On November 15, Walkers, the leading international financial centre law firm, welcomed the confirmation of the final terms of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and the removal of uncertainty for non-EU fund managers marketing non-EU funds in the EU as a positive development for the investment funds industry in the Cayman Islands, as well as in the BVI and Jersey.
On November 11, 2010, the final terms of the AIFMD were approved by the European Parliament.
Rod Palmer, partner and Global Head of Investment Funds with Walkers, said: “The confirmation that non-EU fund managers will be able to continue marketing Cayman Islands, BVI and Jersey funds to professional European investors is excellent news for the industry”.
Richard May, partner with Walkers based in the British Virgin Islands, said that the Cayman Islands, as well as the BVI and Jersey, are very highly rated by the FATF in respect to their anti-money laundering regimes. This means they will not have to make any changes in their funds’ operations to comply with the Directive.
According to Jennifer Thomson, partner with Walkers in the Cayman Islands, in recent discussions on the Directive, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) confirmed their commitment to entering into co-operation agreements with EU regulators as a matter of priority. He said: “This follows Cayman’s long history of working with regulators worldwide and reflects Cayman’s own strong regulatory framework. We know Jersey and BVI regulators share this commitment as well.”
The Cayman Islands appears on the OECD’s “white list” of nations which have substantially implemented the internationally agreed standards on tax and information exchange. The jurisdiction continues to enter into new tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with EU member states.