Following the Treasury Minister’s approval of £250,000 for Jersey Finance to set up a representative office in New York, Mr Moynihan said that their recruitment for a North American business development director was now under way, with an appointment expected by the end of next month.
Outlining the reasons for Jersey Finance’s bid to establish a presence in the US, Mr Moynihan said that having someone ‘on the ground’ there would help to build on the growth of US business that is now beginning to flow through Jersey.
‘We have seen more US business coming through Jersey in recent years, particularly in the alternative-investment funds area, and there is a view that, because of where we are positioned, we can attract more of the same,’ he said.
‘The business case for looking at New York was very much around the funds opportunity. The business we have attracted so far has been without having a presence there [in America], and so if you look at what we have done in other markets, by having a presence on the ground we have managed to raise the profile of “Jersey plc”.
‘And the fact that we will be out there also gives Jersey Finance members a little bit more confidence in terms of the market. It gives them something to rally around.
‘If we have a good individual on the ground networking, they will be able to identify potential opportunities.’
While the initial focus of Jersey Finance’s interest in the US market had been on funds, Mr Moynihan said that there were indications that private wealth could also be an interesting opportunity for Jersey because of the Island’s good reputation abroad.
‘As US private wealth internationalises more and they invest more outside of their own time-zone area, into Europe, the UK and even parts of Africa, we in Jersey are a pretty good landing point with lots of expertise. Increasingly, reputations are becoming important, so from the US perspective Jersey is able to point to things like the European Finance Ministers’ announcement last month that ours is a co-operative jurisdiction.
‘Those sorts of things are becoming increasingly important for where you park your wealth, so from our point of view the reputation issue becomes more and more important.’
Mr Moynihan added that Jersey Finance’s presence in New York would also be an opportunity to market the Island as a destination in its own right, as well as a business hub. He said he would be continuing to encourage the organisation’s representatives to liaise with Visit Jersey and others to ensure that ‘the messaging is right’.
