Economy Drive
Looking into the crystal ball
“Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.” - Henry Steele Commager.
For most lucky enough to have the opportunity, Jersey is a fabulous place to live. The island’s economy has in recent decades been underpinned by a flourishing financial sector, which has made Jersey a centre of excellence in the areas of wealth management, banking, fiduciary services and fund administration, supported by innovative and responsive legal and accounting sectors. Coupled with the many advantages of island living, this has made Jersey an ideal place for the ambitious professional to find some work-life balance.
The financial crisis precipitated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 presented the most profound threat to the market-based economic model since the Great Depression. This, combined with the globally coordinated drive to increase tax revenues by profligate countries around the globe, presented a particular challenge to small jurisdictions with a specialism in the financial sector. Nevertheless, Jersey has so far managed to weather the storm, in the main due to an acceptance that the world was changing and our island would need to adapt.
Concerted drives into new markets and new service offerings have helped to spread the risk away from areas of particular concentration. By building further on the skills it already had in place, Jersey has become something of a centre of excellence in financial services and shed the anachronistic ‘tax haven’ label. With continued support from industry bodies such as Jersey Finance, this process should continue to bear fruit.
But what about the future prospects for Jersey? Despite its relative resilience, the island’s most
By BEN STOTT,
Co-founder and Director, Affinity Private Wealth
recent official economic figures are not inspiring, showing little or no growth in real terms. The much-hyped upturn seems to be taking time to arrive on our shores. How should a small, relatively open economy, like Jersey position itself to keep developing and maintain its place at the top table?
i“I wouldn’t be credible as an ”
nvestment advisor if I didn’t espouse the virtues of diversification
Having been part of a team that established a brand new wealth management and fiduciary business in the depth of the crisis in 2011, I believe at least part of the answer lies in encouraging entrepreneurial activity. Jersey has historically done a very good job in attracting world-leading organisations, but we should be under no illusions about the nature of the economic dependence in such relationships – we need them more than they need us.
Within the finance sector in particular, we need to support enterprises where Jersey is a home rather than an outpost and where decisions are taken in the context of our local economy. That is certainly not to imply we should not encourage continued investment from larger organisations headquartered elsewhere – simply that a healthy balance should be sought.
Help definitely exists for budding entrepreneurs, notably from the independent support organisation Jersey Business and existing business owners (such as Affinity’s founders) wishing to see ‘Jersey plc’ succeed over the long term. The government body
20/20 Finance & Investment Page 71
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