More than 500 people attended the Guernsey Funds Forum 2015 in London last week, which was hosted by ITV news anchor, Alastair Stewart, OBE.
The keynote speech was delivered by Guernsey resident and private equity specialist Guy Hands, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited.
Dominic Wheatley, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance, says he was delighted with the number and quality of attendees, as well as the content of the sessions.
“The event allows us to reinforce and build upon our key relationship with the City of London so to have attracted such an impressive number of delegates is hugely encouraging for the funds industry in Guernsey,” says Wheatley. “It was fascinating to listen to Guy – a highly respected individual in the investment community and a long-time supporter of Guernsey’s fund industry – give the audience a real insight into his view of the future for private equity. His call for a return to the traditional values of private equity resonated with many in the hall. The panel sessions that followed Guy were equally compelling and allowed for a really informative debate between the speakers and delegates.”
The event included two panel sessions, the first of which looked at meeting the needs of European private equity and included a focus on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), manager experiences of private placement under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the latest on AIFMD passporting. Panellists comprised Emma Bailey from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC), James Gee from Weil, Tim Hames from the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), Robert Mellor from PwC and Karen Sands from Hermes GPE.
The second panel session looked at the future of investment entities and comprised Ravi Anand of Dexion Capital, Tom Attenborough from the London Stock Exchange, Peter Denton from Starwood Capital Europe Advisers, Erik Jamieson from Hogan Lovells and Ian Sayers from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
As well as the conference, there was also an exhibition of Guernsey service providers, including the Island’s leading fund administrators, custodians, multi-jurisdictional legal practices and global accountancy firms.
