Opening 2025 with an industry update

Rupert Pleasant, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance

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Industry Update 2025

2025 is set to be another busy year for Guernsey Finance, which begins with our Industry Update, taking place later this month.

Industry Update provides an excellent opportunity to meet with those working across the various sectors of Guernsey’s financial services industry to inform them of our progress in 2024 and outline our priorities for the year ahead.?

We will be hearing from our global business development representatives?to gain insights from their markets of the UK, US, Middle East and South Africa, as well as representatives from the Guernsey International Business Association who will take part in a fireside chat.??

Finally, we will hear from Guernsey Finance Chairman Deputy Lyndon Trott, who I am delighted to say has awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s New Year’s Honours List for his contribution to Guernsey’s financial services and politics.?

Deputy Trott joined Guernsey Finance’s Board of Directors in 2014 and was appointed Chairman two years later, a position he still holds. He has represented Guernsey's financial services sector for six years on the Leadership Council of TheCityUK, and has been heavily involved in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, currently serving as independent trustee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Trust Funds.???

Freeman of the City of London

Looking back at 2024, I had the great personal honour of being made a Freeman of the City of London in November. My nomination was made by the City of London’s Lord Mayor at the time, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, who also conducted the ceremony at Mansion House. The nomination was for making a significant contribution in furthering the relationship within financial services between Guernsey and the City of London, which was very humbling, especially being in such esteemed company for the ceremony.? ?

STEP Asia Conference

In mid-November, I was part of a delegation from Guernsey who travelled to Singapore for the STEP Asia Conference. It was great to meet so many expat Guernsey professionals now living in Singapore and Hong Kong, referring business to the island. Their important and essential contribution to our economy must not be underestimated.??

It was a pleasure to be a Gold Sponsor of the conference to discuss the benefits of Guernsey’s extensive private wealth sector for this region with the Guernsey Finance delegation - Jo Stoddart, Director of Locate Guernsey, Jacob Cockcroft, Chief Commercial Officer at Butterfield Bank Guernsey, David Gilmour, Group Managing Director at Imperium Group, Joanna Caen, Counsel at Carey Olsen, and Paul Blackwell, Client Services Director at PraxisIFM.??

With more than five decades of experience in the servicing of private wealth, Guernsey is globally recognised as a leader in family office management and first-class asset structuring. During my trip, I was able to discuss this and more on Guernsey’s role as a financial hub and how that links with Hong Kong for The Close on Radio 3 RTHK. ?

The CityUK National Conference 2024

The end of November marked my final trip of the year, where I travelled to Birmingham for TheCityUK National Conference 2024. Guernsey Finance was proud to sponsor the event as a Gold Partner and represent Guernsey’s well-regulated industry.??

It was here where I was fortunate to spend 45 minutes with Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury of the United Kingdom. During a small, closed door round table session, I was able to discuss Guernsey’s huge economic contribution to the UK economy and our role as a member of the British family. Guernsey plays a significant partrole in increasing the international competitiveness of UK financial services providers, improving risk-adjusted returns and diversifying portfolios. A recent Frontier Economics report found that Guernsey-based funds currently hold UK assets worth ￡57 billion, and UK FTSE 100 companies may collectively save almost ￡100 million per year by using Guernsey captive insurance structures.???

I was then delighted to take part in a panel session to a packed audience, alongside Sandra Wallace CBE, Deputy Managing Partner and Managing Director Practice Groups at DLA Piper and TheCityUK Chair in the Midlands, Cuan Coulter, Executive Vice President and Head of UK and Ireland and State Street, Carl Sizer, UK Chief Markets Officer at PwC and Claire Tunley, Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Skills Commission. We discussed creating inclusive prosperity and investment across the UK, FDI and the regions accessing international capital. It was great to share the stage with such an esteemed panel and it was a hugely worthwhile visit to Birmingham, where I was joined by our North of England Representative Rowan Stone.

To round off a busy year, Guernsey won Institutional Asset Manager’s award for Best Offshore Fund Domicile 2024. The Institutional Asset Manager Awards recognise excellence among service providers within the institutional asset management sector in Europe, and this recognition highlights our strengths in regulatory excellence, innovative fund structures and our lasting appeal to fund managers.?

In 2025, we will continue to build on our successes in 2024, with strategic themes focusing on private capital as a force for good, enabling the new generation of wealth holders, captive insurance expertise, and Guernsey’s agility and innovative nature.????

If you would like to know more about Guernsey Finance’s specific initiatives this year, or you would like to get involved with one of our events or roadshows, please get in touch.?

With best wishes, Rupert.