15 June 2009

Jersey Finance Welcomes Approval of Foundations

The approval of the Jersey Foundations Law by Privy Council this week has been welcomed by Jersey Finance as a hugely positive step in affirming the Island as a centre of excellence for private wealth management business.

Passed by Privy Council on 10th June, the law will enable the first foundation structures to be established from mid-July. Jersey becomes the first of the British Crown Dependencies to offer foundations as an investment vehicle for financial planning.

Foundations sit alongside existing vehicles such as companies, trusts and limited partnerships for use in financial planning and private wealth management strategies. Whilst similar in design to foundations in other jurisdictions, the Jersey structure introduces the concept of a ‘guardian’ with oversight on the council’s activities in relation to the foundation and ensures that it achieves the broad objectives outlined in its constitutive documents.

Robert Kirkby, Technical Director of Jersey Finance, said:

The approval of foundations is a hugely important development for Jersey’s Finance Industry. There has been extensive consultation between Industry, legislator and regulator throughout the development of the Jersey foundation, which offers Jersey-based trust and wealth management providers with a highly attractive addition to their existing range of options.

There has been significant interest in Jersey foundations for some time now. We expect them to be a particularly attractive option for wealthy clients in civil law jurisdictions where the concept of a trust vehicle is not so familiar.

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