JERSEY’S funds industry will need experienced practitioners if it is to survive difficult market conditions, a conference was told recently.

Delegates heard that the Island’s finance industry is now heavily dependent on the alternative funds sector, particularly private equity and real estate funds, with some of the largest names in the business represented in the Channel Islands.

Speakers at the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers global investment management conference predicted increasing demands from clients and regulators over the next 12 months, as large write-downs in the value of investments emerge.

In the longer term, funds will become more profitable and there will be high returns, but in the meantime the level of activity has slowed significantly and investors will need to be patient. In private equity, more funds have been raised than have been invested, with exits from companies having dropped dramatically, said specialists at the conference.

Brendan McMahon, PwC partner in Jersey, said that private equity was now probably the key funds sector in the Island. Mr McMahon, who has been involved in preparing a report on the sector, said that investors were still interested in private equity, despite the lack of leverage. However, there had been a ‘dramatic downturn’ in the level of activity in recent months, with concern about the longer term. Demands for increased transparency, sustainability and diversity were putting more pressure on management teams.

Pictured: PwC’s Nick Rea, Karl Hairon, Wendy Dorman and Brendan McMahon