Guernsey fund centre guide

Guernsey

Crown Dependency in the Channel Islands, closer to France than to England and outside both the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Bailiwick includes Alderney and Sark, and finance is the largest single part of the economy.

Private equity and infrastructure dominate the fund business, alongside a captive insurance market that is among the largest in Europe. The island regulates closed-ended funds as readily as open-ended ones, which suits long-dated private capital.

Regulators

Guernsey Financial Services Commission

GFSC·Territory regulator · Bailiwick of Guernsey·St Peter Port

Regulatory body for the finance sector in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, supervising banking, insurance, investment, fiduciary, pensions, lending and credit, and prescribed businesses. Runs its own authorisations, enforcement and financial crime divisions, and publishes quarterly statistics for the banking, insurance and investment sectors.

gfsc.gg

Numbers

Q2 2026

Net asset value

£270bn

Q2 2026

Guernsey Financial Services Commission, covering Guernsey · quarterly · source

Fund structures

Last verified 28 August 2026

Private investment fund

Closed-ended vehicle for a restricted investor base, with a lighter authorisation path than the registered and authorised classes. The regime most private capital sponsors use.

Private equityInfrastructureFamily office

Private Investment Fund Rules

Registered fund

Registered rather than authorised, open or closed-ended. Approval follows a representation of suitability from a Guernsey licensed administrator, who scrutinises the fund and its promoter in place of the regulator and carries the ongoing monitoring.

Private equityInfrastructureReal estate

POI Law 2020

Authorised closed-ended scheme

Declared authorised under section 8 of the POI Law after a substantive review by the regulator. Must appoint a Guernsey established, POI licensed designated administrator.

Private equityInfrastructure

Authorised Closed-Ended Investment Schemes Rules 2021

Authorised open-ended scheme

Same declaration route for open-ended funds, with the additional requirement of a Guernsey licensed custodian or trustee overseeing the administrator.

Hedge

POI Law 2020, section 8