Over the years, Gibraltar has developed into a reliable and almost ideal location for servicing funds and establishing trusts. The British overseas territory enjoys a highly technical fund jurisdiction, experienced professionals of the industry, good tax advantages, an approachable regulator, and a dedicated association.

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC)

The aim of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission is to protect customers, enhance the reputation of Gibraltar as an advanced financial services center and promote great business.

The GFSC supervises a broad range of firms, such as auditors, banks, e-money institutions, payment service providers, fund service providers, professional trustees, investment firms, etc. Anyone wishing to do business within or from Gibraltar must meet the standards and the criteria, both at the time of application and on an ongoing basis. As a supervisory body, the GFSC primarily focuses on the operation of firms and their governance, while also identifying risks to both - consumers and the reputation of Gibraltar’s jurisdiction.

Gibraltar’s Registered Trusts Act 1999

The Registered Trusts Act of 1999 requires that any trust in existence must be registered under the Act and also must adhere to the criteria and specifications of said Act. Wherever it is required by the deed of the trust, the trustee is required to deliver a recording of the deed of the trust to the registrar.

Further, a trustee is required to pay a certain prescribed fee, after which the Registrar is obliged to enter the former into an index, specifying particulars of that trust. Particulars of this include:

-Name of the trust

-Date of creation

-Initial settlement amount

-Registration date

-Names of trustees 

-Service address in Gibraltar

Trust Services in Gibraltar

For centuries, there have been families and rich personalities that have been using trusts to maintain, preserve, and manage their fortunes. The absence of many formal restrictions for the creation of trusts complements them and makes them immeasurably useful for estate and succession planning.

Although there have been many legislations that have been passed in recent times, trusts still offer great advantages in the form of tax benefits, especially for:

-People migrating or planning to migrate

-People with families abroad

-People seeking asset protection

Gibraltar gives full legal effect to trusts and is at the forefront of the best practices for the latter on the international level. Based on the English Trustee Act of 1893, Gibraltar has adopted The Trustees Act of 1895, which has now been supplemented and amended from time to time by modern legislation.

Being one of the first jurisdictions to introduce regulation and supervision of these trusts, professional trustees must be licensed under the Financial Services Act of 1989. These trusts are further regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FCS).

The Registered Trust Act of 1999 provides the facility for registration of the deed of trust. As specified above,

the deed is endorsed with the date of creation, registration, name of the trustees, etc. 

Gibraltar is a very favorable location for establishing asset protection trusts. A trust of this kind aims to protect the assets of the settlor against situations like repatriation, taxes if confiscation, political conflict, and other litigation issues.

Fund Services In Gibraltar

For an investment fund, Gibraltar is an attractive site. The Gibraltar Income Tax Act was passed in the year 2011 (amended in 2015), which included a reduction of 10% corporate tax. Also, all incomes attracted by a Gibraltar fund from outside its territory are not taxable, and there are no withholding taxes for non-Gibraltar residents.

Over the past few years, Gibraltar has emerged as a reliable and ideal site for creating and maintaining funds. With a greatly technical jurisdiction and experienced industry professionals, and even a dedicated association for enquiries and conflict management - Gibraltar Funds & Investments Association.

Kinds of Funds 

Here are a few kinds of funds that one might set up in Gibraltar:

Private Funds

These are called ‘Collective Investment Schemes’ or ‘CIS’ and can be privately offered to any group or body that is identifiable. Typically, participants in these funds are families, or groups of individuals, friends, or employees, all of whom wish to a lot their investments in a fund structure. These funds, however, do not fall under the purview of the FSS. As long as their directors adhere to the objectives and the regulations in general, there are no other statutory restrictions.

Experienced Investor Funds

The Experienced Investor Funds or ‘EIF’ regulations have been created to create a channel for experienced, high-valued, investors, to set up funds fast with the minimum regulatory intervention. A benefit of this kind of fund is that it can be up and running within a span of 14 days.

As stated above, Gibraltar is steadily becoming one of the foremost places to establish a trust or a fund in. Trusts, like family trusts, is a good structure to use for genuine purposes and is not that expensive to set up and we can perfectly help you with it!

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