Finance figures show drops

Thursday 27 February 2014

Investment funds and bank deposits held in Jersey dropped in the last three months of 2013, new figures show.

There were slight drops in the value of total funds under investment management (down 1.8% to £22.2 billion), the net asset value of funds under administration (down 1.3% to £192.1 billion) and the total value of bank deposits (down 3.6% to £139.9 billion). The figures have been released in a regular report by the finance industry’s marketing body Jersey Finance, who say that they demonstrate impressive resilience and stability against a challenging economic backdrop.

Jersey Finance chief executive Geoff Cook says that the figures for the period from October to December 2013 need to be seen in the context of Business Tendency Survey results that show that optimism about profits and employment in the finance industry is at its highest since 2011.

He said: “The above figures are mainly due to one off events and with individual businesses reporting busy and successful months, there is reason to be optimistic.

“The strength of the Jersey proposition across sectors is attractive and continues to receive full support from investors worldwide.

“A key example is, of course, the AIFMD and Jersey’s unique position as the first third country to offer a fully compliant opt-in AIFMD regime as well as private and flexible solutions under the existing regime. Examples like this demonstrate why Jersey is, and will remain, the first choice jurisdiction for many gatekeepers and investors alike.”

The figures showed slight increases in unregulated funds, and private equity and real estate funds. They also showed that at the end of last year there were 100 Jersey companies listed on stock exchanges worldwide, including 48 on the London Stock Exchange AIM market and 40 on the main market, as well as on Euronext, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.