Last month Neil Woodford, once a star investment picker in the UK, unveiled plans for a Jersey-based investment fund, less than two years after his flagship fund, Woodford Investment Management, was shut down after clients suffered heavy losses.
His dealings are still being investigated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.
The Jersey Financial Services Commission recently took the unusual step of saying it was ‘disappointed’ at Mr Woodford’s announcement, having not received an application to operate in the Island at that stage.
In an interview with the Financial Times, JFSC director general Martin Moloney said that the announcement had ‘created the very false impression that Jersey could be used as a back door to gain access to the UK market’.
He added: ‘Anyone who gets off the plane thinking that Jersey is a soft touch has wasted the price of the ticket. Jersey is not the place to come if you are trying to get around UK regulation, or any other regulation, for that matter.
‘We would not want Jersey to be used by anyone to avoid the kind of protections which rightly apply to investors in the UK. We aim for equivalent or similar outcomes in terms of the level of protection that our regulatory regime provides, and we actively consider the impact that businesses here can have on investors in other jurisdictions.’
Mr Moloney added that Jersey had a ‘very close working relationship’ with the FCA, with whom the JFSC was sharing information on Mr Woodford, and that no individual would be given ‘the benefit of the doubt’ if there were question marks over their suitability as an investment manager.
