“There is no advantage to being in Jersey” – Shenton

Wednesday 02 September 2015

Jersey has eroded its competitive advantages as an international finance centre and is in danger of “killing” the industry though over-regulation, according to asset manager Ben Shenton.

The former Health Minister and Senator, who is Managing Director of TEAM Asset Manager, says that financial services firms no longer have an advantage from being based in the Island.

In an interview in this month’s Connect – the free business magazine out on newsstands now – Mr Shenton says that the industry has changed beyond recognition, and that the push towards a compliance-led culture has gone too far.

In the Unplugged feature in the magazine (which you can read online here), Mr Shenton says: “Back in 1978 there were probably seven or eight reasons why you would do business in Jersey.

“For secrecy, for confidentiality, for the tax reasons, for the fact that there were few questions asked, and so on and so forth.

“Over the years those have been eroded to the extent where to be honest, we could take this business and set it up in Winchester, or somewhere else, because we could still look after our non-dom clients through doing something clever with the overseas custodians.

“So we don’t actually have to be in Jersey.

“The only reason that TEAM is in Jersey is because I was born in Jersey as were most of our staff.

“There is no advantage and Jersey needs to realise this.”

And in the piece, Mr Shenton goes on to say that the States are getting to the point of regulating the industry out of existence.

He said: “It’s all very well saying that we’re going to be better (at regulation) than everyone else, but to give you an example, if the world tells you jump out of the first floor window, it’s fine if you jump out of the first floor window; but if we’re going to be so stupid and say we’re going to jump out of the third floor window instead, then you’re going to kill yourself.

“Sometimes I get the impression that we’re looking to kill ourselves as a finance centre.”