Updated Guernsey Green Fund Rules

The Commission has today amended the Guernsey Green Fund Rules making two liberalisations based on industry feedback gathered during our thematic review of the Guernsey Green Fund Regime published in March. These amendments were consulted on as part of the Commission’s Spring Green Consultation, issued on 11 March 2021. Responses to the Spring Green Consultation Paper were largely supportive and a feedback statement addressing the consultation feedback has been published on the Commission’s Consultation Hub. The Commission is grateful to everyone who contributed.

The changes to the Guernsey Green Fund Rules arise from the findings of the thematic review.  The Commission undertook the thematic because it wished to be able to provide assurance to investors and those thinking of making green investments, that funds enjoying use of the Guernsey Green Fund Accreditation are investing in projects which comply with the criteria for green investments set out by the multi-lateral development banks. 

The Guernsey Green Fund Rules require a Guernsey Green Fund’s designated administrator to monitor the Guernsey Green Fund against the notified green criteria and investment criteria. The modification announced today extends the frequency of that monitoring for closed-ended funds from a monthly to a quarterly basis. This should reduce the administrative burden on designated administrators while maintaining the integrity of the Guernsey Green Fund regime and investors’ confidence in it.

The second modification seeks to offer greater flexibility on how a fund can meet the requirement to disclose its designation as a Guernsey Green Fund by allowing a market announcement on a recognised stock exchange as a method of making this disclosure.

Director General of the Commission, William Mason, commented, “We were happy to see the Guernsey Green Funds regime working to protect investors from greenwashing and to be able to take on board feedback by liberalising a couple of aspects of the reporting regime to reduce the administrative burden on firms and funds.”

The Guernsey Green Fund (Amendment) Rules, 2021 came into effect on 6 July 2021 and a copy can be found here.