Is Jersey One Of The Best Offshore Jurisdictions?

This is a blog by Agreus Advisor, Christopher Costi. You can reach out to Christopher with your comments and questions here.

Jersey is a world leading finance centre with a favourable time zone and attractive taxation landscape. It offers a close proximity to onshore European financial hubs, a vast range of expertise in the form of service providers and a vigorous court system, favoured for its ability to administer family matters.

The island also facilitates the geographic diversification of assets which is a prevalent trend post-pandemic and offers an attractive proposition to Family Offices in the form of its robust regulatory framework and respected reputation.

Jersey allows Family Offices to uphold the value of transparency and after a turbulent 20 months of Archegos, scrutiny, Coronavirus and uncertainty, it might just be one of the best offshore jurisdictions for Family Offices.

From prestigious educational centres to stretches of sandy beaches and attractive taxation. Jersey has something for everyone and though it is not classified as a tax haven, Jersey’s personal income tax capped at 20% and corporation tax sitting at 5% is certainly an incentive for wealth holders and their key service providers.

Like all great reward however, there does come a great responsibility and in this case, quite the adjustment.

Jersey hosts very different employment, discrimination and property laws to those in the UK and EU and while much of the island’s legislation is a selling point for Family Offices, working to a new rule book can be difficult at times and it often makes the simplest of business decisions, quite the task.

From ensuring your staff contracts comply with Jersey hiring regulations to making sure the person you recruit can work legally without a prior residency on the island, hiring in itself can be a minefield as can the simple acquisition or rental of property which often requires a 10-year stay.

Ensuring you have an inner and outer circle of experts around you consisting of exceptional in-house talent and trusted outsourced providers is vital and while there is no shortage of incredibly talented professionals who sit within external providers on the island, with a population of less than 100,000, the internal talent pool is incomparable to financial centres within the rest of the UK and EU.

Relocating talent however can be just as difficult. The first step in relocating talent requires permission from the local authorities, a business license and evidence that you have exhausted the local talent pool before expanding your search. A Family Office just like any organisation on the island can only have so many licenses at any one time adding yet another obstacle to the hiring process and putting additional pressure on Family Offices to make the right hiring decision, the first time.

Considering where to find existing talent, how to relocate professionals and the best way to onboard both can be extremely difficult but it does not have to be.

We have been working as a Family Office recruiter within Jersey for many years and through this time have been able to develop an exceptional pool of local talent and nurture close relationships with service providers on the island to help make your transition a smooth one.

For a more tailored conversation about moving your team to Jersey or for a hiring requirement that you might already have on the island, please do not hesitate to get in touch.