VIDEO: Guernsey Finance's Dominic Wheatley

"There are some trends in global finance towards higher quality and higher standards of transparency and regulation, and also AML [anti-money laundering]," he said. "I think there is a tendency for business to be attracted by the higher quality domicile. That is very much in Guernsey's favor - we are a high quality domicile - and I think that will help us in the future."

Private equity has been a major focus for Guernsey in recent years. As to whether the island is managing to draw business from the likes of the Cayman Islands - long favored by the private equity industry as a fund domicile - Wheatley observed that it is a competitive environment and jurisdictions have different offerings in terms of access to particular markets. However, he believes Guernsey's reputation for compliance, reliability and ease of doing business will continue to stand it in good stead.

In terms of geographic access, Guernsey is a convenient base for targeting Europe. From a private equity fundraising perspective, its fortunes are somewhat tied to the EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers' Directive (AIFMD).

Under the AIFMD passport regime, EU-based funds and managers can market their products more freely within the region, albeit on condition of meeting more stringent regulatory requirements. Member states run private placement regimes used by non-EU managers, which vary markedly in terms of ease of access.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been conducting a review of the management and marketing of funds under AIFMD. It will offer an opinion later this year on whether the passport system that currently applies to EU-based managers should be extended to GPs from outside the region.

"What we have done is design a regime that is very pragmatic and easy to use as we can make it. I think it will provide very good access to the European markets going forward," Wheatley said. "We are waiting to hear about the outcome of the ESMA consultation about the country arrangements. I think our AIFMD is fit for purpose and working well for the people who are using it."

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