Fund-Technology.com

Guernsey funds make eye-catching listings

Posted: 25 June 2008

Three funds domiciled and administered in Guernsey have been making waves in the markets with new listings:

• KSK Emerging India Energy Fund has become the largest fund to raise money on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) this year

• MW TOPS Limited has become the first Euronext listed fund to dual list on the main market of the LSE

• Phaunos Timber Fund has migrated from AIM to list on the main market of the LSE

Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance - the promotional agency for the Island's finance industry, said: "Together these three developments demonstrate that the great flexibility in being able to list Guernsey funds on a variety of different markets is an increasingly popular route with a proven formula for success." Guernsey funds are showing an ever-growing strength in making successful listings due to a number of factors:

• Listing rules mean that AIM has been particularly popular for Guernsey companies due to the Island's specialism in offshore funds and particularly those investing in alternative assets

• Guernsey is one of the few jurisdictions from where investment funds wishing to list on the Amsterdam Euronext do not need to obtain a licence in the Netherlands because the Dutch authorities (AFM) has ruled that there is already adequate ‘home' supervision

• Changes to the listing rules for the main market of the LSE, particularly removing the need for quarterly disclosure of portfolio holdings, has attracted more business which is a specialism of Guernsey, such as hedge fund and fund of funds business

Guernsey funds can take primary or secondary listings on the local Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX)

Ian Burns, Executive Director of the Anson Group, said: "The proposal to increase the capitalisation of Phaunos Timber Fund Limited through a C Share issue reflects investors' appetite for alternative asset classes. These asset classes bring their own structural, accounting and technical issues but our experience with Phaunos has been that the Guernsey based professionals selected to support the company have more than demonstrated their ability to deliver the skills and knowledge demanded by such a complex fund."

Click here for more information on Guernsey

Back to news