BVI Adds Gibraltar As Recognised Mutual Fund Jurisdiction

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, New York

28 January 2002

AMS Group, headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, reports that Gibraltar has recently been approved by the BVI Registrar of Mutual Funds as a recognised jurisdiction. This means that in the Registrar’s view it is a jurisdiction with a sufficiently prudent system of regulation/ supervision of mutual fund business in place so as to allow him to approve applications for recognition and registration by British Virgin Islands mutual funds which list a functionary (e.g. a manager) from this jurisdiction. There are now a total of 18 jurisdictions recognised by the Registrar as set out below:

United Kingdom; United States of America; Bermuda; Luxembourg; Switzerland; Ireland; Jersey; Guernsey; Isle of Man; Hong Kong; France; Belgium; The Netherlands; The British Virgin Islands; Singapore; Spain; Malta; and Gibraltar.

The BVI is now widely accepted as an attractive alternative jurisdiction for the establishment, administration and management of private and professional mutual funds (including hedge funds, money market funds and equity funds), to the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. There are over 2,000 mutual funds currently registered or recognised in the BVI representing assets in excess of US$75bn.

Although there are currently 400 entities providing management and/or administration services to Mutual Funds in the BVI, Mutual Funds do not have to be managed or administered from within the BVI. Regulated service providers in the above 18 jurisdictions around the world are accepted by the BVI Registrar of Mutual Funds to provide management and administrative services to BVI Funds, allowing greater flexibility when appointing service providers. Similarly a non-BVI Mutual Fund is not required to be regulated under the Mutual Funds Act only because it is managed or administered from within the BVI, provided that the management or administrative service provider is a BVI entity, licensed under the Mutual Funds Act.

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