Connection is Key – March 2022 Update from Allan Wood

At Jersey Finance, having a global footprint of international offices has served us well throughout the pandemic, however we are nonetheless excited that the complexity associated with global travel and hosting events has eased significantly during the opening months of 2022.  

My business development team and I have held events in more than 12 cities already during this first quarter of the year, across the UK, Asia, Africa, USA, and Gulf Region, and we are optimistic that we will be able to run our full programme of events this year, covering all our markets in person. Please do keep an eye on our events programme over the coming months, and we hope you will be able to join us at events in your region.

Last week, we marked one year on from the launch of Jersey’s sustainable finance strategy and vision. As part of a series of new collaborations we have committed to with international bodies to support the scaling up of sustainable finance, late last year we were admitted to the International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S). This collective of international financial centres (IFCs) are working together to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.

Research also continues to play an important part of the work we do at Jersey Finance, setting Jersey apart as a leading IFC. In 2022, we will continue to add to our library of evidence-based research and independent insights, starting with our ‘Family Offices and Investment – The Generation Shift’ report which was published recently. This report is available to you now and explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the investment priorities of family offices and the leading role of the ‘NextGen’ in the investment process. Coming very soon, we will be revealing the results of our Jersey Private Wealth report – an independent research study by Gibson Strategy, and later in the year will publish research into the funds sector and domiciliation trends among emerging managers, as well as region-specific research.

Over the past few weeks, the world’s attention has been turned to the Russia-Ukraine war. Jersey Finance stands beside the Government of Jersey, the UK, and international partners in condemning the appalling actions of Russia against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. In accordance with our constitutional position, Jersey acts in line with the UK on matters of foreign policy and we take our responsibilities as a well-regulated, cooperative IFC very seriously. We therefore fully support, have implemented, and will continue to implement, all UK and UN sanctions deployed in response to Russia’s actions. Our regulator, the Jersey Financial Services Commission is co-ordinating with the industry on this matter, but please do contact us if you have any specific questions or concerns.

Relationships are more crucial than ever as we navigate these particularly testing times and, even before this latest development, we recognised that we are now operating in a far more complex and nuanced world. We hope to see you at one of our events over the coming year, and my business development team and I also remain on hand for either in person or virtual meetings, should that be your preference. Please do contact us at any time if you would like to learn more about Jersey or the Member firms we represent.