Jersey Fund Structures

Jersey: A Centre of Excellence for Alternatives

With substantial experience of the full spectrum of fund strategies and asset classes – including private equity, real estate, infrastructure, sustainable investment, hedge fund and secondaries funds – and growing expertise in digital assets – Jersey has developed a well-respected and forward-thinking sector. It offers solutions for fund managers with regimes from retail options through to the more sophisticated and institutional end of the market.

Jersey is a specialist centre for the alternative asset classes, which represent 89% of total funds business in Jersey, with private equity and venture capital up 46% from December 2021 to £206.9bn (Source: JFSC, March 2022).

Jersey Private Fund

The Jersey Private Fund (JPF) was introduced in April 2017 and has become highly popular with the total number of registered Jersey Private Funds, as of March 2025 there are 750 JPFs.

By being cost-effective, flexible and swift to market, the structure has genuinely become a go-to vehicle particularly when it comes to private capital co-investment and cross-border institutional alternative fund structuring.

Find out more in our Jersey Private Funds Factsheet.

UEIF Funds

Unregulated Eligible Investor Funds (UEIF) fall outside the regulatory regime under the CIF Law, and the requirements of the Certified Funds Code do not apply. These funds must meet the criteria set out in the Collective Investment Funds (Unregulated Funds) (Jersey) Order 2008.

Read our UEIF Factsheet to learn more.

Expert Fund

Expert Funds are attractive for non-retail schemes, whether joint ventures, hedge funds, private equity vehicles or other schemes aimed at ‘Expert Investors’.

Regulated Eligible Investor Fund

Regulated Eligible Investor Funds are similar to Expert Funds in structure, authorisation requirements and ongoing regulation, except for the following key differences:

• Must be an AIF, for the purposes of AIFMD
• The offering document is not required to comply with the usual disclosure requirements
• All investors must be “Eligible Investors” (see below)

Like Expert Funds, these Funds are attractive for non-retail schemes (including joint ventures, hedge funds, private equity vehicles and other schemes aimed at “Eligible Investors”) and can be established quickly and cost-effectively.

Hedge Funds

A hedge fund is a form of investment that builds a portfolio that includes a variety of alternative investments such as stocks, bonds, currencies etc.

Unlike traditional investment vehicles, such as mutual funds, hedge funds have greater flexibility in their investment strategies allowing a hedge fund manager to buy, sell or hold these funds as part of their investment strategy to minimise risk and maximise return.

In the investment sector, companies may utilise hedge financing to leverage particular investment positions to enhance their investment position. This approach requires a sophisticated hedge fund manager who can deliver precise risk assessment and can adapt quickly as market positions shift to maximise returns within the overall portfolio.

Collective Investment Fund

This category encompasses open-ended funds which are to be offered to retail investors and other CIFs which do not qualify as an Expert Fund, Listed Fund or Regulated Eligible Investor Fund.

Listed Fund

Listed Funds are established on certification by the fund administrator that the fund complies with the criteria set out in the LF Guide. The JFSC issues the relevant certificate on receipt of the certification and the fund’s offer document. As a result, a Listed Fund can be established in Jersey within 3 days.

Jersey Funds Comparison

Compare each fund in our factsheet including:

• Fees
• Timescales
• Legal Structure/ Restrictions
• Investors
• Service Providers
• Promotion
• Advantages
• Disadvantages

How and Why Jersey Developed as an International Fund Jurisdiction

This white paper, produced by IFI Global, explores the origins of the key international fund jurisdictions around the world, including Jersey, how they became established bases for the asset management industry and how they are evolving.  Among the report’s key areas of focus are:

• Key dates, from the establishment of the first expatriate banking operation in Jersey in the 1960s to EU alternative fund regulation in 2018
• The origins of the international funds industry in the 1980s, including the first investment funds offered to expats and the largely Anglo-Saxon asset management industry of the 1990s
• The dawn of alternatives and the expansion of hedge, private equity and real estate funds, and other alternative investment products including the introduction of regulatory measures, the shift towards institutional investors, the heightened focus on governance and substance in the wake of the global financial crisis, and the impact of Brexit
• The future, including the growth of sustainable finance and crypto funds and the importance of first mover advantage when it comes to new investment categories

AIFMD and the Impact on Jersey Funds

There are a number of changes relating to the NPPR regime brought about by AIFMD II. They include new requirements for non-EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) to market EU or non-EU Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) through NPPR, and they will be added under Article 42 AIFMD.