Ocorian's Alternative Investment team review the current trends in Private Equity and Real Estate Fund Administration.

Ocorian's Family Office team explore how wealthy families get the most out their donations. We have observed that there are two main factors in creating a successful outcome in the charity sector: Engagement and Rigour.

Ocorian (previously Bedell Trust) was founded in 1971 and has extensive experience of establishing and managing complex high value structures for international clients, working directly with our clients, professional advisers and intermediaries.

Jersey is one of the premier offshore jurisdictions for the establishment of investment funds and other investment structures. Jersey is highly regarded for the quality of its regulatory regime and its legal and other service providers. Investment funds contribute significantly to Jersey's finance industry and many innovative products and structures are available to suit all types of investor and promoter.

The Companies Registry at the Jersey Financial Services Commission ("JFSC") is making changes to the way it collects information concerning beneficial ownership and control ("BO&C"). Jersey has made an international commitment to having an up to date and current (but non-public) centralised BO&C register.

As a result of increasing demand from clients and advisers, Ocorian has incorporated a dedicated company whose sole focus is the provision of protector and enforcer services.

Following our last CRS briefing ('second update') issued in June 2016 to clients and their professional advisors, we are now able to provide a further update. This latest update covers the scope of persons and structures likely to be reportable under the CRS legislation. Additionally, this briefing also details the information that is required to be shared with the relevant local tax authorities.

The Family Office team at Ocorian have a number of Senior Private Equity Executives as clients. This factsheet summarises the main services that Ocorian provides to those clients.

Ocorian (previously Bedell Trust) was founded in 1971 and has extensive experience of establishing and managing complex high value structures for international clients.

The Family Office team at Ocorian regularly assist their client families with household expense tracking. This factsheet summarises the main features of this service.

A trust is a legal arrangement which exists in many jurisdictions where typically one person (a settlor) transfers assets to a trustee, who accepts ownership of the assets not for his or her own use and benefit but for the benefit of others (the beneficiaries).

Directors of vehicles subject to financial regulation and/or subject to Ani-Money Laundering regulation are required to ensure compliance with a long list of requirements. This briefing seeks to set these out at a high level to assist newly appointed or those directors who have been in the same position for some time with challenging the information they receive in relation to the operation of the vehicle that they are directors of.

Employee Benefit Trusts ("EBT's") have been around since the mid 1980s and are an increasingly popular approach used by corporates to incentivise, attract and retain key employees. These discretionary trusts are extremely flexible and continue to be used by companies for legitimate remuneration and tax planning structures.

We have firmly established ourselves as a leading provider of administration services for Shari’ah compliant investment structures. Our experience, which covers a broad cross-section of specialised Islamic finance arrangements, includes transactions involving Murabaha, Mudaraba, Musharaka, Ijara, and the Sukuk.

Jersey LLPs are governed by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Jersey) Law 1997 (as amended, the "Law"). This briefing summarises the main requirements to form an LLP and highlights its principal features.

Ocorian previously issued a briefing in November 2015 ("first update") to all its clients and intermediaries regarding the status of CRS for such clients and structures administered by Ocorian in Jersey.

CRS is the result of the drive by G20 nations to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information.

CRS is the result of the drive by G20 nations to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. This follows the approach taken to implement United States ("US") FATCA.

A private trust company, or PTC as it is commonly known, is a useful vehicle to consider in the planning and establishment of trust structures for high net worth and ultra high net worth families. Rather than transferring assets to a professional service provider's trustee company, these clients may prefer to establish their own corporate trustee to be the trustee of the trusts which they plan to create.

Our dedicated team has been operating in the employee benefits industry for over 25 years as an independent provider of trustee services to a broad client base ranging from high profile FTSE 100 and 250 companies to private companies and partnerships.

Following the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard on 1st January 2016, Ocorian's dedicated tax compliance and reporting team continues to proactively review the regulations and consider the potential implications for our clients.

CRS is the result of the drive by G20 nations to develop a global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. This follows the approach taken to implement United States ("US") FATCA.

We understand that a wealthy family in the 21st Century have many demands on their time and many responsibilities arising from the wealth they have generated.

On the 6th February 2011 the Irish Finance Act 2011 enacted changes to Section 110 ("S110") of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 introducing aircraft and engines as qualifying assets (under the definition of "Plant and Machinery") and creating a new class of aircraft finance structure in Ireland.

Bedell Trust previously issued a briefing in October 2015 ("first update") to all its clients and intermediaries regarding the status of CRS for such clients and structures usually administered by Bedell Trust Company in Jersey.

Further to our briefing note "The Common Reporting Standard: draft Jersey legislation released" dated November 2015 ("November Briefing Note"), the Chief Minister's Department has published draft guidance notes dated February 2016 ("Guidance Notes") which provide guidance on the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard ("CRS") in Jersey.

Aircraft are capital intensive assets and as a result, the acquisition of an aircraft and its commercial benefits should be effected through a tax efficient structure. This requires acquisition through a vehicle which is in a jurisdiction with a reliable legal system and a good regulatory framework coupled with advantages arising from tax treaties.

Ocorian Ireland is part of Ocorian, a leading provider of fiduciary services with offices in key financial centres - Jersey, Guernsey, London, Dublin, Mauritius, Singapore, Luxembourg and Cayman.

Ocorian Ireland has extensive experience providing fiduciary, administrative and outsourcing services to the global asset finance industry and has a track record as a service provider to shipping finance transactions.

FATCA was introduced by the United States in 2010. By the end of 2013 many overseas jurisdictions, including, in particular, Jersey, Guernsey, Cayman and the British Virgin Islands (Crown Dependencies and Overseas British Territories) had entered into Intergovernmental Agreements ("IGAs") with both the government of the USA and (in the case of the Crown Dependencies and Overseas British Territories) the government of the United Kingdom.

The CRS initiative follows on the heels of US FATCA and, for Crown Dependencies, such as Jersey and Guernsey, UK FATCA. Although UK FATCA will be in force for exchanging information in 2016 for the Crown Dependencies it is anticipated that it will subsequently fall away and that UK FATCA regime will become part of CRS.

The Jersey foundation was introduced in July 2009 as a new form of incorporated vehicle. From the beginning, three broad categories of use for the Jersey foundation - for succession planning, as orphan structures for specified purposes, and for philanthropy - have been clearly identified and continue to grow and develop, utilising the flexibility offered by the Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 (the "Law").

A popular choice with those fund promoters looking for a flexible vehicle with a light-touch regulatory regime is the Jersey 'Very Private Fund' ("VPF"). The key criteria for establishing a fund as a VPF is that it must not be offered to more than 15 potential investors, or have more than 15 investors at any one time. This note sets out a brief summary of the various advantages of using a Jersey VPF.

The Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 (the "Law") allows for the establishment of Jersey foundations, and adds significantly to the structuring opportunities available to clients selecting Jersey as a jurisdiction for private wealth management purposes.

The Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 (the "Law") allows for the incorporation of Jersey foundations. A Jersey foundation is an incorporated body, able to transact, and to sue and be sued, in its own name. It acts through its council, which is the body charged to administer the foundation's assets and carry out its objects.

For many people, philanthropy is a topic of increasing importance. Whilst philanthropy may, in strict terms, focus on the wellbeing of human kind, the term tends to be given a wider meaning, encompassing a broad range of giving initiatives. Some of those initiatives will be characterised as charitable in the relevant jurisdiction, others - albeit altruistic and benevolent in nature - may not.

Non-charitable purpose trusts are expressly provided for by the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984 as amended (the "Trusts Law"). Whilst the Trusts Law provides that a trust will be invalid to the extent that "it is created for a purpose in relation to which there is no beneficiary, not being a charitable purpose", it also states that a trust will not be invalid by reason of this provision "if the terms of the trust provide for the appointment of an enforcer in relation to its non-charitable purposes, and for the appointment of a new enforcer at any time when there is none."

The text of this briefing is limited in its application to Jersey companies. This is a complex area of law not easily summarised into short form. It follows that this briefing should in no way be regarded as exhaustive.

This briefing provides an overview of the regulatory authorisations which Jersey AIFs, Jersey AIFMs and other Jersey service providers require in order to continue their EU activities.

A "trust" is a legal arrangement which exists in many jurisdictions when one person (a "trustee") owns assets not for his own use and benefit but for the benefit of others (the "beneficiaries"). It is normal, but not essential, for a trust to be constituted in writing in the form of a "trust deed" or "trust instrument" which will set out the manner in which the beneficiaries can benefit from the trust, as well as the powers and duties which the trustees will have in administering the trust and its assets.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") is US legislation which was signed into US Law in 2010 as part of the US Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

A wide range of Jersey entities may be used for real estate holding structures, with companies, limited partnerships and unit trusts being the most commonly favoured, often in combination. The choice of entity will depend principally on the proposed use of the entity and considerations such as structuring flexibility, limitation of liability and tax efficiency.

Changes are being made to the regulation of prospectuses issued by Jersey "certified funds" - that is, collective investment funds established under the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988.

This briefing explains the regulatory classification for collective investment funds established in Jersey qualifying as "expert funds". The expert fund classification provides a flexible "fast track" procedure for the establishment of investment funds in Jersey which is aimed at sophisticated, institutional and high-net-worth investors.

This briefing explains a new regulatory classification for listed investment funds established in Jersey, which was introduced by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (the "JFSC") with effect from 9 January 2007. The listed fund classification has been designed to provide a "fast track" procedure for the establishment of closed-ended collective investment funds that are to be listed on certain well-regulated stock exchanges or markets.

Private equity funds are typically established as limited partnerships and this overview therefore focuses upon the principal features, formation, regulation and taxation of limited partnerships for such purposes.

A new private placement fund regime has been introduced in Jersey, with the issue of the Jersey Private Placement Fund Guide (the "Guide") by the Jersey Financial Services Commission ("JFSC") on 26 January 2012. The Guide sets out new criteria for the regulatory approval of closed-ended privately placed funds ("PPFs") with up to 50 professional or sophisticated investors, and is set to revolutionise the Jersey funds industry.

This briefing provides an outline of the procedure for the incorporation of a Jersey company. Jersey company law is governed by the Companies (Jersey) Law, 1991, as amended (the "1991 Law") which came into force on 30 March, 1992 and repealed the earlier Companies (Jersey) Laws, 1861 to 1968. Part 2 of the 1991 Law contains provisions dealing with the formation and registration of a Jersey company.