THE ANNUAL CAYMAN FUNDS ROUND TABLE


“Having worked in other jurisdictions, I was very surprised upon arriving in Cayman to find that everyone works for the greater good.” Phil Dickie


together to resolve things will help ensure that Cayman remains the premier jurisdiction.


Gauk: If other offshore jurisdictions are now making an effort to promote themselves, they may do well compared with their performance in recent years but I don’t think they will take over from Cayman. First, Cayman is entrenched in the international marketplace. Second, with regard to regulation, it is a question of how efficiently we can apply it. Whether it is FATCA or the automatic exchange of information, the implementation in Cayman must be done as efficiently as possible compared with other jurisdictions which are also implementing these rules.


Ackerley: I agree that is important. A lot of the regulatory issues people are dealing with are not Cayman regulatory issues. But I believe we have the talent here to be able to deal efficiently with these matters and build them into our existing systems.


Monette Windsor: But that is a challenge, and people are tired of regulations. There’s a kind of regulatory fatigue that a lot of our managers and clients are experiencing. We actually see that as a sort of opportunity. First, it is good that it’s clear that the Cayman government is being very proactive and is one of the first countries to sign many of these treaties. That sends a strong message to clients and investors that Cayman is a good place to do business.


As a service provider, we can also help our clients deal with these regulations—they can lean on us. We can innovate around that and it can create new services and revenue streams around these regulatory challenges.


Dickie: We are definitely seeing a significant increase in vigilance from overseas regulators, not just in the form of additional regulation but also in the manner in which they conduct their authorisations and onsite inspections. Several regulators have recently increased their focus on areas such as fund governance, specifically as this relates to the control environment and management of conflicts of interest.


So to help managers comply with their various registrations, they need


to interface directly with service providers and incorporate them into their key processes. That means that now more than ever, it’s important that they pick the right people and work very closely with them whether they are directors, administrators, lawyers or auditors.


Lock: I agree that Cayman is still the jurisdiction of choice, especially for certain markets such as the North American market. If you look at the statistics on funds registered with CIMA, about 55 percent have North American investment managers and we are absolutely and clearly the jurisdiction of choice for that market.


As others have said, these North American managers choose Cayman


because otherwise their investors, and potential investors, would question the manager’s jurisdictional choice. That’s not necessarily true in the Asian market or South American market where we have do have competitors. With this in mind, we certainly don’t need regulation for its own sake.


What is your view on the pending legislation on fund governance that could result in a database of


directorships being created? Gauk: It’s important to separate regulation into what is being imposed on Cayman by external forces versus what is being created here. While we don’t have as much influence on external regulation, it is important that we manage it and implement it efficiently and remain ahead of the curve in terms of what the rest of the world is doing.


Of more importance is the regulation being generated locally. We can influence that and whether it is too much or too little.


Rogers: The fact is that people don’t mind regulation when they see the benefit of it. Some things clearly offer an international benefit. The Financial Action Task Force Recommendations called for the introduction


CAYMAN FUNDS | 2014 5


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