintaining our standards of quality and service when some or all of us are working from home has been challenging. We're just very grateful for the calibre and professionalism of our team, the quality of relationships we hold with both clients and advisers who continue to select Carey Olsen, as well as the confidence that is placed in Jersey as a funds jurisdiction,” he commented. 

Among auditors of serviced funds, PwC are once again the largest with 467 funds ahead of KPMG with 406 funds. Deloitte maintain their third position with 245 funds. For assets, Deloitte is leading the table again with $128bn, followed by PwC, and with EY climbing to third place.

Pictured: Robert Milner, Partner in Carey Olsen's Jersey investment funds team.

"This accolade is a true testament to our team’s capabilities and their commitment across the Channel Islands to both our clients and to the local funds industry,” PwC Partner Lisa McClure said.

“They each have a key role to play in helping us maintain this leading position. We have considerable confidence in the future, whatever lies ahead, and will maintain our focus on providing top quality advice to both local and global organisations in all sectors of the financial services industry and beyond.”

There was no change in 2020 from last year among fund management companies of both domiciled and non-domiciled schemes, with SoftBank maintaining first position with assets totalling $77.8bn, followed in second position by Ardian with $45.1bn and CVC Capital Partners with $41.5bn.

Private equity/venture capital, the main driver to the Jersey fund market industry, account for $325.9bn of assets for domiciled and non-domiciled funds with just over 950 funds and sub-funds and of these $210.1bn are Jersey domiciled funds.

Over 120 new Jersey schemes were launched during the year, totalling $14.5bn and, of these, more than 65 funds and sub-funds totalling $11.1bn were private equity/venture capital.

Pictured: Lisa McClure, PwC Partner.

Karine Pacary, Managing Director of Monterey Insight, commented: “In the three years from 2017 to 2019, Jersey enjoyed a double digit increase of growth. Looking at this year's results and considering the climate around Brexit and covid-19, Jersey demonstrated a resilient performance and again shows a positive return.

“We can clearly see that although 2020 was challenging, especially due to lockdowns in most countries, the fund industry has not been too severely impacted thus far. The positive results in Jersey once again tell us this is a jurisdiction of excellence and demonstrate its appeal for asset managers of in particular alternative funds.”