Jersey's funds industry reached a new record at the end of 2020 seeing a 9% increase YoY to £378.1bn in assets under administration, the island's regulator has announced.
This was driven by private equity, which rose 21%, and the growth to more than 400 Jersey Private Funds, the figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 (ending 31 December 2020), collated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), showed.
The net asset value of regulated funds under administration in Jersey grew by £32.4bn annually to stand at £378.1bn.
The increase reflects a period of sustained growth for Jersey's funds industry, with the figure at the end of 2020 rising by more than two thirds (67%) over the last five years.
In particular, the alternative asset classes, which now represent 89% of total funds business in Jersey, continued to prove the engine room of growth, with private equity and venture capital up by 21% year-on-year to £164.6bn.
In addition, the number of registered Jersey Private Funds, which are not included in the headline figures, grew by almost 100 over the year to reach a total of 403.
Meanwhile, the figures also show that deposits held in Jersey banking institutions at the end of 2020 stood at £131.7bn, down 8% year-on-year, a reduction that was heavily influenced by currency movements and global market volatility, with 56% of deposits in Jersey held in foreign currencies.
Corporate activity, meanwhile, was also very strong in 2020, with a record level of company incorporations in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the total number of live companies on the register standing at the second highest level in ten years at the end of the year (33,626).
Jersey Finance CEO, Joe Moynihan, said: "Against the backdrop of a really challenging year for global markets, this is a positive picture for our industry, and for our funds sector in particular which has again achieved stellar growth to reach new record levels.
The resilience and stability Jersey has shown has clearly resonated amongst investors and managers, as they have continued to put their faith in Jersey as a specialist high quality centre for alternative funds.
He added that despite currency movements impacting overall bank deposits, material deposit levels have stayed largely stable and consistent over recent years, while the positive corporate activity we saw in 2020 was a reflection of the health of the industry and our role in supporting cross-border activity.
Tim Morgan, chair of the Jersey Funds Association, also said particularly in the private equity, venture capital and alternative space, a number of "big-ticket funds" had come to market through Jersey over the past twelve months.
"The fact that almost 100 new Jersey Private Funds have been registered over the year is also hugely positive, underlining both the appeal of the JPF as the go-to vehicle for professional investors but also Jersey's ability more widely to innovate in the right areas."
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