Reports coming out of America suggest some wealthier residents are looking to move their money out of the country.
A leading executive working for a UK-based wealth management firm has said offshore accounts in the Channel Islands could be among their targeted destinations.
This follows Guernsey Finance’s man in the US urging the island’s firms to join with him as he works to develop business in the country – claiming the island is of interest to wealthy Americans.
Robert Paul is co-Head of Private clients at London and Capital.
He recently told the Telegraph that he had seen five cases within a month where clients were looking to move “big chunks of money” out of American institutions into offshore accounts.
The exodus is reported to be linked to fears some of the wealthiest American citizens hold over being targeted by Donald Trump’s Republican administration.
Mr Paul believes ultra-wealthy Democrat families are among those looking elsewhere.
“It is literally a borders thing, having some money that is not domestically located inside the US,” he told the Telegraph.
“There has been fear around capital controls and movement of money. Why it’s heightened in the past four weeks is because the rhetoric is chopping and changing pretty quickly.”
Mr Paul said these clients are taking money out of US-based accounts and opening accounts in Switzerland, or the Channel Islands instead.
The accounts these ultra wealthy customers are looking for are cash deposit or trust structures, both of which are available in both Guernsey and Jersey.
President Trump hasn’t actually given any firm indication that he intends to impose capital controls on the American public, with some American economists saying it is “highly unlikely”.
But other finance experts believe it could be an option considered in the future.
David Lubin; of international affairs think tank Chatham House, and Judi Galst: Managing Director of Private Clients at Henley & Partners in New York, are both also quoted by the Telegraph concerning the possibility of ultra wealthy clients looking offshore for new structures to hold their money.
Ms Galst said: “They’re concerned that it is not in their best interests to hold all of their assets in the United States. They want to diversify any risk and that involves them potentially moving some part of their portfolios to other countries.”
The Telegraph is not the only outlet reporting the mass exodus of money out of American accounts.
Earlier this year the New York Times predicted that investors would continue withdrawing money and allocating it elsewhere instead.
It reported that “foreign markets” are the likely place for funds to be reinvested.
This all comes just weeks after Guernsey Finance’s man in the US urged firms to join with him as he works to develop business in the country.
Jonny Gamble was speaking at the promotional body’s 2025 Industry Update, which also heard about offshore trust opportunities coming out of South Africa and how important it was to be part of the developing regulatory process in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Gamble outlined what made the island of interest to Americans.
“In the private world space, asset protection and succession planning have been a key interest for the intermediaries that I’ve been speaking to,” he said.
“Why? As here in Guernsey, we have structures that allow private individuals and families to manage their wealth, their investments and their philanthropic efforts. We have structures that allow them to have a range of control that suits a client’s needs.
“We have 60 years experience in setting up and managing these structures, and we have a range of service providers here in the audience who can deliver the service requirements that meet their clients needs.”
It was the same story in funds, said Mr Gamble.
“Let’s take private equity and venture capitalism. What have I been seeing, and what makes Guernsey interesting to some of those US managers? Well, certainly it’s our access to international capital markets and our expertise in running structures.
“More importantly, different from our European and Caribbean competitors, we have a specific, bespoke model compared to the more cookie cutter model more present there. We can deliver bespoke structures very cost effectively for them to meet their needs.”
Mr Gamble is spending 120 days annually in the US, much more than was traditional for Guernsey Finance, having up to 250 meetings a year there and bringing over 250 introductions.
He said he is looking to “follow the money” in the best possible way, and he wants to collaborate with other Guernsey businesses and organisations to capitalise on this.
“We’re all ambassadors for Guernsey. Really, we ought to all be out there promoting the same sorts of messages, which for me certainly it’s not only that we’re the premier jurisdiction in all of the services that we provide, but also, we’re first amongst equals.”
Timed well to potentially capitalise on the reported numbers of wealthy Americans looking to move money out of the country, is Guernsey Finance’s upcoming ‘Miami Private Wealth Roadshow’.
Mr Gamble will be speaking during the two day event which will also see leading intermediaries – Rupert Morris; Private Capital & Trusts Partner at Walkers, and Joe Woodward; Director of Fort Group – share their insights and advice.
The roadshow’s theme is: Global Strategies for Multigenerational Businesses: Governance and Wealth Planning, designed to provide valuable insights and actionable strategies for high-net-worth individuals and their families.
Guernsey Finance says this is “a premier event for multigenerational businesses, exploring global strategies in governance and wealth planning with top industry leaders”.
The industry promotional body says there will “expert-led sessions on critical topics, including tax updates for the evolving landscape in Latam, HNWI global tax updates with a focus on Brazil’s Controlled Foreign Corporation rules and planning alternatives for Operating Business and for Private Clients”.
