According to the independent Monterey Fund Report 2017, Mourant Ozannes has once again maintained its leading position as the go-to legal adviser in Jersey's funds industry, advising on over 54% of all funds by market share of assets.
The report also highlighted significant market growth for the funds industry in Jersey, with fund assets serviced in Jersey up 14.7% from 2016.
Mourant Ozannes' dedicated investment funds team, the largest in Jersey, advises on a total of 790 funds with an overall value of US$330bn, nearly triple the value of funds advised by its nearest competitor. This figure does not include CVC Fund VII, which closed at €15.5 billion and was the largest ever fundraising by a European private equity firm.
The firm leads the tables across all major categories, including largest legal advisers by total number of funds (see notes to Editors) and is the leading legal adviser to new funds launched – advising on nearly twice that of its nearest competitor.
Funds Partner, Felicia de Laat, said: "The growth highlighted by this year's report demonstrates that as the global economic and regulatory landscape continues to change, Jersey's funds industry is able to not just adapt quickly to market volatility, but also to thrive.
"We regularly work with many of the biggest players in the global funds market, which is a strong vote of confidence in Jersey as a leading jurisdiction of choice and also in our expert team which, according to the data, has maintained its unrivalled lead position for 18 consecutive years.
"In the last 12 months we've been instructed on a strong flow of significant new fund launches, including all of the first five funds regulated as Jersey Private Funds when the new regime came into effect in April, and a steady stream thereafter."
The firm this year appointed Partner Alistair Horn, bringing the team to a total of seven specialist funds partners and 19 lawyers in Jersey. Globally, Mourant Ozannes boasts over 70 lawyers working on investment funds.
"Having a large, expert team with a collegiate ethos positions us with an ability to manage such significant projects, providing the excellent levels of service, coupled with deep regulatory and market insight, that our clients tell us truly sets us apart.
"This year's Monterey report once again reinforces the significance of Jersey's fund industry to the island's financial services sector as a whole, and as the leading legal adviser to this market, we're very proud to continue to contribute to its success."
The report follows the recent publication of the IFLR1000 and Legal 500 UK where Mourant Ozannes was awarded top tier status for investment funds advice across both directories. Clients praised Mourant Ozannes as 'the best funds firm in Jersey', which is 'particularly strong in client service, backed up by a wealth of experience and knowledge in the local regulatory regime’.
Monterey Insight is a leading independent fund industry research company that provides the only comprehensive survey of service providers for all investment funds serviced in Luxembourg, Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey. The company's research covers around 25,000 investment funds within these jurisdictions.