Jersey Foundations Attract Growing Interest

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Just over a year since they were launched, Jersey Foundation structures are continuing to receive a steady flow of interest, according to an offshore legal expert.

Having been introduced in Jersey law in July 2009, 57 Foundations have been established in Jersey, 37 of which have been set up in 2010. In introducing the Foundation, Jersey became the first Crown Dependency to offer the structure.

Giles Corbin, a partner at Channel Islands law firm, Mourant Ozannes, believes there is potential for greater growth in the Foundation’s uptake going forward, particularly from China and Russia. He said: “So far this year we are seeing on average around five Foundations being established each month, which is a significant increase on last year’s average and an indication that they remain very attractive as an international wealth management vehicle. As well as being set up to help manage family wealth, we are also seeing a number of Foundations being created for legacy or charitable purposes, which demonstrates the versatility of the structure.”

Whilst there has not yet been significant activity in migrating existing foundations to Jersey from other jurisdictions, such as Liechtenstein and Panama, Corbin believes that there is interest in this area and anticipates growth this year.

“In an increasingly regulated financial world, people are increasingly looking for wealth planning structures that are transparent, clean and compliant, located in highly reputable, stable jurisdictions,” he added. “With this in mind, we expect to receive a growing number of enquiries this year from clients and advisers wishing to migrate existing foundations from other jurisdictions.”