The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has welcomed Guernsey’s recognition at the WealthBriefing Wealth for Good Awards 2026, where the island won the Sustainability Programme (UK) category.

The award recognises leadership in sustainable and responsible investment and reflects the collective work of the island’s government, industry and the regulator in developing a credible sustainable finance ecosystem.

The Commission has supported this development through regulatory initiatives designed to encourage credible sustainable finance products and give investors confidence that sustainability claims are subject to clear standards and verification.

That included the world’s first regulated green fund regime, the Guernsey Green Fund, and has since been expanded through the Natural Capital Fund, which provides a regulated designation for investment schemes that make a positive contribution to the natural world or significantly reduce harm to nature.

The Commission has also used this approach in insurance, introducing a green capital regime to encourage investment in suitable green assets by life insurers.

Alongside these initiatives, Guernsey has a wider track record in humanitarian catastrophe bonds, reinsurance structures and responsible captive insurance structures.

The Commission congratulates all those whose work contributed to Guernsey’s award success.

Judging for the WealthBriefing awards is conducted by expert panels drawn from banks, family offices and trusted advisors/consultants.

The Commission delivered two presentations on Wednesday 11 March 2026 regarding the findings from its thematic review of Conflicts of Interest within the Investment and Fiduciary sectors, published on 22 September 2025.   

The presentations reinforced the findings of the thematic review which found that, in general, firms appropriately identify, manage and record conflicts of interest that arise during the course of doing business, using a combination of policies, procedures and periodic training.  Examples were provided at the presentations of the specific controls that had been implemented by firms to manage varying conflicts of interest, as well as areas to consider further when next enhancing their policies, procedures and controls.  

The key messages from the presentations were that conflicts of interest are inevitable, but simply identifying or recording them is not enough. Firms should actively manage and mitigate conflicts of interest to ensure fair outcomes. 

Circa 180 people attended the two presentations, the slides from the presentations are now available to view: Investment presentation and Fiduciary presentation. 

The Commission has today published a Feedback Statement following consultation on measures aimed at clarifying sustainability practices within the Bailiwick’s financial sector.

The statement outlines the Commission’s response to feedback received on:

• A new Guidance Note on Anti-Greenwashing, which clarifies existing obligations under the Minimum Criteria for Licensing. The guidance makes clear that all licensed entities must ensure any references to environmental sustainability characteristics in communications are fair, clear and not misleading and consistent with the actual attributes of the product or service.

• Updates to the Finance Sector Code of Corporate Governance to expand the current expectation for boards to consider climate-related risks, extending it to encompass broader environmental sustainability risks, including climate change and biodiversity.

Both measures reflect the Bailiwick’s commitment to maintaining its reputation as a forward-thinking and responsible international financial centre, while avoiding unnecessary burdens on well-managed firms. Instead, they codify expectations that responsible businesses already meet.

The new Guidance Note and amendments to the Code will come into force on 1 February 2026.

The Commission would like to thank all persons who responded to both the Consultation and Discussion Papers.

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission today launches a new limited POI licence, making it easier for fiduciary firms to administer Family Private Investment Funds. This initiative reflects the Commission’s ongoing commitment to reduce regulatory barriers, enable innovation and ensure Guernsey remains a leading jurisdiction for private wealth services. This follows the Commission’s announcement in May of a streamlined Private Investment Fund (PIF) regime.

A PIF is a class of Guernsey regulated collective investment scheme. PIFs are private in nature and are not permitted to be widely promoted to the general public. A PIF is required to appoint a Designated Administrator, and such party is required to be licensed under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 (the POI Law). Typically, the Designated Administrator function is fulfilled by an appropriately licensed firm which is part of the mainstream fund administration sector.  

In the case of a Family PIF, all investors must share a family relationship or be an eligible employee of the family (this includes employees of a family office structure). The Commission recognises that the type of investors who might wish to establish and invest in a Family PIF will often be clients of firms in the fiduciary sector, however fiduciary firms are unable to administer a Family PIF unless they also hold a licence under the POI Law.

Where a firm licensed solely under the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 as a primary licensee wishes to act as the Designated Administrator of a Family PIF and has no intention of conducting any other activities which fall within the scope of the POI Law, the Commission welcomes an application for it to be granted a limited POI licence.  This may be advantageous to firms who are already managing family wealth via traditional fiduciary structures, and wish to broaden their product offering to enable their clients to benefit from a regulated fund structure. 

The Commission will charge a reduced annual licence fee of £1,000 for this type of licence. Further, whilst holders of a limited POI licence must comply with the POI Law in the same manner as any other POI licensee, certain rules will be modified given the restricted nature of the investment activities which may be undertaken. Further details may be found on the Guidance Note here.

The Commission has today issued two thematic reports on Conflicts of Interest in both the Investment and Fiduciary sectors.

The Commission found that, in general, firms appropriately identify, manage and record conflicts of interest that arise during the course of doing business, using a combination of policies, procedures and periodic training. The Commission was encouraged to see examples of firms recording the specific controls that had been implemented to manage each conflict.

The report for the Investment sector can be found here, and the report for the Fiduciary sector can be found here. Both reports can also be found under Thematic Reviews on our Legislation and Guidance page.

All firms are encouraged to consider the contents of the relevant reports(s), particularly in relation to the areas to consider and the appendix which lists types of conflicts to consider when reviewing, updating or revising policies, procedures and controls.

The Commission today launches a consultation paper on proposals for an overall increase in fees paid by regulated entities. The consultation period will close on 8 October 2025. 

The Commission is consulting on an overall increase in fees of 3.9%, which is in line with inflation. Other proposals which are outlined in the consultation paper are:

• rebasing of Private Investment Fund fees aimed at strengthening Guernsey’s competitive position in the investment sector;
• an adjustment to the banded fiduciary licence fees;
• the introduction of banded fees for Prescribed Businesses;
• new fees for certain requests which require the Commission’s approval, including a change of Designated Administrator for a collective investment scheme, a Transfer of Business between investment or fiduciary licensees, a change of General Representative for insurance firms and additional elements being added to a closed-ended investment scheme; and
• a substantial reduction in fees for Virtual Asset Service Provider applications, this proposed reduction forming part of the Commission’s initiative to reinforce Guernsey’s position as an international financial hub that is open to embracing digital assets.

As noted in previous years, the Commission's internal financial modelling suggests that it would be capable of sustaining its operations over 2026 with fee increases benchmarked to inflation. The Commission's overall proposed increase to fees is therefore matched to the rate of Guernsey inflation as at 30 June 2025, which will ensure that the Commission has sufficient resources to meet its statutory objectives, which includes having the requisite staff to supervise regulated entities in a proportionate manner, meet international standards and to make continued investment in new technologies.

Speaking at the proposals, the Commission’s Chairman, John Aspden, said “The Commission continues to seek to deliver good regulation in a proportionate manner and, in doing so, ensure that Guernsey remains an attractive jurisdiction in which to do business. Our proposed fees would keep the Bailiwick competitive with our peer jurisdictions. Embedded with our forecast assumptions for 2026 is the continuing use of a significant portion of our current reserves to fund critical technology developments which helps to keep our 2026 fee increases moderate.”

The Commission has today issued a Feedback Paper providing feedback to the responses received to the Commission’s Discussion Paper (“DP”) on The Future of Sustainability Reporting in the Bailiwick of Guernsey issued in July 2024.

The DP provided a summary of international developments in the area of sustainability reporting, including the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The paper sought to gather information and views from the finance sector on the potential impact of the introduction of the standards that have been issued by the ISSB. The majority of respondents were in favour of a proportionate approach to the adoption of ISSB reporting in line with international peers, with interoperability and flexibility of disclosure requirements being identified as key. The Feedback Paper confirms that the Commission has no plans to implement mandatory sustainability disclosure standards applicable to the regulated financial services sectors in the foreseeable future and sets out that supervised entities may make disclosures in compliance with ISSB Standards on a voluntary basis.

The DP also sought views on additional steps which might be taken to enhance licensees’ sustainability risk governance and management and, after considering the feedback received, the Commission is consulting on a proposal to amend the Financial Sector Code of Corporate Governance, making clear the importance of board consideration of biodiversity/nature risks, alongside the consideration already accorded to climate change. The Commission is also consulting on explanatory guidance to make clear that greenwashing is already forbidden under the Minimum Criteria for Licensing.

The Feedback Paper can be found on the Commission's Engagement Hub: Home | Guernsey Financial Services Commission