New findings from the 23rd edition of Monterey Insight’s Guernsey Fund Report, the independent fund research company, reveal the market shares of all service providers in Guernsey’s funds industry.
Fund assets serviced in Guernsey stood at US$396.6bn at the end of June 2017, up 2.8% compared to 2016. The number of serviced schemes increased to 1,018 and the total number of sub-funds reached 1,363 (from 990 and 1,317 respectively).
For fund administration services of both domiciled and non-domiciled funds, Northern Trust continues to head the rankings as the largest administrator by total net assets (US$63.9bn), with Ipes (US$48.9bn) and Apax Partners (US$40.3bn) ranked second and third.
Belinda Aspinall, chief executive of Northern Trust in the Channel Islands said:
“We are delighted to be playing a key role in the Guernsey fund industry’s continued growth as the island continues to welcome new and innovative fund structures, particularly in the private equity/alternatives sector. As Guernsey’s largest administrator, custodian and transfer agent by total net assets we are committed to pioneering new solutions for the industry as demonstrated by our launch of the first commercial deployment of blockchain technology for the private equity market earlier this year. This global first was a collaborative initiative led by Northern Trust and supported by a range of Guernsey based stakeholders to bring the innovation to market.”
For funds under custody services of both domiciled and non-domiciled funds, Northern Trust also maintained their lead position with US$23.8bn, there was a change in the rankings for second place with BNP Paribas Securities Services (US$9.3bn) in second position ahead of Kleinwort Benson (US$8.2bn).
Transfer Agents are the new addition in the rankings this year, with Northern Trust taking first position with a total of US$50.7bn followed by Ipes with US$48.9bn and Aztec Group in third positon with a total of US$31.2bn
Among legal advisers, the ranking remains the same as Carey Olsen keeps its lead offering legal advice to 729 funds, followed in second place by Mourant Ozannes with 220 funds and Ogier in third position.
Ben Morgan, partner and head of Carey Olsen's corporate and finance group in Guernsey, said:
"These are excellent results for Guernsey and Carey Olsen, which demonstrate the resilience of the Island's fund industry and the embedded loyalty of the managers and referrers who regularly select Guernsey as their preferred jurisdiction.”
He added: "As a firm, we have increased our share of the market, and continue to hire widely to ensure we deliver the high standards of service which our clients expect of us. The service delivery standard and responsiveness of Carey Olsen, Guernsey's auditors, administrators, the Registrar and the financial services regulator is a key differentiator for the jurisdiction. There has also been a big increase in managers looking to build out their operations here, which is also an exciting new development."
Unchanged position for the first and second auditors, PwC maintain their leading position auditing 372 funds, ahead of KPMG with 298 funds. EY take on the third position this year with 133 funds followed closely by Deloitte in fourth position.
Roland Mills, Partner at PwC Channel Islands and Asset Management, commented:
“We’re delighted to have retained our leading position, and by an even wider margin than in 2016, as the largest auditor of Guernsey serviced funds. Guernsey has a thriving investment management industry and is recognised as a global centre of excellence for private equity, providing appropriate structures, a robust regulatory environment and first class professional services. PwC’s ranking demonstrates our commitment to our clients and to the funds industry in Guernsey, as we continue to provide top quality advice to local and global organisations in all sectors of the financial services industry and beyond.”
Among fund management companies, the largest promoter of funds serviced in Guernsey is Apax Partners with US$41.3bn. A switch in the ranking took place for the second and third position, as this year Cinven took the second place with US$21.4bn ahead of Partners Group US$19.1bn.
At sub-funds level, 180 fund and sub-funds were launched during the year accounting for US$22.3bn in assets of which 75 funds were private equities with a total assets of US$13.6bn representing 61% of the newly product launched.
For serviced funds, private equity/venture capital funds are still holding the primary position and accounted for US$250.3bn compared with US$244.3bn in 2016.
Karine Pacary, Managing Director of Monterey Insight, commented: “It is encouraging to see positive returns for the Guernsey Fund Industry which continues to be an attractive and influential financial centre despite a challenging European funds environment."
While private equity is a crucial element to Guernsey’s success, we have seen that other types of products launched during the year have a more accelerated growth rate in comparison to private equity. This reflects Guernsey’s ability to offer a variety of expertise and tailored fund services for a range of financial products. The introduction of the transfer agents ranking also portrays a more exhaustive picture of the services offered on the Island.”
For more information, please contact:
Karine Pacary
Managing Director, Monterey Insight
Tel. +44 (0)845 625 3863
Email: karine.pacary@montereyinsight.com
Notes to Editors
Monterey Insight is an independent fund research company that provides comprehensive statistical analysis of the Guernsey, Jersey, Ireland and Luxembourg fund industries: the only complete reference of service providers for all funds serviced in these jurisdictions.
As at 30th June 2017, leading service providers for all funds serviced in Guernsey (i.e. including non-domiciled funds under administration or custody in Guernsey) were as follows:
Source: Monterey Insight, Guernsey Fund Report.
