Jersey as a Platform for Growth: Systematica’s Story

This article originally featured on HedgeWeek.

Jersey Finance’s Head of Funds Elliot Refson talks to Paul Rouse, CFO at Leda Braga’s Jersey-headquartered Systematica Investments, about how the hedge fund manager has evolved over the past decade and how Jersey continues to provide the jurisdictional platform to support its future ambitions…

Elliot Refson (ER): Systematica emerged as a spin-out just over ten years ago when it established its corporate headquarters in Jersey. What stands out to you now, as you look back over those ten years?

Paul Rouse (PR): Things have certainly evolved over the past decade. As a spin-out manager, in the early days we had very little of our own infrastructure, with transitionary support being provided by our former hedge fund, so a significant focus back then was on becoming fully independent, building out middle and back office  teams, and creating our own technology systems.

The biggest change has really been how we have diversified. Ten years ago, our AUM was driven predominantly by BlueTrend, our original trend following fund. Today, our offering is far broader. We’ve developed and rolled out  other trend followers  focused on  Alternatives Markets and China Markets but also developed a non-trend macro business and made significant investments in our Equity market neutral capabilities. As well as developing our offering we have also introduced structures that enable investors to access multiple strategies through a single investment. Overall, we’ve become far more sophisticated, in a way that is really unrecognisable compared to ten years ago.

ER: We’ve obviously seen considerable market shifts in that timeframe – how has that shaped your approach?

PR: Evolution has always been part of our strategy – but there’s no doubt that investor behaviours and market forces have encouraged us to accelerate that strategy. The days when an investor knocks on your door and it’s enough to simply showcase your product range are long gone. It’s more bespoke and solutions-driven now and that’s where we have needed to be creative and agile.  It’s why it was vital to get a high-calibre team and infrastructure established from the outset, and why having the backing of a reliable jurisdictional platform has been so important.

ER: Innovation and technology are central to Systematica’s culture. Can you elaborate on that?

PR: We’ve always looked to innovate through technology. The analysis of big data is critical to what we do as a quant manager – our research and our digital market simulations, for example.

AI of course continues to be a big talking point, but we have been using a number of these tools and techniques for many years.  The rapid development of these tools means there is always more we can do across the firm to support our tech-driven ethos, from an investment and operational perspective. It’s exciting – but we’re conscious that these tools are powerful and we need to harness them in the right way. The fact that Jersey is committed as a jurisdiction to supporting tech innovation and has one of the fastest broadband speeds in the world makes it a good fit for us to deliver on our digital ambitions.

ER: What is it that has made Jersey such a ‘good fit’ for supporting Systematica’s approach to investment and technology?

PR: First, we’ve been pleased with just how approachable and commercial the regulator is in Jersey. Having easy access to the regulator has been a significant benefit and made establishing our corporate headquarters really straightforward.

In addition, Jersey’s stability as a jurisdiction – economically, politically, regulatory and fiscally – is a considerable benefit. Against the backdrop of geopolitical volatility, that is more important than ever and it’s something we certainly don’t take for granted.

What’s also interesting is that Jersey’s proposition as a funds hub has changed subtly over the past decade. The focus has moved from being focused largely on structuring Jersey funds – though that is still an option – to being more about supporting managers at a corporate headquarters-level. Jersey has positioned itself well as a platform of substance for global managers, like us, to structure and manage their funds, possibly in Jersey, but in other locations too.

ER: And how has it panned out from a personal perspective?

PR: It’s been a really positive experience. Being able to take the children to school, for instance, is so much easier in Jersey, without the hectic and time-consuming commute you associate with London and other cities. It gives you back time and moments with the family. You can’t put a price on that.

The outdoors lifestyle has been terrific too – the beaches, sea swimming and surfing, the country lanes and coastlines for walks. It provides us with a really good balance for lifestyle opportunities and work.

ER: Do you see that work-life proposition resonating with fund managers more widely?

PR: Yes -over the past few years, we’ve seen a material increase in established, spin-out, emerging and new managers moving their head offices to Jersey, often putting their regulatory top-level investment manager entity here. And that growing community is really valuable. If you have a question about a regulatory change, for example, and you need a sounding-board, it’s easy to tap into the right expert locally. You don’t get that so easily elsewhere.

And as an island, Jersey is remarkably international – British culture blended with European heritage. It’s unique. The communications links are good too. There are frequent flights to the UK and London in particular, with flights taking under an hour, making it feel like a short commute. And from there, there is connectivity with the rest of the world. It’s certainly not an isolated island – it’s well-connected, sophisticated and digitally forward-looking, and I think managers are increasingly alive to that.

ER: Looking ahead, how do you see the landscape evolving and how is Jersey equipped to support that evolution?

PR: The world is not getting any less volatile and stable locations like Jersey are in a great spot to support managers who will undoubtedly be looking for reliable platforms that can deliver certainty.

Then there is technology – it’s always been central to our approach, but digital capability is going to become increasingly important across the sector. Jersey is strong here too – it’s got a clear digital agenda. As technology becomes increasingly integrated within the fund manager ecosystem, infrastructure and a digital talent pipeline are only going to become more important.

From a Systematica perspective, the second half of 2025 was very positive, and we are looking to build on that in 2026, with confidence that Jersey will continue to support us on our evolutionary journey.