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Offshore Services - Guernsey

 

Background

On February 1 2007 Guernsey introduced the concept of registered investment funds suitable for certain closed-ended investment funds. Registered funds may be companies (including protected cell companies), limited partnerships and unit trusts. Such funds may not be offered directly by the issuer to the public within Guernsey, but may be listed.

This new regime should simplify the application procedure and enable a three-working-day turnaround time for approval by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, provided that an appropriately licensed Guernsey service provider (an administrator) has certified to the commission that:

  • the administrator has performed sufficient due diligence to be satisfied that the promoter and associated parties are fit and proper;
  • effective procedures are in place to ensure that the fund is not offered directly by the issuer to any person not regulated under any of Guernsey's financial services regulatory laws within the Bailiwick of Guernsey; and
  • the status of the registered fund is specifically referred to in the offering document such that neither the commission nor the States of Guernsey Policy Council have reviewed the offering document and neither the commission nor the States of Guernsey Policy Council takes any responsibility for the financial soundness of the fund, or for the correctness of any of the statements made or opinions expressed with regard to it.

 

Requirements

Registered funds would have to comply with the minimum prospectus disclosure requirements required by a proposed new generic 'prospectus' law. Until such legislation is implemented, it is proposed to utilize the existing disclosure requirements for closed-ended investment funds seeking consent under the Control of Borrowing Ordinance.

Registered funds would be required, through their administrator, to make an initial filing with the commission and submit notifications to it in respect of changes to the fund, together with annual financial statements and quarterly statistical information. The administrator would be required to certify that it has undertaken due diligence on the promoter of the fund.

A standard rubric should be included on any offer documents, annual reports and accounts issued by a registered fund to the effect that the fund is a registered fund and that the commission has relied upon specific warranties provided by the administrator when issuing the relevant consent under the Control of Borrowing Ordinance.

 

Application Options

The introduction of the registered fund regime means that applications from closed-ended investment funds for the consent of the commission may now be made in one of three ways:

  • the three-stage consent process by which the commission assesses the application in detail;
  • the qualifying investor fund regime, which is restricted to investment funds aimed at professional, experienced and knowledgeable investors, as defined; or
  • the registered investment fund regime described above.

 

"International Law Office"