GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Matthew Brehaut, Carey Olsen
• Statistical returns must be filed quarterly with the GFSC. • Proposals for material changes to Guernsey funds must be notified to the GFSC. • Companies, limited partnerships and part - nerships are subject to annual return filing requirements with the Registrar of Compa - nies. • Annual tax filings must be made by all com - panies. Of the above, only the Guernsey Registry annual return is publicly available. 2.3.11 Approach of the Regulator Guernsey maintains a robust, proportionate, flexible and competitive funds regulatory regime, adopting a risk-based approach to ensure that appropriate levels of investor protection are maintained, while at the same time avoiding unnecessarily complex, prescriptive or burden - some regulation (or granting waivers of cer - tain regulatory requirements where considered appropriate). The attitude of the regulator continues to be one of fostering constructive approachability. This is built firmly on the basis of a transparent, open and co-operative approach. The GFSC’s view has always been to understand at an early stage where there are potential issues, and to identify, with the relevant section of industry, solutions to those issues that will ultimately produce the best outcome for all stakeholders and thereby protect the reputation of Guernsey. As such, the regulator is always open to discussions on regu - latory questions, opens issues to consultation and publishes guidance on regulatory matters where such guidance would be helpful to prac - titioners or the industry as a whole.
The GFSC works closely with the funds industry to ensure that the regulatory regime continues to evolve and provide the kinds of structures required by today’s investors, with the protec - tion of those investors (commensurate with their sophistication) at the forefront. There is ongoing engagement between the GFSC and industry experts to further the island’s interests. This engagement has given Guernsey a strong track record in innovation, having created the protected cell company over 25 years ago (a concept which has been copied globally). More recently, the PIF regime was launched (and sub - sequently expanded in scope), providing fund classes specifically designed to reflect the often close relationship between fund managers and their investors, and to facilitate smaller funds with sophisticated investors. The close relationship between the GFSC and Guernsey’s funds industry also ensures a high level of pragmatism and responsiveness. Fund vehicles can be established on a same-day basis and regulatory approval times can be as little as one day. By and large, the GFSC adheres to stated timeframes. The regulator approaches enforcement on a proportionality basis. This means that “enforce - ment” spans a range of actions from remediation of breaches to sanctions and criminal proceed - ings. 2.4 Operational Requirements Restrictions on types of activity or types of investment, and asset-protection requirements, depend on the relevant fund type and are sum - marised in 2.2.1 Types of Investors in Alterna- tive Funds .
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