Consistency of Actions – the Strategic Value of Reputation in a Complex World

It was of course by design that our London Private Wealth Conference theme of ‘Reputation as a Strategy’ was well timed (again) this year.

Against a backdrop of significant international and domestic volatility – heightened tensions in Gaza, escalating war in Ukraine, shifting economic alliances in Asia, societal discord in the US, the impact of tariffs on global trade – the event this year focused on how challenging it is to build and, importantly, maintain a positive reputation.

Because in today’s marketplace, reputation is currency. Our panellists made that abundantly clear. From an IFC standpoint, it is our reputation that enables us to provide investors, businesses, families and governments with the confidence they need to navigate the complex landscape outlined above.

Earning that reputation is not easy. It takes a combination of qualities. Integrity. Character. Trust. Action. Credibility. Leadership. Empathy. Consistency.

And, as was outlined at our conference, damaging reputation can be easily done and can have catastrophic consequences. As Benjamin Franklin once said: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, but only one bad one to lose it.”

The risks of damaging a reputation are very much alive. We live in a world of permacrisis. Global change. Geopolitical uncertainty. Volatility. And heightened public scrutiny.

Trust

But there is positive news. According to the often quoted Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in financial services is on the rise globally. The 2025 Barometer indicates that institutional trust overall is at a standstill globally, but financial services companies are well trusted in 17 of the 28 countries surveyed, rising two points globally in 2025 to 64%.

This is positioning the sector strongly to help drive positive change.

That is no mean feat, of course. The world is faced with a significant sense of unfairness, linked to economic inequality, fear of misinformation, job insecurity, and discrimination. But this is precisely why focusing on reputation as a strategic priority is important – not just so that financial services businesses and IFCs like Jersey can thrive, but because IFCs are uniquely placed to help channel capital and foster collaboration to address societal, market and sustainability challenges.

If we can earn the trust of clients, investors, regulators, markets and governments, give them confidence in our abilities and belief in our purpose, then we can put ourselves in a good position to support their endeavours, and play a positive role on the international stage.

A Long-term Commitment

For Jersey, the importance of reputation is not new; it has been an important part of our strategy for years, and we’ve endeavoured to earn that reputation by demonstrating strong governance and expertise and making good on our promise of certainty and stability.

It’s implicit in our mission statement – to ‘enable and champion a resilient, relevant and relationship-focussed financial and related professional services sector’. We can only do that by earning trust and maintaining a positive reputation.

But, the above trends are shifting the dial further, and we must continue to invest in our future reputational advantage.

It’s why, for example, we have evolved and diversified our global market strategy, by expanding further into the US to support both asset managers and families, and strengthening our presence in South-East Asia.

It’s why we have ramped up our support for global families, to support their increasingly complex needs. Wealth mobility is a major phenomenon – more than 16,000 high-net worth individuals are expected to leave the UK this year, for example (Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025). IFCs are having to find new ways to support families with their diversification and long-term planning needs in this uncertain environment.

It’s why we put such effort into nurturing our collective skills base and developing a sustainable, expert workforce.

It’s why we champion collaboration between IFCs, working together to bring about positive change collectively. Our work with the World Alliance of IFCs and through networks such as the UN’s Financial Centres for Sustainability are good examples of that.

And it’s why we continue to demonstrate leadership through innovation – by highlighting the potential of tokenisation, nurturing an ecosystem for virtual assets, supporting firms with their fintech ambitions, and, recently, enhancing our popular Jersey Private Fund regime to make it more accessible, slicker and quicker to market.

The underlying drivers of mistrust in society today – economic inequality, fear of misinformation, job insecurity, and discrimination – are not going away. Standing still is harmful, and as an IFC we have the opportunity and a responsibility to be progressive, act consistently in line with our mission, and deliver on our promises. All that relies on earning trust.

As Franklin said, reputation is built over the long-term, the sum of good actions. It’s about forward-thinking. It’s about being brave. It’s about consistency. By acknowledging that, we can not only thrive as an IFC, we can also deliver the stable, reliable platform that is so desperately needed to support global capital flows and make a positive difference.