Guernsey: Wealth & Asset Management

The UK's proposed AIFM reforms aim to create a more proportionate framework for emerging alternative investment fund managers. As these businesses evolve from proof-of-concept to institutional scale, they face increasingly complex questions around fund structuring, investor access, and long-term platform development that require sophisticated jurisdictional solutions.

Alongside established trust structures, the BVI Private Trust Company (PTC) has become an increasingly valuable governance solution, providing families with a dedicated corporate trustee for estate, tax and succession planning.

For Middle Eastern family offices and family businesses, succession planning has often focused on structure: offshore holding companies, trusts and foundations designed to protect wealth, consolidate ownership and support international investment.

When settlors think about protecting a vulnerable family member, whether a child prone to profligacy, an adult struggling with addiction or an elderly relative suffering cognitive decline, the instinctive response...

As parts of the Middle East gradually return to normalcy following recent challenges, international finance centers are reaffirming their commitment to the region. This piece explores how established jurisdictions are supporting wealth structuring, Sharia-compliant planning, and investment fund frameworks while preparing to reconnect through upcoming conferences and roadshows across the Gulf and Asia.

Guernsey's regulatory framework for private capital has evolved beyond post-2008 retail protection measures to serve sophisticated investors who demand speed, flexibility, and proportionate oversight. The jurisdiction now offers streamlined products like the Qualifying Private Investment Fund and Family Private Investment Fund that eliminate unnecessary regulatory friction while maintaining appropriate supervision for institutional participants and family offices managing trillion-dollar portfolios.

Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, signs of recovery are emerging in the private equity market.

The first panel of the event, titled 'Building Wealth', featured Alice Russell from Cazenove, Alexander Joshi from Barclays Private Bank, Juliet Young from Schillings Partners and Tom Hibbert from Canaccord.

At this year's Guernsey Private Wealth Forum 2025, the second panel session titled 'Preserving Wealth' starred Gillian Browning from GFSC, Edward Emblem from S&W, Kerrie Le Tissier from HIGHVERN...